New Silicone Technology Helps Save Water

New silicone technology for laundry fabric softeners can reduce the amount of water by half that it takes to rinse away remaining detergent in fabric. When used in rinse cycle fabric softeners, Dow Corning AC-8066 Antifoam substantially reduces or eliminates foam after the first rinse, while making the rinsing process more convenient and faster for the consumer.

According to Dow Corning Household Care global marketing manager Yan Cortes, approximately 70% of the world’s population washes its clothes by hand, which requires an average of 40 liters of water to rinse fabric softener away for an average batch of laundry – the equivalent of 10 one-gallon milk jugs for each wash.

The silicone-based Dow Corning AC 8066 Antifoam dispersion destabilizes and collapses the bubbles that cause the foam generated during the rinse process when hand washing or in semi-automatic machines. This can help reduce amount of time and water needed to rinse the fabric of remaining detergent.

“Availability of fresh water is a global growing concern, particularly in developing countries, where laundry is a daily, water-intensive activity,” said Yan Cortes. “This innovation is a demonstration of our corporate value of sustainable development. It’s an approach that brings together our focus on meeting our customers’ needs for new environmentally compatible products and processes with our commitment to responsible management of resources.”