• Journal of the Korean Society of Clothing and Textiles
• /
• v.30 no.11 s.158
• /
• pp.1589-1597
• /
• 2006

Nowadays, Korean consumers prefer drum-type washing machines to pulsator-type washers. Washing is a complex process involving the interaction of numerous physical and chemical influences. The main factors in the washing operations are the washing chemistry of the detergent along with the mechanical input, the wash temperature, and the time provided by the washing machine. Heavy-duty detergents that are used in drum-type washing machines contain different components from those used in vertical-axis washing machines. The bath ratio and the mechanical actions to which laundry is subjected are different between the drum-type and the vertical-axis washing machines. In this study we examined the effects of wash temperature, wash time, detergent concentration, and revolution speed on the removal of soils from artificially soiled cloths in a drum-type washing machine with heavy-duty commercial detergent. We used multiple regression analyses to find the relative importance of the factors and the optimum washing conditions. The results of these experiments showed that the washing temperature was the most important factor in the effective removal of most soils. This was followed by the washing time, the detergent concentration, and finally the revolution speed. In this study it was found that superfluous amounts of detergent did not sufficiently increase the soil removal rate. Koreans who are used to washing with cold water should increase the wash time to launder more efficiently.