Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Worried about all the strange biological additives in your laundry liquid? Its about to get a lot weirder.
Fighting Climate Change, One Laundry Load at a Time
Experts in the study of fungi are playing a bigger role in improving laundry detergents and, by extension, leading efforts to cut energy use.
By STANLEY REEDJAN. 1, 2018
COPENHAGEN — A Danish biotechnology company is trying to fight climate change — one laundry load at a time. Its secret weapon: mushrooms like those in a dormant forest outside Copenhagen.
In the quest for a more environmentally friendly detergent, two scientists at the company, Novozymes, regularly trudge through the mud, hunting for oyster mushrooms that protrude from a fallen beech or bracken fungi that feast on tough plant fibers. They are studying the enzymes in mushrooms that speed up chemical reactions or natural processes like decay.
“There is a lot going on here, if you know what to look for,” said Mikako Sasa, one of the Novozymes scientists.
Their work is helping the company develop enzymes for laundry and dishwasher detergents that would require less water, or that would work just as effectively at lower temperatures. The energy savings could be significant. Washing machines, for instance, account for over 6 percent of household electricity use in the European Union.
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Modern detergents contain as many as eight different enzymes. In 2016, Novozymes generated about $2.2 billion in revenue and provided enzymes for detergents including Tide, Ariel and Seventh Generation.
The quantity of enzymes required in a detergent is relatively small compared with chemical alternatives, an appealing quality for customers looking for more natural ingredients. A tenth of a teaspoon of enzymes in a typical European laundry load cuts by half the amount of soap from petrochemicals or palm oil in a detergent.
Enzymes are also well suited to helping cut energy consumption. They are often found in relatively cool environments, like forests and oceans. As a result of that low natural temperature, they do not require the heat and pressure typically used in washing machines and other laundry processes.
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In 2009, Novozymes scientists teamed up with Procter & Gamble to develop an enzyme that could be used in liquid detergents for cold-water washes. Researchers started with an enzyme from soil bacteria in Turkey, and modified it through genetic engineering to make it more closely resemble a substance found in cool seawater. When they found the right formula, they called the enzyme Everest, a reference to the scale of the task accomplished.
“We knew this was something that consumers would want,” said Phil Souter, associate director of Procter & Gamble’s research and development unit in Newcastle, England. “I think this is a very tangible and practical way people can make a difference in their everyday lives.”
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Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/01/business/energy-environment/climate-change-enzymes-laundry.html
Water shortages are surely a reason to build more reservoirs, not to cut down on family water usage.
I’m not sold on all this laundry enzyme business. I’m sure Novozymes are conscientious in their safety research efforts, but my family always uses non-bio detergent due to past allergic skin reactions to laundry enzymes. Enzymes have their place in industry and waste disposal, but the thought of placing my allergies in contact with the residue of exotic new biologicals doesn’t exactly fill me with enthusiasm.
ditto…..sheets and bed linens get one wash…and three rinses in my house…and I will not use a low water washer…I use a super capacity with all the water it will hold
I had a persistent and variable rash problem that ‘went away’ when I changed to low/no enzyme detergents for general laundry washing. I really think the detergent manufacturers should do more screenings for allergy response before fielding their ‘new and improved’ products.
Agreed! I have to be careful, as some brands of washing detergent triggers my asthma. Environmental friendly, not so much …
” I really think the detergent manufacturers should do more screenings for allergy response”
That’s not what is taught at Harvard Business School,
They look at – Maximum turnover for minimum outlay = greatest profit
I had the rash…and the splitting sinus headache 30 mins to an hour after going to bed….stopped using Oxyclean….switched to a allergy detergent….1 wash and rinse…then do it again with no detergent = 2 more rinses…rash is slowly going away…but headaches stopped the first time I did that
BTW….I’m trying ‘All Free’ right now
When I find a detergent that doesn’t cause an allergic reaction, I stick with the brand as long as possible. If the company doesn’t go to “new and improved” too quickly, I’m okay. There are also ways to make your own detergent if all else fails (or you enjoy doing so).
Guys, searching on the internet I found someone that made a list all the “free and clear” detergents for allergies…and what they actually contain….including enzymes
http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/Articles.asp?ID=263
Uh … your link LOST ME … at … If you are just starting your cloth diapering journey, I cannot emphasize enough how helpful it is to choose a really good detergent
Uh … NO … I am not the least bit interested in handling my infant grandchildren’s droppings. Been there, done that. Give me some synthetic disposable CONVENIENCE. I don’t WANT to live on some primitive prairie in some romanticized fuzzy Norman Rockwell painting. My “cloth diapering journey” ENDED the day I grabbed my first Costco-sized package of HUGGIES.
I cannot emphasize enough how helpful it is to choose a really good detergent”
Hanging them out in winter gets then really clean.
Frozen solid in the morning had to let them thaw a bit before you could use them..
Child always used to complain for some reason.. 😉
kenji…roaring laughing!!
…just use the chart….LOL
@Latitude – I had a respiratory problem with oxyclean – irritated my sinuses whenever I even walked past something laundered in it. Might get the clothes clean, but if you can’t use it, what good is it. Oh, and yeah, it took several normal washings to get the clothing to where I could wear them again.
Nothing that a huge class action law suit against the manufacturers and suppliers won’t fix….
Mine is a 40 year old Simpson 144 Heavy Duty, massive capacity.
I fitted a reconditioned timer a year or so ago, so I reckon she has another 40 years left in her. 🙂
PS, only the cold tap is attached, because I don’t want to pay for the water heating.
…and those things will last forever too!
When I was living out bush, it survived through 2 mice plagues. and a lot of clothe nappies. !
Some of the windings on the motor are eaten away, and I had to heats shrink some of the wires to repair them.
But she still keeps on keeping on.. I even painted her lid when I replaces the timer.
Brand new.. sort of. 🙂
If you can already wash your clothes in ordinary out from under the ground cold water (20-25 deg.C) who needs colder water to wash in.
“”””””….. Modern detergents contain as many as eight different enzymes. …..”””””
Does Company Z’s detergent brand Q contain eight different enzymes ?? or are there a total of eight different enzymes, (so far) that detergent companies can select from to put one in their brand F detergent ??
As far as I am aware, the function of a detergent is to lower the surface tension of water, which I can see would allow water to pass through even smaller holes in fabrics, and to wet surfaces that otherwise would reject the water contact.
Liquid droplets have a higher internal pressure than the external ambient pressure which in most washing machines would be essentially atmospheric pressure.
That pressure differential can be simply calculated from …. Delta (p) = 2 t/r …. where t is the surface tension in Nm^-1 (newton per meter) and r is the droplet radius in meter, so delta (p) is in newton per square meter.
So smaller droplets require a higher internal pressure. It’s the same reason why clean water resists boiling, and why rain drops don’t like to form without a long radius substrate to form on.
So if the water can’t get through the small holes between threads in a fabric; specially synthetic fabrics fibers that are likely to be hydrophobic anyway, or the dirt particles are too small for water to form a droplet around, then the cleansing won’t be as good.
It could be a better low water strategy to design a washing machine that contains a filtration unit that continually removes non water impurities from the water during the circulation process. That would also lead to a cleaner effluent water going down the drain into SF Bay or your local pristine water way.
BUT ! I would never be against any profit making enterprise trying to improve its products and profitability by being able to make a better product.
That does not include being able to write more catchy weasel words in a TV ad.
Many household products consist of mostly nothing but inert ingredients that don’t do anything but take up space in the package.
If for example you make a powder detergent, and a half a level teaspoon of that powder is enough to wash the biggest load of clothes you can get in a typical washing machine, there may be a problem getting that small amount of active material distributed throughout the wash water in the time it takes to run the machine.
So often, a company (maybe even Dupont or Monsanto) makes the active detergent powder ingredient, and a consumer marketing company (maybe even P&G) simply adds powders of a totally inactive non-toxic ingredient, of a size that mixes well with the active ingredient particles in the box to get the active ingredient well mixed, so it doesn’t end up all in one location like CO2 in the atmosphere.
It would not surprise me if we discovered that perhaps Monsanto themselves would actually mix in the do nothing ingredients and supply the mixture to a P&G or other Supermarket distribution company. Not that I am suggesting the above example actually happens but something along those lines could easily make sense for the participants.
Products like Scott’s ” Surf and Turf “, OOoops wrong example, I meant ” Weed and Feed” are similar to poder detergents in that most of the material is inactive but serves a VERY IMPORTANT usage distribution function.
I don’t see mushrooms gobbling up stuff before my very eyes, although they can grow on my lawn overnight, so I don’t know how quickly some carnivorous toadstool can devour the critters in your laundry washing machine, while your clothes are washing.
My sister had a really tiny laundry washing machine and drier unit in her apartment in Geneva. I never figured out how to use it, but it wasn’t much bigger than a coffee pot.
Clever Swiss engineering I presume.
I’m sure that the Snake Oil industry has never gone away, so I am not going to rush out and invest in mushroom detergents; weel you know how they grow mushrooms.
G
If these enzymes cause so many problems why not make human saliva enzymes?
Fewer problems surely?
When you are saving the world, it doesn’t matter who you irritate along the way. It takes a lot of energy to heat water which is just dumped down the drain, so think of the huge Life Cycle energy savings you can claim with only a rash to take care of afterward. No one will care if some people have to scratch a little more as long as the planet is safe from the evils of CAGW.
So build another nuke than and enjoy clean clothes
We are more short of water, than energy
“from the evils of CAGW.”
You mean BNRW. ?
(Beneficial Natural Regional Warming)
Ah yes, the old “saving energy = saving the planet” angle. Modern-day snakeoil salesmen.
All that hot air could heat their water. But wait, the elite have billions of other peoples money to spend on heating their water. Have yet to see a single climate scare monger practice what they preach. I’m beginning to think they aren’t sincere! lol Aren’t they the same people who claim the planet is over populated and the magic number is 500 million souls maximum? Therefore, if climate change is so catastrophic, then just let it happen! Can’t do that because they know it ain’t so, thus the agenda.
“Enzymes are also well suited to helping cut energy consumption.”
Lack of basic knowledge or a tool to fool the ignorant public! Energy is, as it is not possible to create or consume/destroy. Only transforming is possible …
I mentioned this to my electricity supplier awhile ago, as the word ‘consumed’ was used in several places on the electrical bill. Mentioned the legal implications and since that point, the word ‘consumed’ has been replaced with ‘transfered’.
Oooh! Climate-Magic Mushrooms! And what psychedelic colors!! Far out man.
I think whomever wrote this must have eaten some:
“Enzymes are also well suited to helping cut energy consumption. They are often found in relatively cool environments, like forests and oceans. As a result of that low natural temperature, they do not require the heat and pressure typically used in washing machines and other laundry processes.”
WTF?
Rashes, itching, and nonspecific dermatitis have been problems associated with enzymes in laundry detergent since they were introduced. I think it was Fab that introduced enzymes and then had to withdraw the product.
On the other hand, I think the search for a better cleaning method is preferable to the typical green solution which seems to be running around in dirty clothes using a rag instead of toilet paper. So much for the benefits of advanced civilization.
AS if we were short of energy…
Most laundry detergents on the market today have at least some enzymes in them. The amount and type used vary for different products. Gain and Tide are both made by P&G but they have different enzymes and Tide generally has more. Gain has more perfume.
Detergent marketing companies are not going to wash your clothes for you. They just want you to buy their detergent and more of it than you buy from their competition.
So their recommended usage quantity is likely to be more beneficial for them than it may be for you.
There’s a company that sells coffee making machines that use a packet full of ground Starbucks coffee that you use once to make maybe 4 ounces of coffee, or maybe 8 ounces; you push the button.
What is the likelihood that if you tried to run nine ounces of water through that packet, the last ounce will turn to mush ?? No chance. So you could push the 4 ounce button, then save the packet for next time, and simply add hot water to the four ounce mixture.
The machine maker is selling you coffee in packets not making coffee for you.
G
PS I push the 8 ounce button AND save the packet to use again later for another 8 ounce cup of coffee.
Spread the WORD, Brother George! A man with psoriasis that does his own laundry because the wife believes in following the directions on the detergent bottle.
What I hate in any cleaning product is the perfume! I also have asthma, and can not even enter the store section with cleaning products. My girlfriend picks up what little I do use.
My late husband demanded that things be washed in Tide, and I finally convinced him that was not a good idea when he saw my peeling skin. For the last 20 years, I’ve used one of the least expensive liquid laundry products, called “Sun” – and pour about 1/3 the suggested amount into a large load. It does an excellent job. Lately, it also has far too much perfume, but I don’t know what to do about it. Tried washing clothes in baking soda and dish detergent a few times, but the results were very poor.
“Planet-saving enzymes” has a certain ring to it ya gotta admit.
Recall the movie “The Andromeda Strain”….now think about the enzyme end game. First, get used to the enzyme being your friend, then, switch enzyme to_____________ (use your imagination here). Being critical has it’s merits.
Yes. WBAGNFARB. (See Dave Barry for definition)
Will the products be marked as genetically engineered?
Frankensoap?
Thinking laterally Eric, I think you are onto somehing here.
Fungal infection of the brain in certain sections of the ‘science’ community would be a most compelling explanation of the CAGW alarmism phenomenon.
Spending too much time with ones head up ones rear end would be the most logical vector with too much time in a groupthink ‘ideological sauna ‘ a very close second. Spending most of your waking hours in the latter while adopting the former posture would have to be the most compelling though and there is ample evidence of this occurring, the IPCC, NYT, BBC etc.
QED?
Whatever happened to “Enzyme Activated Axion” ?
THAT was the product I was trying to remember!! It was a great product; my mom was a big fan (doing laundry for a family of seven). I think it fell victim to the phosphorus scare. Lots of pond and river algae blooms and subsequent eutrophication were blamed on high-phosphorus detergents, and IIRC Axion had a tremendous amount by percent weight. You didn’t use much of it though, it was a booster, not a full detergent product itself.
Actually, was once deeply involved in those molecular biology issues. Protein enzymes will always do what they are supposed to given evolution, but then will do much more when in unnatural places and concentrations. Definite two edged sword. We dropped all enzyme added laundry detergents in favor of a pure anionic syndet gemisch (Ironically named 7th Gen Natural because all the scents are natural essential oils ) some years ago. You need more, buy an enzyme rich prespray and use as little as posslble, then double the rinse cycles.
What about the customers who are NOT looking for a … “natural way to clean clothes” ? Me ? I am not the LEAST bit interested in beating my clothes against a rock in the local stream. Nor, do I want to put my shirts through a hand-cranked ringer. I don’t have ANY romantic notions of yesteryear when NATURE dominated MAN. No … I quite like the MAN over NATURE model. Sorry, college professors … your over-romanced version of a “simpler” life was just so much crap. I will go with the BEST enzyme to clean my clothes. I like my WHITES looking WHITE … not “mushroom-colored”
“I am not the LEAST bit interested in beating my clothes against a rock in the local stream.’
Especially when, in places that is the only option, it is highly likely that the stream contains FAR worse than you will ever find in washing powders etc.
Kenji wear shirts ?? Sometimes it gets cold enough in Kenji land to need a shirt on Kenji !
And those river rocks will put holes in Kenji’s shirts.
Somebody once discovered a geyser in New Zealand while washing the laundry in a hot spring. The soap started the thing off. Now they soap it for tourists.
Kenji should be careful in the laundry.
Happy new year Kenji !
G (g 2)
“We knew this was something that consumers would want,” said Phil Souter, associate director of Procter & Gamble’s research and development unit in Newcastle, England.”
Really? Please show me that research as that is the statement of many, many failed entrepreneurs who haven’t done their homework.
I think with all the manufacturers pushing this green crap..it should read “something that manufacturers would want”
Whether to lower the cost of manufacture or increase prices.
…or the dividends for stock holders. Profit vs Ethics.
Marketing 101…throw enough money at it, and the public will swallow it… think big pharma.
Nobody asked us….
What is the cloying stink added to almost all Chinese products? It’s especially noticeable on those ‘cling free’ dryer additives, most detergents, and many plastic products. It’s become so ubiquitous that many people don’t even notice it. I find the “ChinkStink” particularly objectionable and I doubt if products are tested to see if it’s toxic or harmful, so I use ‘scent free’ detergents exclusively. Scent-free liquid laundry detergent is an especially effective dish detergent.
Denmark must have some weird ass forests if they are filled with mud and mushrooms when the forest is “dormant”. Oyster mushrooms come out around the equinoxes. I guess if a forest only consists of trees then it might be nearly dormant at those times of year, but if the mushrooms are growing, I wouldn’t consider the forest to be dormant. And why is the forest muddy? Where is the moss, the forest floor and the litter. Sounds like a seriously anthro-modified forest.
But there is an even better solution to the problem of wasting hot water and using all that detergent. On the market now is a pair of magnets that you set inside the washing machine and they will attract all the dirt and stuff without soap. Don’t remember the cost but, gosh, look how much money you could save.
{/sarc} I presume?
Unfortunately, no. That is a real “product”. But a google search turns up a number of negative findings on them. I believe the word fraud occurs in several of them. Gosh! You think?
Not sure by my comments are in moderation. But then, I’m not sure about a lot things. 🙂
Fight back: ACCENT FLAVOR SEASONING SPICE ALL NATURAL FOOD ENHANCER 3 OZ
Uuuhm….. what kind of a ‘magnet’ do they have that works on grass stains or old bearing grease? Must be ‘paranormal magnetism’….. /s
Perhaps he is confusing using magnets to soften water so that less detergent is needed. And along those lines, softer water rinses better and leaves less residue.
I am not confused.
check out “The magnetic laundry system”. Then read the comments on google. Then use your critical thinking skills.
Have any of you thought how much detergent and washing up liquid goes down the drain every single day. Its effect and what it does to the environment. Why is the same used by oil companies to clean up oil spills so very very bad?
What is the cloying stink added to almost all Chinese products? It’s especially noticeable on those ‘cling free’ dryer additives, most detergents, and many plastic products. It’s become so ubiquitous that many people don’t even notice it. I find the stink particularly objectionable and I doubt if products are tested to see if it’s toxic or harmful, so I use ‘scent free’ detergents exclusively. Scent-free liquid laundry detergent is an especially effective dish detergent.
Our family has used Amway’s SA8 for over 35 years. It is bio-degradable, like all Amway products. Never had a bit of problem with allergies, etc. Good stuff.
IIRC there was a problem with nurses using low temperature alternatives for their uniforms because it didn’t kill the bacteria, it merely gave the impression of clean. A bit like whitewashing a cess pit.