- Sep 5, 2007
- 39,342
- 20,197
- 113
- Real Name
- Robert Allen,Jr.
- Business Location
- United States
Optical brighteners. They are everywhere. Especially in laundry detergents. They are synthetic chemical compounds that are bad for fibers, pets and humans. They are slid insidiously into our laundry and most of the public is unaware, many times under names that the public can't recognize. They are fooled, bamboozled and really scammed. They see clothes that “appear” brighter and therefore assume it is cleaner. Wrong!
Actually Optical Brighteners just fluoresce or luminesce. It is the phenomenon of causing something to appear clean when in actuality it is not. It fools the human eye. So in carpet cleaning if some types optical brighteners are used, carpets look good at first or more reflective but then they start to “yellow” out and deteriorate fibers according to some research. Many OB’s leave behind harsh chemicals and thats not good for you or your clients. This is why most all chemical manufacturing companies have moved away from optical brighteners.
Rightfully so, it is a disservice in my opinion if a company uses optical brighteners in their products. It is a shortcut, basically a “bait and switch” type tactic in my opinion and experience that dupes unsuspecting cleaners into believing that their product of choice works to varying degrees. They trick your eyes into believing something is cleaner, whiter or brighter than it really is. It is smoke and mirrors. Adding “blue” color to a product is a decades old practice of making something appear brighter. But it is a short term or rapid emission response that fades away after drying leaving a stick like glue chemical that usually shows up under a UV light.
Yes, looks good at first, but then later the carpets return to looking worse or “dingy” and resoil faster depending on what agents are used. Basically they are chemical additives (see partial list chemical names) and many times they do not include it in their ingredient lists. Many of them cause allergic reactions when coming into contact with skin. Do you really want you clients children or pets rolling around in them? (See the list of chemicals, names and abbreviations used for optical brighteners). Another important point, they VOID carpet warranties.
To me, its a shortcut inexpensive way to make cleaners and clients think they are getting great appearance results. Treated areas remit more light in the visible region and "makes fibers look brighter than bright”. Yes you get the short term bright look but it comes with the price of long term damage. I personally prefer getting carpets as clean as possible by using presprays and rinses that don't contain optical brighteners or their closely related cousins. When I did my top 50 carpet cleaning products tests I was surprised how many used optical brighteners in this day and time. Their right, but my right to not use them.
Now if I do use a “whitening agent” it is a natural one like h2o2 (buffered peroxide), TMF Pure02 w/Citrus for example. Instead of fooling the eye for short term it makes carpet pop after they are dry. Isn’t that better for you and your clients? You avoid stacking up chemicals in clients homes. A lot of “green” laundry companies are using the fact they have no Optical Brighteners as a unique selling point. Seventh Generation uses this statement in their advertisements “Who needs a blue goo” to make laundry appear brighter than they are?
Many laundry companies or carpet cleaning formulators do not list what chemicals they put in their products. In fact many don’t even list that they are in there. Even if they did, they would call it another name so as to disguise whats really in a product. Remember the problem is they are designed to bind to clothes and fibers and they stick like glue. Why so? If you could rinse them off then they wouldn’t be doing their job of fooling unsuspecting cleaners. And because these chemicals remain on fibers they come into contact with skin. Not healthy for clients and can cause rashes and allergic reactions.
They are also not easily biodegradable therefore are harmful to plants, fish and animals. They are just plain bad for the environment and cleaners in general. Thats why many laundry companies are going “green” and advertising NO optical brighteners. With the being said, should you as a “professional” cleaner introduce optical brighteners into an unsuspecting clients home, potentially harming them and the environment? Shouldn’t we leave that to “hacks” who use Tide and other laundry detergents?
Sometimes it is difficult to determine if a manufacturer has Optical Brighteners with so many synonyms and tricky wording. So use caution when choosing your cleaning chemistry. I am not saying it is “bad”, maybe “unethical” as no laws are broken. Some cleaners are the “wham bam thank you ma’am” or “hit it and get it” style cleaners. Others are more conscientious and are seeking to be more detailed in their craft. Therefore they avoid the Optical Brighteners or whatever name they try to hide it with. So here is a sample short list, Keep your eyes open to Optical Brighteners and the dangers they pose!
Here is a partial sample of names;
OB (Optical Brightener)
OBA (Optical Brightener Agents)
FBA (Fluorescent Brightening Agents)
FWA (Fluorescent Whitening Agents)
DAS (Diamino Stilbene)
DSBP (Distryl Biphenyl)
(AB) Artificial Brighteners
FB (Fluorescent bleach)
OW (Optical Whiteners
Benzoxazol
Triazole
Oxadiazole
Thiadiazole
Coumarins
Glycoside
Disodium Diaminostilben Disulfinate
CRI view OB's
http://www.carpet-rug.org/cleaning-solution-testing-criteria.html
Here is some actual product information labels on a industry chemicals I did just by searching Google...
https://www.wagnersupply.com/p/SPA-3096-04/Spartan-Xtraction-II-Carpet-Cleaner-Gal/
https://www.imagesupplyinc.com/catalog/p/581/Carpet-Brightener-Gal/
https://www.sun-beltusa.com/premier-extraction-cleaner.html
http://https://shop.truckmountforums.com/kleenrite-spinkleen-bonnet-cleaner.html
http://https://shop.truckmountforum...earch-heavy-duty-liquid-extraction-rinse.html
*Optical brighteners are a danger to our industry in my opinion and many other chemical formulators agree in our industry. If one chooses to use them then that is their right however.
Actually Optical Brighteners just fluoresce or luminesce. It is the phenomenon of causing something to appear clean when in actuality it is not. It fools the human eye. So in carpet cleaning if some types optical brighteners are used, carpets look good at first or more reflective but then they start to “yellow” out and deteriorate fibers according to some research. Many OB’s leave behind harsh chemicals and thats not good for you or your clients. This is why most all chemical manufacturing companies have moved away from optical brighteners.
Rightfully so, it is a disservice in my opinion if a company uses optical brighteners in their products. It is a shortcut, basically a “bait and switch” type tactic in my opinion and experience that dupes unsuspecting cleaners into believing that their product of choice works to varying degrees. They trick your eyes into believing something is cleaner, whiter or brighter than it really is. It is smoke and mirrors. Adding “blue” color to a product is a decades old practice of making something appear brighter. But it is a short term or rapid emission response that fades away after drying leaving a stick like glue chemical that usually shows up under a UV light.
Yes, looks good at first, but then later the carpets return to looking worse or “dingy” and resoil faster depending on what agents are used. Basically they are chemical additives (see partial list chemical names) and many times they do not include it in their ingredient lists. Many of them cause allergic reactions when coming into contact with skin. Do you really want you clients children or pets rolling around in them? (See the list of chemicals, names and abbreviations used for optical brighteners). Another important point, they VOID carpet warranties.
To me, its a shortcut inexpensive way to make cleaners and clients think they are getting great appearance results. Treated areas remit more light in the visible region and "makes fibers look brighter than bright”. Yes you get the short term bright look but it comes with the price of long term damage. I personally prefer getting carpets as clean as possible by using presprays and rinses that don't contain optical brighteners or their closely related cousins. When I did my top 50 carpet cleaning products tests I was surprised how many used optical brighteners in this day and time. Their right, but my right to not use them.
Now if I do use a “whitening agent” it is a natural one like h2o2 (buffered peroxide), TMF Pure02 w/Citrus for example. Instead of fooling the eye for short term it makes carpet pop after they are dry. Isn’t that better for you and your clients? You avoid stacking up chemicals in clients homes. A lot of “green” laundry companies are using the fact they have no Optical Brighteners as a unique selling point. Seventh Generation uses this statement in their advertisements “Who needs a blue goo” to make laundry appear brighter than they are?
Many laundry companies or carpet cleaning formulators do not list what chemicals they put in their products. In fact many don’t even list that they are in there. Even if they did, they would call it another name so as to disguise whats really in a product. Remember the problem is they are designed to bind to clothes and fibers and they stick like glue. Why so? If you could rinse them off then they wouldn’t be doing their job of fooling unsuspecting cleaners. And because these chemicals remain on fibers they come into contact with skin. Not healthy for clients and can cause rashes and allergic reactions.
They are also not easily biodegradable therefore are harmful to plants, fish and animals. They are just plain bad for the environment and cleaners in general. Thats why many laundry companies are going “green” and advertising NO optical brighteners. With the being said, should you as a “professional” cleaner introduce optical brighteners into an unsuspecting clients home, potentially harming them and the environment? Shouldn’t we leave that to “hacks” who use Tide and other laundry detergents?
Sometimes it is difficult to determine if a manufacturer has Optical Brighteners with so many synonyms and tricky wording. So use caution when choosing your cleaning chemistry. I am not saying it is “bad”, maybe “unethical” as no laws are broken. Some cleaners are the “wham bam thank you ma’am” or “hit it and get it” style cleaners. Others are more conscientious and are seeking to be more detailed in their craft. Therefore they avoid the Optical Brighteners or whatever name they try to hide it with. So here is a sample short list, Keep your eyes open to Optical Brighteners and the dangers they pose!
Here is a partial sample of names;
OB (Optical Brightener)
OBA (Optical Brightener Agents)
FBA (Fluorescent Brightening Agents)
FWA (Fluorescent Whitening Agents)
DAS (Diamino Stilbene)
DSBP (Distryl Biphenyl)
(AB) Artificial Brighteners
FB (Fluorescent bleach)
OW (Optical Whiteners
Benzoxazol
Triazole
Oxadiazole
Thiadiazole
Coumarins
Glycoside
Disodium Diaminostilben Disulfinate
CRI view OB's
http://www.carpet-rug.org/cleaning-solution-testing-criteria.html
Here is some actual product information labels on a industry chemicals I did just by searching Google...
https://www.wagnersupply.com/p/SPA-3096-04/Spartan-Xtraction-II-Carpet-Cleaner-Gal/
https://www.imagesupplyinc.com/catalog/p/581/Carpet-Brightener-Gal/
https://www.sun-beltusa.com/premier-extraction-cleaner.html
http://https://shop.truckmountforums.com/kleenrite-spinkleen-bonnet-cleaner.html
http://https://shop.truckmountforum...earch-heavy-duty-liquid-extraction-rinse.html
*Optical brighteners are a danger to our industry in my opinion and many other chemical formulators agree in our industry. If one chooses to use them then that is their right however.
