Read other entries in the How Does It Work series.

Many a laundry detergent commercial claims to leave your clothes “whiter than white.” What in the heck does that mean, how is it even possible, and how does it work?

Clothes naturally begin to yellow over time. To make clothes appear whiter, the yellow tinge needs to be overcome. Laundry detergent manufacturers have tackled this problem by adding an additive to detergent which absorbs into the fabric and remains absorbed after the laundry is finished. This additive is called an ‘optical brightener‘ and is the magic behind how “whiter than white” works.

There are many molecules that act as optical brighteners and that have been used in laundry detergents. They all act in the same way. They fluoresce. They absorb UV light and emit blue light. This achieves two goals. The blue light helps cancel out the yellow tinge and tricks the eye into thinking the clothes are more white than they really are. It also makes it possible for the clothing to emit more visible light than is being shined on it, making it appear brighter and whiter.

One example of an optical brightener is 4,4’-bis(benzoxazol-2-yl)stilbene. Extended conjugation is a common theme in optical brighteners

Laundry detergent irradiated by UV light via: Wikipedia

And that’s it. It’s really nothing magical, just a little bit of chemistry 🙂

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