Claims
- 1. A composition of matter especially adapted for use in the rinse bath of a laundering operation, comprising:(a) at least about 0.75%, by weight, of chelating agent for copper cations, nickel cations, or mixtures thereof; (b) more than about 10%, by weight, of cationic fabric softener; (c) stabilizer selected from the group consisting of polyester material, water-soluble zinc salt, and mixtures thereof; (d) optionally, dissolved electrolytes; (e) optionally, at least about 0.01%, by weight, of chlorine scavenger; (f) optionally, cellulase enzyme; and (g) optionally, dye transfer inhibiting agent.
- 2. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the chelating agent is ethylenediamine disuccinate and the chlorine scavenger is ammonium chloride.
- 3. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the chelating agent is diethylenetriamine pentaacetate and the chlorine scavenger is ammonium chloride.
- 4. A composition according to claim 1 wherein the chelating agent is diethylenetriamine-N,N,N′,N″,N″-pentakis(methane phosphonate) and the chlorine scavenger is ammonium chloride.
- 5. A method for improving the color fidelity of laundered fabrics, comprising the steps of:(a) washing dyed fabrics with a laundry detergent composition; and (b) following said washing, rinsing said fabrics in an aqueous solution comprising the composition of claim 1 in an amount sufficient to provide at least about 2 ppm of a chelating agent for copper ions or nickel ions selected from the group consisting of amino carboxylates, amino phosphonates, polyfunctionally-substituted aromatic chelating agents and mixtures thereof.
- 6. A method according to claim 5 wherein the dyed fabrics are immersed in the aqueous soltuion of Step (b) for a period of at least about 1 minute.
- 7. A method according to claim 6 which is conducted at a temperature in the range from about 5° C. to the boil.
- 8. A method according to claim 5 wherein the aqueous solution additionally contains a member selected from the group consisting of cellulase enzymes, chlorine scavengers, dye transfer inhibiting agent and mixtures thereof.
- 9. A method according to claim 8 which is conducted in the presence of a dye transfer inhibiting agent selected from the group consisting of polyvinyl pyrrolidone polymers, polyamine N-oxide polymers, copolymers of N-vinylpyrrolidone and N-vinylimidazole, manganese phthalocyanine, peroxidases, and mixtures thereof.
- 10. A method according to claim 8 which is conducted in the presence of a chlorine scavenger selected from the group consisting of ammonium chloride, monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane, hexamethylenetetramine, arginine, histidine, polyarginine, polylysine, polyhistidine, water-soluble polyethyleneimines, polyamines, polyvinylamines, polyamineamides, polyacrylamides, and mixtures thereof.
- 11. A method according to claim 10 which is conducted in the presence of a cellulase enzyme.
- 12. A method according to claim 8 which is conducted in the presence of an ester-derived cationic softener selected from the group consisting of compounds having the formula (I) and (II), below: wherein Q is —O—C(O)— or —C(O)—O— or —O—C(O)—O— or —NR4—C(O)— or —C(O)—NR4—; or mixtures thereof; R1 is (CH2)n—Q—T2 or T3; R2 is (CH2)m—Q—T4 or T5 or R3; R3 is C1-C4 alkyl or C1-C4 hydroxyalkyl or H; R4 is H or C1-C4 alkyl or C1-C4 hydroxyalkyl; T1, T2, T3, T4, T5 are the same or different C11-C22 alkyl or alkenyl group; n and m are integers from 1 to 4; and X− is a softener-compatible anion.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation of our application Ser. No. 08/753,167, filed Nov. 21, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,686,376, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/372,068, filed Jan. 12, 1995, now abandoned.
US Referenced Citations (11)
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
185427 |
Jun 1986 |
EP |
Continuations (2)
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Number |
Date |
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Parent |
08/753167 |
Nov 1996 |
US |
Child |
08/882924 |
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US |
Parent |
08/372068 |
Jan 1995 |
US |
Child |
08/753167 |
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US |