Hygiene chemicals specialist Christeyns has developed an innovative laundry product soon to be available for commercial laundries in the UK market.

Towel stain sample – left with Smart Shield and right, without

The hotel and leisure industry demands the highest levels of cleanliness and hygiene and generates millions of tonnes of laundry every week in the UK alone. Towels, bedding and other linen are subject to a variety of substances that can cause stains and discolouration.

Some are more easily treatable that others. Theoretically, shower gels and shampoos don’t come into direct contact with textiles but the protective film in many of these products remains on the skin and hair and is partially rubbed off when towelling, causing difficult to remove staining.

It is the polyquaternium-7 contained in the protective film of many personal hygiene products that leads to this textile staining. According to research carried out by Christeyns, 30 per cent of the hair and skin products available in the hotel market contain polyquaternium-7.

Polyquaternium-7 is transparent and colourless which makes it difficult for laundries to spot prior to washing. But during the wash cycle it acts as a dirt magnet, pulling in the dirt, dust and dye particles resulting in dark stains on the washed textiles. Due to the very strong bond between the polyquaternium-film and the dirt, it is almost impossible to remove the stains. Prevention, therefore, is the best cure.

The best approach would be for hotels to avoid the use of products that contain polyquaternium but in gyms and other facilities where customers use their own products, this is practically impossible.

To tackle this problem, Christeyns has developed a special formula known as Smart Shield which can be dosed as an additive in the pre-wash. Smart Shield neutralises the positive charge of the polyquaternium molecule thus preventing the attraction of the negatively charged dirt particles, which cause the staining.

Smart Shield is easily dosed pre-wash at 2ml/kg and can be used with all types of washing detergent and wash processes. The prevention of dark staining also helps prolong the life of the textiles, reduces rewash and helps provide brighter colours.

“Smart Shield is laundry science at its best,” comments Justin Kerslake, operations director. “It provides a solution for an issue that is common amongst our customers and leads to a reduction in the wasteful discarding of otherwise good linens.”

Widely available in Europe, via Christeyns NV, the product is soon to be launched into the UK market and can be trialled on request.