US 7,476,258 B2
	Method of laundry washing
Paul Johan Birker, Vlaardingen (Netherlands); Philippus Comelis Van Der Hoeven, Vlaardingen (Netherlands); Cornelis Gerhard Van Kralingen, Vlaardingen (Netherlands); and Pieter Broer Van Der Weg, Vlaardingen (Netherlands)
Assigned to Unilever Home & Personal Care USA, division of Conopco, Inc., Greenwich, Conn. (US)
Filed on Dec. 09, 2004, as Appl. No. 11/8,734.
Claims priority of application No. 03078920 (EP), filed on Dec. 11, 2003; and application No. 04077791 (EP), filed on Oct. 08, 2004.
Prior Publication US 2005/0148482 A1, Jul. 07, 2005
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. D06L 1/00 (2006.01); D06L 1/12 (2006.01)

U.S. Cl. 8—137

8 Claims

1. A method of washing a laundry fabric in a wash liquor in a washing machine, said wash liquor containing surfactant material, wherein during a single wash cycle no more than 10% by weight of the wash liquor is drained from the washing machine, wherein said method comprises the step of varying the ionic strength of the wash liquor over at least 10% of the duration of the wash cycle by addition of one or more ionic ingredients to the wash liquor, and wherein the lowest ionic strength of the wash liquor is from 0.001 to 0.06 M and the highest ionic strength of the wash liquor is from 0.01 to 0.5 M; wherein said one or more ionic ingredients added to vary ionic strength consists of sodium, potassium, ammonium or magnesium salts of sulphate, natural soaps or mixtures thereof.