[griffin]

Hi,

I have been making my own fabric softener, but the only problem I am having is keeping the scent on the clothes. When the clothes come out of the wash there is a scent, but once it is finished drying the scent either is very low or disappears. I have been experimenting with different amounts of softener to see if that would work but I get the same results. I decided to come on this board to understand the chemistry behind what is happening.

The ingredients I use are:
1. Essential oil for scent
2. Behentrimonium methosulfate
3. Cetyl alcohol
4. Butylene glycol

I would like to know:
1. What makes scent stay on clothes?
2. What makes scent disappear once heat is applied?
3. Are the ingredients I am using currently effecting the amount of scent that can stay on the clothes?

I am not a chemistry expert so any insights would be appreciated.

[Borek]

If you can smell it, it means molecules are in the air. If they are in the air, that means they left the fabric.

In other words - it can't be smelly for ever.

[griffin]

If you can smell it, it means molecules are in the air. If they are in the air, that means they left the fabric.

In other words - it can't be smelly for ever.

When I say smell it I mean when I put the clothes towards my nose you can smell the scent or in other words the scent is stronger.

[Arkcon]

I would suspect natural essential oils are decomposed by the heat of the dryer, or are too weakly scented to compare with synthetic fragrance oils.

[griffin]

I would suspect natural essential oils are decomposed by the heat of the dryer, or are too weakly scented to compare with synthetic fragrance oils.

Why does heat cause the break down?

[Corribus]

It could be a lot of things. For instance, commercial fabric softeners contain powerful emulsifiers and emulsion stabilizers that help form (and maintain) microemulsions (and, possibly, even nanoemulsions), that can be more easily absorbed into fibers than weaker. In this way, scent molecules, trapped in the emulsions, have stronger adsorption to fibers and thus can be released more slowly. In your formulation, a far higher proportion of essential oils could be vaporized due to heat of the dryer because they are in a free state - not adsorbed to clothes fibers. Another possibility is that your natural essential oils may be oxidized much more rapidly than whatever synthetic scents are used in commercial fabric softeners, especially in the high heat, high humidity environment of the dryer chamber. But I suspect it has more to do with emulsion stability and coarseness than anything else. There's a reason commercial detergents and so forth perform much better than most home versions. They have a lot of chemicals in them that perform specific chemical functions very efficiently.

[griffin]

It could be a lot of things. For instance, commercial fabric softeners contain powerful emulsifiers and emulsion stabilizers that help form (and maintain) microemulsions (and, possibly, even nanoemulsions), that can be more easily absorbed into fibers than weaker. In this way, scent molecules, trapped in the emulsions, have stronger adsorption to fibers and thus can be released more slowly. In your formulation, a far higher proportion of essential oils could be vaporized due to heat of the dryer because they are in a free state - not adsorbed to clothes fibers. Another possibility is that your natural essential oils may be oxidized much more rapidly than whatever synthetic scents are used in commercial fabric softeners, especially in the high heat, high humidity environment of the dryer chamber. But I suspect it has more to do with emulsion stability and coarseness than anything else. There's a reason commercial detergents and so forth perform much better than most home versions. They have a lot of chemicals in them that perform specific chemical functions very efficiently.

Thanks for your reply. I might move to synthetic scent and see if that makes a difference. Are emulsifiers something that can be purchased or created?