Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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P HP/sm/WC-lEU
CLEANING PRODUCT
The present invention relates to a cleaning product
such as a cleaning cloth, for instance a floor cleaner
and a cleaning glove, based on a textile structure and
more particularly to a cleaning product with a textile
structure in which substantially no cleaning products
such as soaps, emulsifiers, solvents (anti-)foaming
agents and the like are included in order to provide or
enhance the product cleaning properties. The textile
structure provides the product with its cleaning proper-
ties.
The textile structure, such as a knitted material,woven material, non-woven or brush, comprises fibres
which are cut on at least one side of the structure,
whereby microfibres are formed protruding from this side
which provide the textile structure with the cleaning
properties.
Such cleaning products can be used in the household,
in the sauna, the office and the workplace to clean skin,
objects, tools and floors. Depending on the intensity of
use the cleaning product retains its cleaning action for
a long period and can be washed regularly, for example
five to ten times. It has nevertheless been established
that the appreciation of the cleaning product and its
cleaning action decrease due to colour change, odour
formation and accumulation of alien material.
The present invention has for its object to change
the cleaning product such that the appreciation increases
and the above described undesired effects are avoided as
far as possible, while there is substantially no adverse
effect on the cleaning properties, let alone that it is
required that additional means must be added to the
finished cleaning product by the user.
It has been found that the above described phenomena
can be traced back to an undesired bacteria/mould growth -
in the textile structure, wherein the present invention
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is based on steps which prevent or avoid such a bacte-
ria/mould growth.
This is achieved according to the invention with a
cleaning product according to the invention for cleaning
contaminated surfaces comprlsing a textile structure of
fibres, wherein fibres are provided with an agent with
biocidal action. Providing the fibres with the biocidal
agent achieves that bacteria/mould accumulating in the
vicinity of the fibres are inhibited in their growth and
possibly even killed.
Understood by a biocidal agent is an agent which
inhibits the growth of and/or kills bacteria/mould. Not
every biocidal agent can be used since according to the
invention it is required that the biocidal agent is
incorporated into or fixed on the textile structure.
Use can for instance be made of a biocidal metal or
metal compound such as water-insoluble metal salts.
Suitable metals comprise copper, copper powder and copper
salts.
The quantity of biocidal agent for adding to the
textile structure depends on the application of the
cleaning product, the type of fibre of the textile struc-
ture and the nature of the biocidal agent per se. A
quantity of biocidal agent in the textile structure is
25 usually sufficient of about 0.001-10~ by weight, prefera-
bly 0.020-7~ by weight, in general 0.050-5~ by weight.
For many applications it may only be necessary for the
biocidal agent to be present in a part of the fibres
which then provide the biocidal action to the whole of
the textile structure into which they are woven or knit-
ted.
According to a first embodiment the biocidal agent
can be incorporated in the fibres, wherein they are
incorporated in the matrix of the fibres. In this case
the biocidal agent can be released on the surface through
wear of the fibres and be transferred to the cleaned
surface. According to another embodiment the biocidal
agent can be arranged on the surface of the fibres in
substantially irreversible manner physically or chemical-
ly, whereby these fibres are provided with a coating withthe biocidal agent.
In the case the biocidal agent is incorporated in
the fibre matrix it is recommended that the biocidal
agent is added during the formation (extrusion/spinning)
of the fibres (synthetic fibres) or during the prepara-
tion of the fibres (natural fibres). In the case the
surface is coated the biocidal agent can be applied by
means of a physical process or coated thereon via an
immersion in a solution containing the biocidal agent.
It is self-evident that the fibres which are provid-
ed with the biocidal agent do not have to have the same
chemical composition as the fibres used to form the
textile structure. Fibres which are suitable for incorpo-
rating the biocidal agent are for example polyesterfibres, nylon fibres, acryl fibres and cotton fibres,
wool fibres and cellulose fibres insofar as they can be
bonded to the biocidal agent physically or chemically in :
substantially irreversible manner. It is possible to use
~pecifically cleaning fibres and specifically biocidal
fibres.
An optimum cleaning product is obtained when the
textile structure comprises microfibres protruding from
the textile structure and contains substantially no
cleaning agent. For many textile structures which are
used in cleaning under moist or wet conditions the draw-
back occurs that water drips from the cleaning product
and can come into contact with the user. Under these
conditions it is recommended that the textile structure
comprises water-retaining fibres whereby this dripping of
liquid out of the cleaning product is substantially
avoided.
The cleaning product can have a textile structure
based on a woven or knitted material. A woven material
has a very rigid structure in the direction of the warp
and weft threads and is therefore suitable for products
whose dimensional stability is a requirement, such as
floor cleaners and cleaning gloves. In the case the
cleaning product has one or more curved forms it is
recommended that the textile structure consists of a
knitted material, the looped threads of which are suit-
able for absorbing the stresses at the position of the
curve. For many applications there is the option that the
cleaning product consists of a textile structure on the
basis o~ a woven and/or knitted material. Very suitable
cleaning products according to the invention take the
form of a floor cleaner which can be arranged on a floor
plate operated by a handle or a cleaning glove into which
the user places his hand and carries out the cleaning
operations on the object with the hand. Very many biocid-
al agents can be used for the cleaning product according
to the invention insofar as they do not damage the health
of the user and his surroundings. A suitable group of
biocidal agents is formed by quaternary ammonium com-
pounds which are currently applied in disinfectants.These agents can be applied by immersion to the fibres
for inclusion in the fibre structure or the textile
structure can be immersed integrally therein. These
compounds adhere to the fibre surface and leach at a very
low speed. The leaching speed can be further slowed by
increasing the cohesion to the fibres or by providing the
biocidal agent with a functional group which can be -.
covalently bonded to fibre material.
Another group of biocidal agents is formed by metal
ions and metal particles with biocide activity (for
instance copper), which metals are bonded substantially
irreversibly to the fibres in an inorganic or organic
compound/complex; the metal particles are for instance
incorporated in the fibre matrix and are released gradu-
ally during fibre wear.
Understood by fibres are threads, yarns and the likewhich can consist of monofilaments and multifilarnents,
wherein the biocidal agent can be arranged on the fibre
itself or on its filament, or can be enclosed in the
fibre matrix or between the fibre filaments.
Mentioned and other features of the cleaning prod-
ucts according to the invention will be further elucidat-
ed hereinafter with reference to a number of non-limita-
tive embodiments relating to the manufacture of cleaning
products according to the invention. These examples are
only given by way of elucidation without the invention
being limited thereto.
Example 1
A textile structure in the form of a weave is woven
from polyester fibres and the woven material is cut on
one side, thereby resulting in microfibres protruding on
this side. This textile structure in the form of a strip
is guided through an immersion liquid containing a qua~
ternary ammonium compound such as alkyldimethylbenzyl
ammoniumchloride. The alkyl group preferably has a very
long carbon chain whereby the cohesion to the polyester
fibre surface is high. Dodigen 226 (trademark Hoechst)
can for instance be used in a solution of 3-5~ by weight.
The manufactured cleaning product displays a good
biocidal action which decreases gradually with prolonged
use and interim washing. However, the duration of use due
to the non-occurrence of colour change and odour forma-
tion as well as accumulation of alien material is consid-
erably lengthened.
Example 2
Acryl fibres or nylon fibres are impregnated by
corona discharge with copper sulphide which is chemically
adhered to the fibre surface. These acryl and nylon
fibres are subsequently co-knitted in the manufacture of
a textile structure based on polyester fibres, whereafter
the textile structure is further processed as according
to example 1 so as to obtain microfibres on this side.
The acryl or nylon fibres form only 0.005 to 0.5~ by ~;
weight of the textile structure while an excellent,
substantially permanent biocidal action is obtained.
Exam~le 3
During weaving of a textile structure from polyester
fibres, fibres are also interwoven whereof the fibre
matrix is provided with a biocidal agent, for instance a
sodium aluminosilicate incorporated in the matrix to
which copper is added (Diolen, trademark Akzo). These
biocidal fibres are interwoven in a quantity by weight of
for instance 0.01-10 % by weight, such as 0.2-8~ by
weight, in particular 0.3-5~ by weight of the textile
structure. Viscose fibres are further interwoven which
provide the textile structure with an increased water-
retaining capacity.
Example 4
A polyethylene master-batch is co-extruded with
copper powder (0.1-100 ~m) such that the obtained extru-
date contains copper (grains) in a quantity by weight of
for example 5-30~ by weight.
A co-extrusion of the copper extrudate subsequently
takes place with polyethylene whereby fibres are spun
which contain copper as biocide in a concentration by
weight of 0.1-3~ by weight.
Depending on the intended purpose a cleaning product
can be woven which contains fibres containing only copper
particles or a mixture of copper particle-containing
fibres and other polyester fibres. It is moreover possi-
ble to apply instead of polyester fibres other fibres,
for example water-absorbing natural fibres.
In the case the fibres contain a high concentration
of copper particles it is possible to use typical clean-
ing fibres as additional fibres, whereby the cleaningaction is substantially unaffected by the addition.
An advantage of this embodiment is that the metal
particles are originally present in the matrix and are
released by wear of the fibre during the cleaning of
surfaces and are partly transferred to the cleaned sur-
face, thereby resulting in a preventive cleaning. `
Thus is created a cleaning product with an outstand-
ing biocidal action, while the cleaning properties are
substantially not essentially changed, and this cleaning
product can in fact be used until the textile structure
has degenerated due to wear.
The cleaning product according to example 1 can
preferably be applied in a floor cleaner, while the
cleaning products of examples 2 and 3 can also be applied
in the cleaning gloves. The cleaning product according to
example 4 is suitable for both applications.
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