Knowing the characteristics of liquid detergent helps us in many ways. It will give us an idea about how to store them. So, does liquid laundry detergent freeze in the first place?
Well, liquid detergents are helpful and can easily get frozen at lower temperatures. However, the freezing level is different for every type of liquid detergent. The level of freezing depends on a lot of factors.
Does Liquid Detergent Freeze?
We already know that liquid laundry detergent can freeze at a lower temperature. Different liquid laundry detergents freeze up to different levels, and some don’t freeze.
An example will make things easier for you to understand. Tide is a famous brand, and many people are aware of it. It has come up with different laundry detergents. So the tide laundry detergent can freeze only to a certain level.
However, the tide pods don’t freeze at all. Even though they both are liquid laundry detergents, their properties are different. The proportion of water in the Tide laundry detergent is much higher than in the Tide pods.
So the ability to freeze any liquid laundry detergent depends on the quantity of water present in it. In simpler words, any liquid laundry detergent with a lot of water will freeze as water can be turned into ice.
The concentration of soap and other components in many liquid laundry detergents is higher. And the presence of other parts prevents them from freezing. You should always store liquid laundry detergents in a warm place so they don’t get exposed to cold temperatures. Cold temperatures can ruin the effectiveness of your liquid laundry detergent.
Can You Use Frozen Liquid Laundry Detergent?
Now, there will be some cases where you will find that your liquid laundry detergent froze even after you make sure it is kept in a warm place.
Due to the surrounding temperature and weather, it might freeze. Now the main question is, can you still use it if the liquid laundry detergent gets frozen.
The answer is yes, and you can use it. And it is safe to use; you don’t have to worry about your clothes getting ruined.
Before using, there is one thing you will have to do. You need to thaw your liquid laundry detergent before using it. The term “thawing” means the process of a frozen substance turning into liquid due to warming it up.
Now you must be thinking about how to thaw liquid detergent. Well, it is pretty simple. All you will have to do is take it out of your storage place into your living room or any other room. Let it sit for some time.
The room temperature will turn it into a liquid again. Don’t even think of using heat on liquid detergent. Some people believe that thawing frozen liquid detergent is adding heat to it. There is a big reason you shouldn’t apply heat to frozen liquid detergent.
When you add warmth to frozen liquid detergent, there will be a sudden change in its temperature. And due to the sudden temperature change, it might explode.
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Components That Can Freeze and Components That Can’t Freeze
Every liquid detergent has some components in common. For instance, water, perfume, and fragrance to give your clothes a pleasant smell to remove any kind of stains from your clothes.
Now some components can freeze, whereas some can’t. Now we will know which part is capable of freezing and which isn’t.
Water
The main component of every liquid laundry detergent in water. Due to the presence of water, liquid detergent freezes. Typically water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, due to soap in the liquid detergent, water tends to freeze at a much lower temperature, which is 12 degrees Fahrenheit.
In most liquid detergents, the proportion of water is at least 10%. When the water in liquid detergent freezes, it gives the detergent a mushy jelly. It will look like the detergent has become more concentrated.
Perfume and Fragrances
We all want a detergent that will give our clothes a pleasant smell. And the perfume and Fragrances present in the detergent can be of two types. One is organic, and another one is chemical-based.
And both styles are resistant to water, so they can’t get frozen in cold temperatures. The higher the proportion of perfume and fragrance in clothes, the better smell you will experience from your clothes after using.
Moreover, the primary purpose of perfumes and Fragrances is to cancel out the strong, pungent smell of surfactants.
Surfactants and Enzymes
Surfactants don’t freeze in cold temperatures. Because surfactants are hydrophobic, which means they repel water. As surfactants don’t freeze, they remain active in cold temperatures.
The purpose of surfactants is to remove tough stains from your clothes without damaging their quality. However, if surfactants get exposed to cold temperatures for longer, they tend to clump and separate.
In this way, they start to lose their effectiveness. Enzymes are also like surfactants. They are protein-based stain removers and don’t freeze in cold temperatures. Around 2% of enzymes are present in every detergent.
How To Store Liquid Laundry Detergent
To avoid your liquid laundry detergent getting frozen, you have to make sure that you are storing it properly. Here are the ways you can follow to ensure your liquid laundry detergent is being stored properly.
Store in a container containing airtight caps
Unlike powdered detergents, liquid laundry detergents are not affected by moisture. But that doesn’t mean that you can allow moisture to come in contact with your liquid laundry detergent. To store your liquid laundry detergent, you will need containers with airtight caps.
You will need airtight caps containers because if your liquid laundry detergent gets exposed, it will get contaminated. Air contains many microbes, and this microbial contamination can get mixed with liquid laundry detergent.
Thus this microbial contamination will get transferred to your clothes. And another reason why we need airtight caps containers is that it is a way to ensure that children can’t get their hands on them, as the liquid detergent can cause serious health issues.
Store the airtight caps containers at idle laundry detergent storage temperature
You must already know that liquid laundry detergent is significantly affected by temperature. This is one of the reasons why you need to keep the detergent at a constant temperature.
For example, you can store the liquid laundry detergent containers in a drawer. Any type of liquid laundry detergent can’t handle both high and low temperatures. Besides, it can handle moisture, so you don’t have to worry about it.
The ideal temperature to store it is between 50 to 77 degrees Fahrenheit or 10 to 25 degrees Celsius. There are many things that can happen if you keep liquid laundry detergent at hot or cold temperatures.
So, if you store them at a high temperature, the active components present in them will destabilize and separate.
Moreover, at such temperatures, the active components won’t get destabilized as a result, and they won’t stick together and separate. In simpler words, your liquid laundry detergent will work perfectly and will be able to remove all the stains present in your clothes.