Detergency evaluation of non-ionic surfactant Dehypon® LS54 for textile conservation wet cleaning

Dehypon (R) LS45 is a non-ionic surfactant commonly used by UK-based textile conservators, however it has a very low cloud point of 20 degrees C which can be problematic during wet cleaning. The research presented here investigated the wet cleaning detergency of an alternative surfactant, Dehypon (R) LS54, which has a higher cloud point of 30 degrees C. Artificially soiled cotton and wool were washed using both surfactants and their respective detergency effects evaluated using colorimetry and visible spectrophotometry. The most effective concentration of Dehypon (R) LS54 for removing soils was found to be 0.3% w/v and its detergency effect was similar to Dehypon (R) LS45 at the same concentration. However, it should be noted that Dehypon (R) LS54 at 0.3% w/v has slightly higher critical micelle concentration value for washing than Dehypon (R) LS45. Dehypon (R) LS54 was also found to be more effective at removing soiling from cotton compared to Dehypon (R) LS45.