SE1750157A1 - Stain remover kit - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention describes a kit comprising a stain remover applicator and a composition intended for removing or discharging an organic colorant or stain, wherein said composition comprises a solvent which dissolves a lipophilic phase and an active solution comprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and/or free fatty acids, and wherein the content of free fatty acids in the active solution is a maximum of 25 wt% of the total of the active solution.

Description

STAIN REIVIOVER KIT Field of the invention The present invention relates to a stain remover kit comprising anapplicator and a stain remover composition.Technical Background There are existing stain removers today. One such is described inWO2008/139341. ln WO2008/139341 there is disclosed a composition fordischarging an organic co|orant or stain, wherein the composition comprisesan aqueous or other polar solvent-based solution containing about 0.01 °/> toabout 95% by volume of a unsaturated aliphatic acid or ester, said aliphaticacid or ester molecule having a carbon chain of at least Cs or greater, andmore than one carbon-carbon double bond. l\/loreover, there are also several existing stain-removing wipes forclothing. For example, WO9902769, EPO679181 and DE2708931 all disclosedifferent types of wet tissues.

The present invention is directed to a stain remover which is easy touse, which provides very good results in comparison to the existing stainremovers and which is inexpensive to produce. Furthermore, the stainremover according to the present invention is intended for removing inter aliatough cosmetic stains, such as those of lipstick or cream foundation. This ise.g. not possible with a sufficient result with the wet tissues disclosed in thedocuments above.

Summarv of the invention The stated purpose above is achieved by a kit comprising a stainremover applicator and a composition intended for removing or dischargingan organic co|orant or stain, said composition comprising: - a solvent which dissolves a lipophilic phase; and - an active solution comprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and/orfree fatty acids; wherein the content of free fatty acids in the active solution is a maximum of 25 wt% of the total of the active solution. 2The stain remover applicator according to the present invention may for instance be in the form of a napkin or pad.

The triglycerides or glycerine esters are the active components of thecomposition according to the present invention. Furthermore, the triglyceridesare the most interesting ones as they are present more frequently totallynatural. The composition according to the present invention may compriseglycerine esters, however active solutions only comprising these are not afocus according to the present invention.

The free fatty acids (ffa), however, are not an active ingredientaccording to the present invention, and should be regarded as impurities. lngeneral it is desirable to suppress the content of free fatty acids according tothe present invention. The oil or fat, i.e. triglyceride source, used affects thelevel of ffa. l\/loreover, if the oil is a more or less crude oil or if it has beenrefined, e.g. also deodorized, is of great importance for the level of ffa. ln thecase of refined oils, then the level of ffa is normally below 10 wt°/>, even below5 wt°/-.~, which is a limit value for oils used in the food industry. Such levels offfa is totally possible according to the present invention, in many cases alsopreferred, but also oils having a higher level of ffa, such as up to 25 wt% arepossible according to the invention. Therefore, according to one specificembodiment of the present invention the content of free fatty acids in theactive solution is a maximum of 10 wt% of the total of the active solution.According to yet another embodiment, the content of free fatty acids in theactive solution is a maximum of 5 wt% of the total of the active solution.

Regardless, the oil should be liquid at room temperature, at least afteradmixing of the oil into the solvent in the composition so that the entirecomposition is liquid at room temperature. ln relation to the above it may further be said that there may of coursebe other impurities present in the active solution besides the free fatty acids.The important feature is that none of these impurity components have arelevant colorant or otherwise staining effect. l\/loreover, the composition according to the present invention may alsocomprise other components, admixed or naturally present in the oil. Possibleadditives may be components which have a target, such as affecting a 3property, inter alia for increasing the user-friendliness of the composition.

Some possible examples are emulsifiers, gelatinizing agents, etc. etc.l\/loreover, also other types of additives are possible, such as inter alia smell-neutralizing agents, e.g. oils of terpene type, such as lemon oil (containinglimonene). Furthermore, lemon juice having high acidity may also becontained and may provide for some added stain removing effect. l\/loreover,also other additives may be present. One example is bicarbonate. Havingbicarbonate in the composition according to the present invention may be ofinterest when removing stains from cotton clothing. Furthermore,combinations of different additives, such as e.g. bicarbonate and lemon juice,may be of interest to contain in the composition according to the presentinvention. Such combinations may give enhanced properties.

As is notable from above, the composition according to the presentinvention comprises an active solution comprising triglycerides and/orglycerine esters. The triglycerides and/or glycerine esters function as theactive components according to the present invention. ln WO2008/139341,however, the composition comprises an unsaturated aliphatic acid or ester,said aliphatic acid or ester molecule having a carbon chain of at least G8 orgreater, and more than one carbon-carbon double bond, as the activecomponent. l\/loreover, as stated on page 5 of WO2008/139341 it is believedthat unsaturated aliphatic acid molecules with longer carbon chains (at least 8carbon or longer) and having more than one carbon-carbon double bond (i.e.at least two carbon-carbon double bonds, desirably three or more) containedwithin the chain are effective to discharge colorants. Saturated fatty acids orshort chain unsaturated acids (< C8), on the other hand, do not dischargecolorants. To be more specific multiple double bonds per chain are preferred,therefore it is believed that the double bonds are involved with the colourdischarge mechanism. As is notable from below, the active solution accordingto the present invention has a different form of composition, and points awayfrom the teachings of WO2008/139341. First of all, the active solutionaccording to the present invention is based on triglycerides and/or glycerineesters, however free fatty acids are not an essential component. Secondly,the actual fatty acids in the triglycerides according to the present invention are 4preferably saturated or monounsaturated, i.e. not polyunsaturated as is preferable according to WO2008/139341. ln this context it should of coursebe said that also triglycerides having polyunsaturated fatty acids are part ofthe present invention, however preferably these are not present in a greateramount comparatively to saturated or monounsaturated fatty acids.

Specific embodiments of the invention Some specific embodiments of the present invention are presentedbelow.

According to one specific embodiment, at least 5 wt% of the activesolution is triglycerides, glycerine esters and/or free fatty acids havingmonounsaturated and/or saturated fatty acid chains. Also this is a cleardifference between the present invention and WO2008/139341, as explainedabove.

Preferably, the amount of monounsaturated and/or saturated fatty acidchains is higher according to the present invention. Therefore, according toone embodiment of the present invention, at least 25 wt% of the activesolution is triglycerides, glycerine esters and/or free fatty acids havingmonounsaturated and/or saturated fatty acid chains. According to yet anotherembodiment, at least 50 wt% of the active solution is triglycerides, glycerineesters and/or free fatty acids having monounsaturated and/or saturated fattyacid chains.

Different solvents may be used according to the present invention. Thekey feature is related to a solvent being able to dissolve the lipophilic phaseso that the active solution is dissolved in the solvent. According to oneembodiment, the solvent is an organic solvent. According to yet anotherembodiment, the solvent is a polar solvent, such as a polar and organicsolvent. Some possible examples are toluene, hexane or acetone. Accordingto one specific embodiment of particular interest according to the invention,the solvent comprises at least one alcohol, such as methanol, ethanol,propanol, etc. According to yet another specific embodiment of particularinterest according to the invention, the solvent comprises at least one alcoholand where the at least one alcohol is any form of ethanol or propanol, such asethanol 96% or isopropanol. An alcohol solvent may act as a volatile carrier 5which further enhances the wetting of the fabric and stain and as such provides further stain removing effect.

Also the amount of active solution in relation to solvent is relevantaccording to the present invention. According to one specific embodiment ofthe present invention, the content of active solution comprising triglyceridesand/or glycerine esters, and impurities therein, is in the range of from 5 to 75vol% of the total. According to yet another embodiment, the content of activesolution comprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and impuritiestherein, is in the range of from 5 to 60 vol% of the total, such as preferablyfrom 5 to 50 vol°/>, as may be seen from the example below. According to yeta further embodiment of particular interest, the content of active solutioncomprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and impurities therein, is inthe range of from 5 to 40 vol% of the total.

Furthermore, also the type of oil and its fatty acid length are relevant.According to one embodiment, at least 80% of the triglycerides and/or freefatty acids have fatty acid chains with 18 carbons atoms (C18) or less. Asmay be seen from the example below, when rapeseed oil having a high levelof C18 is used, then the concentration of oil in relation to solvent should belower when being compared to oils having shorter fatty acid chains, such ase.g. coconut oil with a high level of C12. lt should further be said that it ispreferred to use mixtures where the level of fatty acids having fatty acidchains with 18 carbons atoms (C18) or less, such as high levels of C8-C12, isconsiderably above 80% of the triglycerides and/or free fatty acids in total.According to one specific embodiment, at least 80% of the triglycerides and/orfree fatty acids have fatty acid chains with 12 carbons atoms (C12) or less.Furthermore, according to yet another specific embodiment of particularinterest, at least 80% of the triglycerides and/or free fatty acids have fatty acidchains with 8-12 carbons atoms (C8-C12) or less, such as high levels of l\/ICT(medium chain triglycerides) which have fatty acid chains with C10 or less.According to one specific embodiment, the active solution comprises acoconut derived oil and/or another oil rich in caprylic (C8) and capric (C10)fatty acid triglycerides. According to another embodiment, the solvent isisopropanol and the active solution comprises coconut oil and/or miglyol®. 6I\/|ig|yo|® oils are oils rich in caprylic (C8) and capric (C10) fatty acid triglycerides. l\/loreover, coconut oil used may be a coconut oil with a highlevel of l\/ICT, such as coconut oil with up to 93% l\/lCTs or the like.

According to one specific embodiment there is provided the use of a kitcomprising a stain remover applicator, such as a napkin or pad, and acomposition according to the present invention. The napkins or padsaccording to the present invention may be wetted or dipped in thecomposition. The napkins or pads may be delivered as wetted napkins orpads or in a kit together with the composition separately so that the user dipsthe napkin or pad in the composition before removing a stain by rubbing thesame. l\/loreover, the stain remover applicator, such as napkin or pad,according to the present invention may be used for different stain types, andis e.g. very effective when removing cosmetic stains on clothing.ln EP 1 982 689 there is disclosed a mild and gentle antimicrobially active wetwipe comprising a substrate and a lotion wherein the pH ranges from 2.5 to5.4, for use in a personal cleansing product. This wipe is intended to be usedon human skin and is not a stain remover napkin. The stain removerapplicator according to the present, however, is a product to be used forremoving stains on fabrics and not to be used directly on humanskin.Example A light, beige coloured rayon fabric, was used as the substrate toinvestigate some different stain remover compositions according to thepresent invention.

The following oil substances were tested as the active solution: A - Fiapeseed oil having 8% unsaturated fats, 62% monounsaturated fats and30% polyunsaturated fats B - I\/|ig|yo|® 812 C - l\/ICT coconut oil Crepe paper was cut into 30 x (19 x 13.5 cm) pieces and folded intosmall pads.

The fabric was marked A-5°/-.~, A-10°/>, A-20°/>, B-5°/> and so on, referring to the substance and the percentage of oil used in the composition. 7 A high quality, red lipstick (stain) was applied under each mark in the following way: the lipstick was first applied onto a fingertip and then onto the fabric using two short strokes.

Each pad was soaked in 3 ml of the oil/alcohol cleaning solution 5 according to the invention, and applied to the stain using 90 strokes, outward in all directions, working from the damp to the dry area to prevent the natural occurrence of rings upon the alcohol evaporating.

The results were assessed and compared immediately and then again after 24 hours to identify possible occurrence of fatty rings.

IPA (isopropanol) Oil vol% A - rapeseed oil B - miglyol® C - MCT coconut oil2.35 ml 5% (0.15m|) 4 4,5 4,52.7 ml 10% (0.3m|) 3 4,5 52.4 m| 20% (0.5m|) 3 5 4,52.1 ml 30% (0.9m|) 2 4,5 31.3 ml 40% (1 .2m|) 1 4,5 31.5 ml 50% (1 .5m|) 1 4 21.2 ml 60% (1 .3m|) 1 3 20.9 ml 70% (2.1m|) 2 20.6 ml 30% (2.4m|) 1 10.3 ml 90% (2.7m|) 1 1Table 1. Results of the testThe results above are based on a scale of 1-5 where 5 is best and - isno effect or stain made worse.Some of the observations may be listed as follows:15 - All active oil solutions gave a sufficient result in low concentrations(below 20% of oil);- All active oil solutions leave a fatty ring when the oil concentration is40% or more, however rapeseed leaves the most visible fatty ringand miglyol® does not leave an as visible fatty ring as the other two20 oils; - A content of active solution in the range of from 5 to 40 vol% is preferable, a content of from 5 to 30 vol°/>, such as from 10 to 30 vol% is even more preferred, at least when the solvent IPA is used; 8- Both l\/ICT coconut oil and mig|yo|® is clearly more effective than rapeseed oil; - ln IPA, mig|yo|® gave the best result; and - The best test results were achieved with B20°/> (2.4 ml IPA and 0.6ml mig|yo|®). lt may further be said that if the oil ratio was 70% or more, the lipstickwas no longer absorbed into the tissue, but instead pushed through the fabric.This presents an issue where there is an under-layer fabric, as the underlayer will then be stained by the lipstick instead. l\/loreover, the way the padsare folded seem to matter. ln general, the results above also show that a solution having highlevels of short fatty acid chain triglycerides (e.g. C8-C10) and/or triglycerideswhich also have a high level of unsaturated or monounsaturated fatty acidstherein are effective as the active solution in a stain remover compositionaccording to the present invention, especially in the concentration of from 5 to40% of active solution in relation to alcohol (lPA).Conclusions The present invention relates to a stain removing composition which isuseful to remove tipetick and other ooerrtetioe frorn otothing. Without weehirig,the stain remover according to the present invention can rerriove stains frorrrciothing. The products evaiiebte today, do not remove the toogheet of stains,which ere steihs of tipstick. When clothes get soiled by tough oil or wax-basedstains such as lipstick, it is often difficult to efficiently remove the stains fromthe fabric vvithout the Lise of oieening agents thet either gives oft a strong orpurrgent entett which ntay be very diettirbirig to the iridiviotrai end theertvironrhent, or ieaves visible traces of the cleaning agent used, in whichadditional stains may appear on the surface in the form of rings or darkenedareas. Further, to rernove highty oigmenteo aho fatty stains such es iipstickfront ciottting, the need for additiohai vtfashihg in e inaohirre or dry cteanirig ieetrrioet ehvevs necessary.

The stain remover composition according to the present invention iseffective for cieehing tough coernetic stains, iipetick in particuter, frorn 9ciething, withdut need ter further vvashing. A Wide variety ef stains can be cieaned using the cernpesition ef the present inveritien. These inciude,without iimitatiert, these caused by Foods, beverages, edit/dirt stains and otherdit, fat, grease and Wax-based stains (eg, candte vvax, cttevving gem, edibieeits and fatty depcsits from human svveat). Furthermore, a wide variety efsurfaces can aise be cieaned. These inciiide, without tirnitatien, hard surfaces(eg. stainiess steei, vveeden fteers, gtass vvihdevvs, pcrceiain, piastics) andother surfaces.

The ccmpcsitien according to the present invention cernprises asolvent which dissolves a Iipophilic phase and an active solution comprisingtriglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and also impurities, such as free fattyacids, up to a certain level. l\/loreover, also additives may be contained. Forinstance, a smell-neutralizing agent may be contained in the composition forpreventing any unpleasant odour from spreading. The ingredients used aresafe for both the individual and the environment. The garment can be wornduring and after treatment with the invention and does not require furtherwashing in order to remove the stain. The fact that the cleaning formulationdries quickly makes it an instant and more efficient alternative to traditionallipstick stain removal procedures.

Claims (13)

Claims

1. A kit comprising a stain remover applicator and a composition intended forremoving or discharging an organic colorant or stain, said compositioncomprising: - a solvent which dissolves a Iipophilic phase; and - an active solution comprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and/orfree fatty acids; wherein the content of free fatty acids in the active solution is a maximum of25 wt% of the total of the active solution.

2. A kit according to claim 1, wherein at least 5 wt% of the active solution istriglycerides, glycerine esters and/or free fatty acids having monounsaturatedand/or saturated fatty acid chains.

3. A kit according to claim 2, wherein at least 50 wt% of the active solution istriglycerides, glycerine esters and/or free fatty acids having monounsaturatedand/or saturated fatty acid chains.

4. A kit according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the solvent comprises at least one alcohol.

5. A kit according to claim 4, wherein the at least one alcohol is any form of ethanol or propanol.

6. A kit according to any of claims 1-5, wherein the content of active solutioncomprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and impurities therein, is inthe range of from 5 to 75 vol°/-.~ of the total.

7. A kit according to any of claims 1-6, wherein the content of active solutioncomprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and impurities therein, is inthe range of from 5 to 60 vol°/-.~ of the total. 11

8. A kit according to any of claims 1-7, wherein the content of active solutioncomprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and impurities therein, is inthe range of from 5 to 40 vol°/-.~ of the total.

9. A kit according to any of claims 1-8, wherein at least 80% of thetriglycerides and/or free fatty acids have fatty acid chains with 18 carbons atoms (G18) or less.

10. A kit according to any of claims 1-9, wherein at least 80% of thetriglycerides and/or free fatty acids have fatty acid chains with 12 carbons atoms (G12) or less.

11. A kit according to any of claims 1-10, wherein at least 80% of thetriglycerides and/or free fatty acids have fatty acid chains with 8-12 carbonsatoms (G8-G12) or less.

12. A kit according to any of claims 1-11, comprising a coconut derived oiland/or another oil being rich in caprylic (G8) and capric (G10) fatty acid triglycerides.

13. Use of a kit comprising a stain remover applicator and a compositionintended for removing or discharging an organic colorant or stain, saidcomposition comprising: - a solvent which dissolves a lipophilic phase; and - an active solution comprising triglycerides and/or glycerine esters, and/orfree fatty acids; wherein the content of free fatty acids in the active solution is a maximum of25 wt% of the total of the active solution.