Particulate fabric softening composition, fabric softening detergent useful for hand washing laundry and process for manufacture and use thereof

A process for improving fabric softening properties of a particulate detergent composition to produce a composition suitable for hand washing laundry, which comprises mixing with such detergent composition a total amount from 10 to 40% thereof of swelling bentonite and water insoluble soap selected from the group consisting of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, barium and zinc soaps of fatty acids of 8 to 20 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof, with the bentonite:soap proportion being in the range of 1:1.5 to 40:1.

A particulate fabric softening detergent composition, suitable for hand washing laundry, comprising from 5 to 35% of synthetic organic detergent selected from the group consisting of anionic and nonionic detergents, 5 to 75% of builder salt for the detergent, 2 to 30% of bentonite and 0.5 to 20% of a water insoluble soap selected from the group consisting of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, barium and zinc soaps of fatty acids of 8 to 20 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof.

A bar or cake of fabric softening detergent composition suitable for hand washing laundry comprising a particulate fabric softening detergent composition comprising from 5 to 35% of synthetic organic detergent selected from the group consisting of anionic and nonionic detergents, 5 to 75% of builder salt for the detergent, 2 to 30% of bentonite and 0.5 to 20% of a water insoluble soap selected from the group consisting of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, barium and zinc soaps of fatty acids of 8 to 20 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof.

A process for making a composition which is useful for increasing fabric softening action of detergent compositions to make compositions suitable for hand washing laundry which comprises spraying an aqueous solution of a binder onto moving surfaces of a mixture of finely divided bentonite and finely divided water insoluble soap selected from the group consisting of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, barium and zinc soaps of fatty acids of 8 to 20 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof, to produce agglomerates thereof of particle sizes in the Nos. 10 to 100 range, U.S. Sieve Series.

A process for washing and softening laundry which comprises washing such laundry in wash water containing a built heavy duty synthetic organic detergent composition, suitable for hand washing laundry, at a concentration in the range of 0.05 to 1.0%, exclusive of any bentonite and insoluble soap present in it, about 0.005 to 0.3% of bentonite and 0.001 to 0.2% of a water insoluble soap selected from the group consisting of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, barium and zinc soaps of fatty acids of 8 to 20 carbon atoms, and mixtures thereof.

A process for washing and softening laundry which comprises washing such laundry in wash water containing a built heavy duty synthetic organic detergent at a concentration in the range of 0.05 to 1.0%, exclusive of any bentonite present in it and exclusive of any heavy metal salt and soluble soap in stoichiometric proportions for producing a water insoluble soap on reaction thereof, about 0.005 to 0.3% of bentonite, and water soluble soap and metal salt reacted therewith in sufficient quantity to produce about 0.001 to 0.2% of water insoluble soap, wherein the metal of such soap is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, calcium, magnesium, barium, zinc and mixtures thereof and the soluble soap is a soap of a fatty acid or fatty acid mixture of 8 to 20 carbon atoms.