(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of specific odorants in hypochlorite-containing bleaching agents in order to avoid the unpleasant odor of such agents on human skin, in particular on the hands, as a result of contact with the agent.
Effective cleaning is one of the requirements that influences consumer acceptance of such agents. This requires that agents having broad potential for spot removal be made available, which agents can, for example, remove oily and greasy stains from textiles or from hard surfaces such as floor tiles or wall tiles. In order to meet this requirement, agents containing (inter alia) hypochlorite bleaches have been developed, in which agents the hypochlorite contributes, as a strong oxidizing agent, to the chemical breakdown, destruction, and removal of the stains. A further advantage of using hypochlorite is that it acts as an effective disinfecting agent. One disadvantage that is perceived, however, is that after contact with human skin, which contact necessarily occurs when such agents are used with bare hands and cannot always be avoided even otherwise, for example when gloves are used, an odor occurs that clings to the skin and cannot always be entirely removed even after repeated washing with water.
(2) Description of Related Art, Including Information Disclosed Under 37 C.F.R. Sections 1.97 and 1.98
To remedy this, it has been proposed, for example in European Patent Application EP 439 878, to use a volatile perfume composition.
European Patent Application EP 0 606 707 describes agents that contain a polymer component together with a hypochlorite compound, and that lead to a decrease in unpleasant odors of the agent itself and of surfaces cleaned therewith. This could also be attributed to the high viscosity of said agents, so that compounds that are responsible for the disadvantageous odor are possibly enclosed in vesicles.
In the aforesaid existing art, greater emphasis was therefore placed on avoiding disadvantageous odors of the actual agent and of the surfaces cleaned therewith, and less attention was paid to the problem of odor formation on skin surfaces that have come into contact with the agent.
European Patent Application EP 0 812 909 A1 describes the use of polycarboxylate polymer in hypochlorite-containing bleaching agents to avoid unpleasant odors that result from contact by such agents with skin surfaces.
European Patent Application EP 0 622 451 also deals with the matter of odor formation during and after the use of chlorine-containing agents, and proposes using a perfume. The difficulty encountered here is that, on the one hand, only a few fragrances are stable in the presence of the strong oxidizing ability of chlorine-based bleaching agents, and on the other hand, the odor of chlorine is very strong and is difficult to mask using a perfume. EP 0 622 451 proposes using, in such agents, 0.000002 wt % to 2 wt % bleach-stable fragrances, selected from the classes of the acetals, aldehydes, esters, alcohols, ketones, ethers, nitrites, and terpenes.