An Analysis of Whether Glycolic Acid Can Bleach Clothes
The world has asked: Can Glycolic Acid Bleach Clothes?
Glycolic acid has unique properties among various chemicals. It is often found in many daily chemicals, or involved in skin care, or used for cleaning. To see if it can bleach clothes, it is necessary to investigate its properties.
Glycolic acid is acidic, but its acidity is not as strong as that of traditional bleaches. Traditional bleaches, such as those containing chlorine, have a strong oxidative structure to break the pigment, achieving the effect of bleaching. Although glycolic acid has acid activity, its oxidation power is weak, and it is difficult to quickly destroy the color like a strong bleach.
Look at the material of various clothing, cotton, linen and silk wool, each has its own characteristics. Cotton is tough, but too many chemicals will also hurt it; silk wool is delicate and easy to be damaged. Although glycolic acid is weak, if used improperly, it may cause changes in texture and uneven color on silk wool fabrics.
If you want to try glycolic acid to bleach clothing, you can first take a small piece of fabric of the same material, soak it in dilute glycolic acid solution, and observe the change. If the fabric color has not changed and the quality is not damaged, or you can use it cautiously for similar clothing. However, if the fabric color changes and the quality is brittle, this idea should be discarded.
In summary, ordinary glycolic acid should not be used rashly in bleaching clothing. It is necessary to inspect the fabric material carefully and pass a small test to know whether it is suitable. It cannot be generalized, and it is said that it can or cannot be done.