/oss/taxonomy/term/1772/all en /oss/article/environment-history-household-products-quirky-science/beginning-there-waspersil <p>The world’s first commercially available laundry powder was Persil, introduced by the German company Henkel in 1907. The name derived from perborate and silicate, two key components in the product. Persil was introduced as an improvement over the action of soap, the traditional cleaning agent first formulated around 1500 BC. Just heat some sort of fat with ashes from a wood fire and you get soap. The ashes supply the alkaline chemicals needed to break down the molecules of fat and convert them into salts of fatty acids which we know as soap.</p> Fri, 25 Jul 2014 09:28:29 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2173 at /oss