Fabric treating articles and process

Claim 2

A fabric conditioning article especially designed for conditioning fabrics in an automatic washer comprising: (A) a closed, water-insoluble, heat resistant flexible receptacle, at least one wall of said receptacle comprising two layers having a combined air permeability of from about 200 to about 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface; and (B) an effective amount of a fabric softener/antistat composition, said composition being releasably enclosed within the receptacle.

Claim 3

An article according to claim 1 wherein one of the two layers is selected from the group consisting of open cell foams and elastic nonwoven materials and the other layer is a nonwoven material.

Claim 4

An article according to claim 2 wherein the fabric softener/antistat composition contains a mixture of cationic and nonionic softener/antistat materials.

Claim 5

An article according to claim 3 wherein the receptacle is in the form of a pouch.

Claim 6

An article according to claim 4 wherein both walls of the pouch are constructed of the two layers having a combined air permeability of from about 200 to about 390 cubic feet per square foot of surface.

Claim 7

An article according to claim 5 wherein one layer of the pouch walls is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane foams and polyester materials, said layer having an air permeability in excess of about 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface and the other layer is a polyester material having an air permeability of from about 200 to about 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface.

Claim 8

An article according to claim 6 wherein the layer having the higher air permeability is the inside layer and the layer having the lower air permeability is the outside layer.

Claim 9

An article according to claim 7 wherein the fabric softener/antistat composition contains a mixture of ditallow dimethyl ammonium methyl sulfate and 1-methyl-1-[(tallowamide) ethyl]-2-tallow imidazolinium methyl sulfate in a ratio of from about 65:35 to about 35:65.

Claim 10

An article according to claim 7 wherein the fabric softener/antistat composition contains a mixture of ditallow dimethyl ammonium methyl sulfate, 1-methyl-1-[(tallowamide) ethyl]-2-tallow imidazolinium methyl sulfate and sorbitan tristearate in a ratio of from about 65:35:0 to about 10:55:35.

Claim 11

An article according to claim 9 wherein the fabric softener/antistat composition is in the form of a free flowing powder and additionally contains from about 5% to about 35% by weight of the softener/antistat composition of a filler material.

Claim 12

An article according to claim 10 wherein the filler material is selected from the group consisting of smectite clay and aluminum oxide.

Claim 13

An article according to claim 4 wherein the fabric softener/antistat composition contains from about 0.1% to about 5% by weight of said composition of a fabric substantive perfume having a melting point greater than 100° F.

Claim 14

A process for conditioning fabrics comprising the following steps: (A) Adding to a clothes washer, containing fabrics and a normal amount of a detergent, a fabric conditioning article comprising: (1) a closed, water-insoluble, heat resistant flexible receptacle, at least one wall of said receptacle comprising two layers having a combined air permeability of from about 200 to 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface; (2) an effective amount of a fabric softener/antistat composition, said composition being releasably enclosed within said receptacle; and (B) operating said washer at normal operating conditions through the wash, rinse and spin dry cycles.

Claim 15

A process for conditioning fabrics comprising the following steps: (A) Adding to a clothes washer, containing fabrics and a normal amount of a detergent, a fabric conditioning article comprising: (1) a closed, water-insoluble, heat resistant flexible receptacle, at least one wall of said receptacle comprising two layers having a combined air permeability of from about 200 to 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface; (2) an effective amount of a fabric softener/antistat composition, said composition being releasably enclosed within said receptacle; and (B) operating said washer at normal operating conditions through the wash, rinse and spin dry cycles.

Claim 16

A process according to claim 13 wherein the following steps are added: (C) The washed fabrics and fabric conditioning article from step B are transferred to a clothes dryer; and (D) said dryer is operated for an effective period of time at dryer operating conditions.

Claim 17

A process according to claim 14 wherein one of the two layers is selected from the group consisting of open cell foams and elastic nonwoven materials and the other layer is a nonwoven material.

Claim 18

A process according to claim 15 wherein the fabric softener/antistat composition contains a mixture of cationic and nonionic softener/antistat materials.

Claim 19

A process according to claim 16 wherein the receptacle is in the form of a pouch.

Claim 20

A process according to claim 17 wherein both walls of the pouch are constructed of the two layers having a combined air permeability of from 200 to about 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface.

Claim 21

A process according to claim 18 wherein one layer of the pouch walls is selected from the group consisting of polyurethane foams and polyester materials, said layer having an air permeability in excess of about 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface and the other layer is a polyester material having an air permeability of from about 200 to about 390 cubic feet per minute per square foot of surface.

Claim 22

A process according to claim 19 wherein the layer having the higher permeability is the inside layer and the layer having the lower air permeability is the outside layer.