Detergent Compatible, Dryer Released Fabric Softening/Antistatic Agents in a Sealed Pouch

The invention pertains to coated particles of fabric softener which are included with detergent in the washing of fabrics. The particles survive the wash and release softener to the fabrics in a heated laundry dryer.

The advantages obtained from the application of fabric conditioning agents (i.e., fabric softeners and/or antistatic agents) to laundered fabrics is well-known. The present invention pertains to coated particulate softener/antistatic compositions which survive the wash process and release the active softening/antistatic agent to the laundered fabrics in the dryer.

Fabric softening and antistatic benefits are a desirable part of the laundry process. Softening and antistatic compounds are, in general, quaternary ammonium compounds that are not compatible with anionic surfactants. These compounds will be referred to hereinafter as fabric softening compounds or fabric softeners, although it is to be understood that they deliver both softening and antistatic benefits to fabrics. The opposite electrical charge of the anionic surfactant used in most detergents and the quaternary ammonium fabric softening compounds leads to a mutual attraction which causes precipitation. This, in effect, removes surfactant and fabric softener from solution and reduces the cleaning capacity of the detergent while preventing effective fabric softener deposition on the fabric.

One solution to this incompatibility problem is the separate addition of the fabric softener during either the rinse cycle of the wash or while the fabrics are in the dryer. This increases the inconvenience of using fabric softeners because of the need to add them at a point in the laundering process which is different from that at which the detergent is added.

Various other solutions for this problem of incompatibility between detergent and softening compounds have been proposed in the art. U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537, Baskerville Jr., issued Feb. 3, 1976, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,095,946, Jones, issued June 20, 1978, teach the use of intimate mixtures of organic dispersion inhibitors (e.g., stearyl alcohol and fatty sorbitan esters) with solid fabric softener to improve the survival of the softener in the presence of detergent in the washer so the softener can act on the fabrics when it melts in the dryer. U.S. Pat. No. 4,234,627, Schilling, issued Nov. 18, 1980, teaches microencapsulation of fabric softener. The microcapsules survive the wash and adhere to the fabric surface. They are then ruptured by subsequent tumbling of the fabric in the dryer, thereby releasing softener to the fabrics. In spite of these developments, there is a continuing need for methods and compositions which are suitable for conveniently and effectively delivering fabric softeners to fabrics during the home laundering process.

Accordingly, it is the object of the present invention to provide coated fabric softener compositions wherein the coating will be insoluble in a detergent solution but will release the softener to the fabrics at dryer temperatures.

The present invention is directed to detergent-compatible, dryer-activated fabric softening particles having diameters of from about 5 microns to about 1,000 microns comprising an inner core of a fabric softener composition comprising a cationic fabric softener compound, and an outer coating comprised of water-insoluble material having a melting point above about 35.degree. C.

The particles can be incorporated into laundry detergents.

The present invention relates to coated fabric softener particles which can be added to the wash step of the fabric laundering process and which release softener to fabrics in a laundry dryer. The invention also relates to laundry detergent compositions containing said particles.

A. The Particles

The particles of the present invention comprise an inner core of a fabric softener composition which comprises a cationic fabric softener, and an outer coating which completely surrounds the core and comprises a substantially water-insoluble material having a melting point above 35.degree. C., preferably above 50.degree. C. By "substantially water-insoluble" herein is meant having a solubility in 35.degree. C. water of less than about 50 ppm. The particles have diameters of from about 5 microns to about 1,000 microns. The particles typically will be of a generally spherical shape, but can also have an irregular shape. The particle sizes quoted herein refer to the largest dimension (diameter or length) of the particle.

Typical cationic fabric softeners useful herein are quaternary ammonium salts of the formula

wherein one or two of R.sub.1, R.sub.2, R.sub.3 and R.sub.4 groups is an organic radical containing a group selected from a C.sub.12 -C.sub.22 aliphatic radical or an alkylphenyl or alkylbenzyl radical having from 10 to 16 carbon atoms in the alkyl chain, the remaining groups being selected from C.sub.1 -C.sub.4 alkyl, C.sub.2 -C.sub.4 hydroxyalkyl and cyclic structures in which the nitrogen atom in the above formula forms part of the ring, and Y constitutes an anionic radical such as halide, nitrate, bisulfate, methylsulfate, ethylsulfate and phosphate, to balance the cationic charge.

In the context of the above definition, the hydrophobic moiety (i.e., the C.sub.12 -C.sub.22 aliphatic, C.sub.10 -C.sub.16 alkyl phenol or alkylbenzyl radical) in the organic radical R.sub.1 or R.sub.2 may be directly attached to the quaternary nitrogen atom or may be indirectly attached thereto through an amide, ester, alkoxy, ether, or like grouping.

The quaternary ammonium compounds useful herein include both water-soluble compounds and substantially water-insoluble compounds which are dispersible in water. For example, imidazolinium compounds of the structure ##STR1## wherein R is a C.sub.16 to C.sub.22 alkyl group, possess appreciable water solubility, but can be utilized in the present invention.

The quaternary ammonium softener compounds used in this invention can be prepared in various ways well-known in the art and many such materials are commercially available. The quaternaries are often made from alkyl halide mixtures corresponding to the mixed alkyl chain lengths in fatty acids. For example, the ditallowalkyl quaternaries are made from alkyl halides having mixed C.sub.14 -C.sub.18 chain lengths. Such mixed di-long chain quaternaries are useful herein and are preferred from a cost standpoint.

The anionic group which can be the counter-ion in the quaternary compounds useful herein is typically a halide (e.g., chloride or bromide), nitrate, bisulfate, ethylsulfate, or methylsulfate. The methylsulfate and chloride ions are the preferred counter-ions from an availability standpoint; while the methylsulfate anion is most preferred because of its minimization of corrosive effects on the automatic clothes dryers in which it is used.

The following are representative examples of quaternary ammonium softening compounds suitable for use in the present invention. All the quaternary ammonium compounds listed can be included in the present invention, but the compilation of suitable quaternary compounds hereinafter is only by way of example and is not intended to be limiting of such compounds. Dioctadecyldimethylammonium methylsulfate is an especially preferred fabric softening compound for use herein, by virtue of its high antistatic, as well as fabric softening activity; ditallowalkyldimethylammonium methylsulfate is equally preferred because of its ready availability and its good antistatic activity; other useful di-long chain quaternary compounds are dicetyldimethylammonium chloride, didocosyldimethylammonium chloride, didodecyldimethylammonium chloride, ditallowalkyldimethylammonium bromide, dioleoyldimethylammonium methylsulfate, ditallowalkyldiethylammonium chloride, ditallowalkyldipropylammonium bromide, ditallowalkyldibutylammonium fluoride, cetyldecylmethylethylamonium chloride, bis-[ditallowalkyldimethylammonium] bisulfate, tris-[ditallowalkyldimethylammonium] phosphate, 1-methyl-1-tallowamidoethyl-2-tallowimidazolinium methylsulfate, and the like. Particularly preferred quaternary ammonium fabric softening compounds are ditallowalkyldimethylammonium chloride and ditallowalkyldimethylammonium methylsulfate. The fabric softener core of the particles of the invention comprises from about 70% to about 97% and most preferably about 85% to about 97% of the particle. All percentages herein are "by weight" unless otherwise indicated.

The core composition can consist entirely of cationic fabric softeners, and will generally comprise at least 10%, usually 10% to 50% cationic fabric softener. Optionally, and preferably, the core can contain additional materials such as perfume, auxiliary fabric softening agents (e.g., smectite clay, fatty alcohols and fatty amine, such as ditallowmethyl amine or 1-tallowamidoethyl-2-tallowimidazoline), soil release agents, fabric brighteners, etc. Additional disclosure of materials which can be applied to fabrics along with cationic fabric softening agents in a laundry dryer and, therefore, can be part of the core composition of the particles herein, are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,073,996, Bedenk et al., issued Feb. 14, 1978; 4,237,155, Kardouche, issued Dec. 2, 1980; and 4,421,792, Rudy et al., issued Dec. 20, 1983, all incorporated herein by reference.

The coating materials are substantially water-insoluble materials, typically (but not necessarily) selected from waxy materials such as paraffinic waxes, microcrystalline waxes, animal waxes, vegetable waxes, saturated fatty acids and fatty alcohols having from 12 to 40 carbon atoms in their alkyl chain, and fatty esters such as fatty acid triglycerides, fatty acid esters of sorbitan and fatty acid esters of fatty alcohols, or from substantially water-insoluble polymers. Typical specific suitable waxy coating materials include lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, arachidic and behenic acids, stearyl and behenyl alcohol, micro-crystalline wax, beeswax, spermaceti wax, candelilla wax, sorbitan tristearate, sorbitan tetralaurate, tripalmitin, trimyristin and octacosane. A preferred waxy material is stearyl alcohol.

Examples of water-insoluble polymeric materials which may be used for the coating of the particles herein are cellulose ethers such as ethyl, propyl or butyl cellulose; cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate, propionate, butyrate or acetate-butyrate; urea-formaldehyde resins, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyacrylates, polymethacrylates, polymethyl-methacrylates and nylon. Such materials and their equivalents are described in greater detail in any conventional handbook of synthetic organic plastics, for example, in Modern Plastics Encyclopaedia Volume, Vol. 62, No. 10A (for 1985-1986) at pages 768-787, published by McGraw-Hill, New York, N.Y. (October 1985), incorporated herein by reference. A preferred polymeric material is ethyl cellulose. The polymeric coating materials can be plasticized with known plasticizing agents such as phthalate, adipate and sebacate esters, polyols (e.g., ethylene glycol), tricresyl phosphate, castor oil and camphor.

The coating surrounds the cationic fabric softener core and is present in an amount of from about 3% to about 30%, preferably from about 3% to about 15% by weight of the particle.

The coating material can comprise a mixture of waxy coating materials and polymeric coating materials. In such mixtures the waxy coating material will typically comprise from about 70% to about 90% of the mixture and the polymeric material about 30% to about 10%.

Typically, the coating material will have a hardness which corresponds to a needle penetration value of about 0.6 mm or less, and preferably less than about 0.1 mm, as measured by ASTM Test D-1321, modified by using a 100 g weight instead of a 50 g weight. The test is performed at 25.degree.-27.degree. C. In the case of polymeric coating materials, sample preparation is accomplished by dissolving the polymer in a volatile solvent and then evaporating the solvent after the polymer solution has been placed in the test container. For waxy coating materials, sample preparation is done by melting the sample and then solidifying it in the test container in the manner set forth in the ASTM method.

Penetration values of a number of suitable coating materials are shown in the following table.

The function of the coating which surrounds the fabric softener is to prevent the softener from becoming dissolved and/or dispersed in the wash water when the particles are present during the wash step of a laundry process, and thereby prevent interaction between the fabric softener and the detergent. During the washing and rinsing of the fabrics, a substantial amount of the particles adhere to, or become entrapped within folds of the fabrics. When the fabrics are dried in a heated automatic clothes dryer (typically at temperatures of about 65.degree. to 85.degree. C.), the coating and the fabric softener core composition melt, thereby permitting the softener to spread throughout the fabric load and soften the fabrics.

If the particles are incorporated into a granular detergent composition, it is preferred that the particle size of the softener particles be similar to the particle size of the detergent granule in order to minimize segregation. This will typically be in the range of from about 500 to about 1000 microns. Softener particles which are smaller in size than the detergent granules can be agglomerated to form larger particles to match the particle size of the detergent granules into which they will be incorporated. The agglomeration can be accomplished by using water-soluble or dispersible materials such as polyvinyl alcohol, sodium carboxymethyl cellulose, gelatin and polyoxyethylene waxes. The agglomerates disintegrate when the detergent composition is added to water. Methods and agglomerating agents for agglomeration of fabric softener particles are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,141,841, McDanald, issued Feb. 27, 1979, incorporated by reference herein.

B. Preparation of Particles

In preparing the softener particles of the invention, the solid fabric softener composition which is to be the core of the particles is formed into particles having a size of from about 4.5 to about 900 microns. This can be accomplished, for example, by milling the solid softener composition or by melting the composition and spraying it through appropriate sized nozzles into an atmosphere having a temperature below the melting point of the softener, thereby forming the softener composition into solid particles.

The particles of softener composition can then be coated with coating material which is either melted or dissolved in a volatile solvent. The coating is done at a temperature which is below the melting point of the softener composition, and the coated particles are then cooled (or the solvent is evaporated) to solidify the coating. The coating is typically applied in a fluidized bed type apparatus. A suitable type of apparatus is that described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,196,827, Wurster et al., issued July 27, 1965, incorporated by reference herein. In this apparatus, solid softener core particles are suspended on an air stream which carries them in a smooth cyclic flow past the coating nozzle, which sprays them with fluid coating material. Air atomizes and expels the coating fluid through the coating nozzle. The atomized coating fluid covers the surfaces of the core particles. The coated particles are lifted on the air stream and the fluid coating solidifies on the surface of the particles as the air stream lifts them away from the nozzle. The particles then settle out of the air stream and begin another cycle which takes them past the nozzle again. The process is repeated until the desired amount of coating has been deposited on the particles. The amount of coating applied to the softener core particles is typically from about 3% to about 30%, preferably about 3% to about 15% by weight of total particle (i.e., core plus coating).

Alternatively, other types of encapsulating processes such as described in an article by Nack entitled "Microencapsulation Techniques, Applications and Problems," J. Soc. Cos. Chem., Vol. 21, Pages 85-98 (Feb. 4, 1970), incorporated herein by reference, can be used.

If it is desired to aggomerate the softener particles, this can be accomplished in the following manner. The softener particles are fed to a highly efficient mixer (e.g., Schugi Flexomix Model 160,335 or 400 from Schugi Process Engineers USA, 41-T Tamarack Circle, Skillman, N.J. 08558), or a pan agglomerator. Aqueous solution or dispersion of agglomerating agent is sprayed onto the moving particles causing them to stick to each other. The water is evaporated and the dried agglomerated particles are sized by sieving. Suitable agglomerating agents include dextrin starches, Pluronic Polyols (copolymers of ethylene oxide and/or propylene oxide with either ethylene glycol or propylene glycol) and hydratable salts such as sodium tripolyphosphate or sodium sulfate.

The type of apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,196,827 (Wurster et al.), cited supra, can also be used for agglomerating particles.

C. Detergent Compositions

The particles of the present invention are preferably formulated into detergent compositions. Such compositions typically comprise detersive surfactants and detergency builders and, optionally, additional ingredients such as bleaches, enzymes, fabric brighteners and the like. The particles are present in the detergent composition at a level sufficient to provide from about 0.5% to about 10%, and preferably from about 1% to about 5% of quaternary ammonium fabric softener in the detergent composition. The remainder of the detergent composition will comprise from about 1% to about 50%, preferably from about 10% to about 25% detersive surfactant, and from about 15% to about 60%, preferably from about 20% to about 45% of a detergency builder, and, if desired, other optional laundry detergent components.

1. The Surfactant

Surfactants useful in the detergent compositions herein include well-known synthetic anionic, nonionic, amphoteric and zwitterionic surfactants. Typical of these are the alkyl benzene sulfonates, alkyl- and alkylether sulfates, paraffin sulfonates, olefin sulfonates, alkoxylated (especially ethoxylated) alcohols and alkyl phenols, amine oxides, alpha-sulfonates of fatty acids and of fatty acid esters, alkyl betaines, and the like, which are well known from the detergency art. In general, such detersive surfactants contain an alkyl group in the C.sub.9 -C.sub.18 range. The anionic detersive surfactants can be used in the form of their sodium, potassium or triethanolammonium salts; the nonionics generally contain from about 5 to about 17 ethylene oxide groups. C.sub.11 -C.sub.16 alkyl benzene sulfonates, C.sub.12 -C.sub.18 paraffin-sulfonates and alkyl sulfates are especially preferred in the compositions of the present type.

A detailed listing of suitable surfactants for the detergent compositions herein can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537, Baskerville, issued Feb. 3, 1976, incorporated by reference herein. Commercial sources of such surfactants can be found in McCutcheon's Emulsifiers And Detergents, North American Edition, 1984, McCutcheon Division, MC Publishing Company, also incorporated herein by reference.

2. Detergency Builders

Useful detergency builders for the detergent compositions herein include any of the conventional inorganic and organic water-soluble builder salts, as well as various water-insoluble and so-called "seeded" builders.

Nonlimiting examples of suitable water-soluble, inorganic alkaline detergent builder salts include the alkali metal carbonates, borates, phosphates, polyphosphates, tripolyphosphates, bicarbonates, silicates, and sulfates. Specific examples of such salts include the sodium and potassium tetraborates, bicarbonates, carbonates, tripolyphosphates, pyrophosphates, and hexametaphosphates.

Examples of suitable organic alkaline detergency builder salts are: (1) water-soluble amino polyacetates, e.g., sodium and potassium ethylenediaminetetraacetates, nitrilotriacetates, and N-(2-hydroxyethyl)nitrilodiacetates; (2) water-soluble salts of phytic acid, e.g., sodium and potassium phytates; (3) water-soluble polyphosphonates, including sodium, potassium and lithium salts of ethene-1-hydroxy-1,1-diphosphonic acid, sodium, potassium, and lithium salts of methylenediphosphonic acid and the like.

Seeded builders include such materials as sodium carbonate or sodium silicate, seeded with calcium carbonate or barium sulfate.

A detailed listing of suitable detergency builders can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,936,537, supra, incorporated herein by reference.

3. Optional Detergent Ingredients

Optional detergent composition components include enzymes (e.g., proteases and amylases), halogen bleaches (e.g., sodium and potassium dichloroisocyanurates), peroxyacid bleaches (e.g., diperoxydodecane-1,12-dioic acid), inorganic percompound bleaches (e.g., sodium perborate), activators for perborate (e.g., tetraacetylethylenediamine and sodium nonanoyloxybenzene sulfonate), soil release agents (e.g., methylcellulose) soil suspending agents (e.g., sodium carboxymethylcellulose) and fabric brighteners.

C. Pouched Compositions

When fabric softener particles of the invention are added to the wash step of a laundering process, it is inevitable that some of the particles will not adhere to or become trapped in the folds of the fabrics and will, therefore, be lost in the discarded wash solution or rinse water. In order to avoid such loss, the particles can be added to the wash solution in a sealed, porous water-insoluble pouch such as the type described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,223,029, Mahler et al., issued Sept. 16, 1980, incorporated by reference herein. Detergent granules can be included in the pouch with the softener particles. When the pouch is placed in water in the wash step of the laundering process, the detergent dissolves, but the softener particles remain in the pouch. The pouch remains with the fabrics through the wash and rinse. When the pouch is tumbled with the fabrics in the dryer, the softener particles release the softener, which melts onto the pouch material and is transferred from the pouch material to the fabrics as the pouch comes into contact with the fabrics during the drying cycle. Preferred pouch structures are multi-pouch porous sheet structures such as described in allowed application U.S. Ser. No. 675,804, Bedenk et al., filed Nov. 28, 1984, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,907, issued Jan. 27, 1987, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,383, Eggensperger et al., issued Mar. 31, 1981, both incorporated herein by reference. In a single pouch structure, the particles tend to collect in a relatively small area of the structure, whereas in a multi-pouch sheet structure the softener particles are distributed over a larger area of the structure thereby facilitating more even transfer of softener to fabrics in the dryer.

Suitable pouch materials include, paper, nonwoven synthetics such as spunbonded polyester, and porous formed film plastic sheet material.

In a further improvement of the multi-pouch type of structure, the individual pouches have a water-insoluble baffling means which provides some standoff between the interior major surfaces of the pouches while the multi-pouch sheet is being tumbled in the clothes dryer. The standoff prevents the interior major surfaces of each pouch from coming into intimate contact with each other during the drying cycle, thereby reducing the tendency of the molten softener to be squeezed out of the pouch during the drying cycle, which can cause fabric staining. It is preferred that the molten softener be permitted to gradually wick through the substrate and thereby gradually transfer to the tumbling fabrics. The baffling can be produced, for example, by printing a cross hatched glue pattern on one of the interior surfaces of the pouch material or by including a layer of polymeric net material between the interior major surfaces of the pouches.

The invention will be illustrated by the following examples.

Fabric softener core particles are prepared according to the following formula:

The DTDMAMS is heated in a reaction vessel at 71.degree. C. under vacuum (Ca. 710 mm Hg) for 4 hours to remove residual moisture and/or isopropanol. The cetyl alcohol and sorbitan monostearate are then added, and the molten "triblend" is mixed for one hour at about 71.degree. C.

The triblend is transferred into a PVM 40 Ross mixer (Charles Ross & Sons Company, Hauppauge, N.Y. 11788). The temperature of the triblend is then raised to 79.degree. C.-85.degree. C. under vacuum (about 330-430 mm Hg). When the temperature has stabilized in this range, the Ross' anchor and disperser are turned on and the clay is added. The mixture is blended for 5 minutes and then sheared with the Ross' colloid mixer for 20 minutes. The perfume is then added and the mixture is blended for 5 minutes with the anchor, disperser and colloid mill still on. The softener composition is then poured into trays and cooled overnight at about 4.degree. C.

The solid softener core composition is then converted to particles by milling in a Fitzmill, Model DA506 (The Fitzpatrick Company, Elmhurst, Ill. 60126) at 4740 rpm's through a 4 mesh screen. The particles are then sized through 12 on 30 (U.S. Standard screens, 1.7-0.6 mm particle size).

The particles are then coated with a hot melt of fatty alcohol-based coating. The coating is a mixture of 90% stearyl alcohol and 10% Elvax-4310, a terpolymer of ethylene, vinyl acetate and acid from E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Polymer Products Dept., 1007 Market St., Wilmington, Del. 19898. The coating is applied in an 18 Inch Wurster coater (Coating Place, Inc., P.O. Box 248, Verona, Wis. 53593). A detailed description of this type of equipment can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,196,827, supra, incorporated by reference herein.

Briefly, the Wurster Coater consists of an apparatus that is capable of suspending the softener core particles on a rapidly moving warm air stream. Encapsulation is accomplished by passing the softener particles through a zone of finely atomized droplets of coating. As the particles move up and away from the coating nozzle, the coating begins to solidify as the particles cool. When the particles can no longer be fluidized by the air stream, they move down in the opposite direction of the fluidizing air. The coated particles then reenter the coating zone and are recycled until the desired amount of coating is applied. The coating cycle takes place within a single chamber which preferably has a partition to separate the particles moving up through the coating zone from those moving down through the cooling zone.

The following conditions are used to apply a hot melt coating:

The amount of fatty alcohol coating applied to the softener particles is about 15% by weight of the total coated particle. After the coating process is complete the particles are resized through 12 on 20 mesh and are then ready for use "as is" or for blending into detergent granules.

Softener core particles prepared as in Example I are coated with ethyl cellulose based coating instead of fatty alcohol. The coating is applied by spraying a 10% solids solution in methanol of 9 parts ethyl cellulose and 1 part dibutyl sebacate. The coating is applied in an 18 Inch Wurster coater as described in Example I. The ethyl cellulose used in Ethocel Std. 4, (Dow Chemical Co., Midland, Mich. 48640) which has an Ubbelhhode viscosity of 3.0-5.5, measured at 25.degree. C. as a 5% solution in 80% toluene/20% ethanol.

The following conditions are used to apply a solvent based coating:

The amount of ethyl cellulose/dibutyl sebacate solids coated onto the particles is about 5% by weight of the total coated particle weight. When the coating is completed, the softener particles are resized through 12 on 30 Mesh U.S. Standard screens and are then ready for use "as is" or for blending into detergent granules.

A granular detergent/softener composition is prepared by mixing 4 parts of the coated softener particles of Example I or II with 96 parts of the following granular detergent composition.

A granular bleach/softener composition is prepared by mixing 4 parts of the coated softener particles of Example I or II with 96 parts of the following granular bleach composition.

A laundering article in the form of a multipouch sheet is prepared as follows.

The sheet is comprised of two sheets of Reemay.RTM. 2420 spunbonded polyester (DuPont, Wilmington, Del.). In between the sheets in a honeycomb web made from polyethlene. The web has a thickness of approximately 0.04 inch (0.10 cm) and the cells of the web are diamond shaped, having a cross dimension of approximately 0.19 inch (0.48 cm) and a length dimension of approximately 0.63 inch (1.60 cm). The three layered structure has outer edge dimensions of approximately 4.5 inch.times.11 inch (11.4 cm.times.27.9 cm). The structure is laminated together in a pattern so as to form 6 equal sized pouches, two pouches at each end containing about 14.7 grams each of the bleach/ethyl cellulose coated softener composition of Example IV and the four pouches in between containing about 15.5 grams each of the detergent/ethyl cellulose coated softener composition of Example III.

The article is suitable for washing and softening laundry in a process involving washing and rinsing the fabrics, followed by tumble drying in a heated clothes dryer, wherein the article remains with the laundry throughout the entire process.