Quality Evaluation of Some Laundry Soaps Sold in Markets of Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria

Ten commercial laundry soaps labeled A to J, purchased from some markets in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria were evaluated for their physicochemical properties, including declared and actual weight, hardness, perfume level, colour, staining and cracking test, foam stability, rate of ware, pH, moisture and volatile matter (M&V), Free alkali (FA), Total fatty matter (TFM), and chloride content (Cl) using Standard methods. Results showed that pH ranged from 9.5 to 11.0, moisture content varied from 15.2 to 23.6%, free caustic, total fatty matter, and chloride ranged from 0.04 to 0.26%, 42.3 to 52.0%, and 0.8 to 3.2 %, respectively. Similarly, alcohol insoluble matter and water insoluble varied from 1.5 to 3.0% and 0.8 to 1.5 %, respectively. Foam value and stability ranged from 69 to 82, while the rate of wear varied from 8 to 25%. All the samples failed in the declared and actual tests. The study revealed that many of the laundry soaps sold in the markets do not conform to the minimum standard recommended by the Nigerian Institute of Standards (NIS). It is, therefore, recommended that regular quality checks should be carried out by regulatory agencies to ensure that the quality of laundry soaps sold in the markets meets the minimum obligatory standard.