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Reference and standard detergents

wfk – Testgewebe GmbH is a leading producer and supplier of standard and reference detergents for laundry and dishwashing.
We manufacture many of the test detergents specified in international and regional standards and test protocols.
wfk – Testgewebe GmbH also supplies standard detergents from other manufacturers.

Reference and standard laundry detergents

Standard Detergent Type A* (HD, phosphate free, low suds)
With the test method IEC 60456 being an International Standard, this detergent is the most commonly used standard detergent for appliance testing worldwide. It is also being used in numerous other test protocols beyond appliance testing. The current (5th) edition of IEC 60456 continues to use this detergent, now also being verified to be fit for use in all known washer platforms and for different water hardnesses.

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    IEC-A* BASE

    Base Detergent Type A* ref. to IEC 60456 ed. 5, phosphate free, IEC-A* BASE (base detergent Type P ref. to Draft IEC 60456 ed. 6), 5 kg bucket

    SKU: 88010-1

    106,60
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    TAED

    Tetraacetylethylenediamine ref. to IEC 60456 ed. 5/ Draft IEC 60456 ed. 6 (0,5 kg), TAED

    SKU: 88012

Cenelec typically does not specify own detergents. The Cenelec standards as well as the related national European standards instead refer to IEC standards. Minor exception: The IEC-P Standard Powder detergent 2016 has been first published in EN 50640:2019 but was developed by IEC SC 59D for implementation in IEC standards that are expected to be published later than EN 50640.

Standard Powder detergent 2016 (HD, phosphate free, low suds)

The IEC Standard Powder Detergent 2016 is an update of IEC-A*, the most commonly used standard detergent for appliance testing worldwide. The BASE powder is identical. The difference is that in the fully formulated detergent the Sodium Perborate was substituted by Sodium Percarbonate.

It is specified to be distributed and stored in 3 separate parts:

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    IEC-A* BASE

    Base Detergent Type A* ref. to IEC 60456 ed. 5, phosphate free, IEC-A* BASE (base detergent Type P ref. to Draft IEC 60456 ed. 6), 5 kg bucket

    SKU: 88010-1

    106,60
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    SPC

    Sodium percarbonate ref. to Draft IEC 60456 ed. 6 (1 kg), SPC Please note: This product is classified as dangerous goods regarding transportation.

    SKU: 88013

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    TAED

    Tetraacetylethylenediamine ref. to IEC 60456 ed. 5/ Draft IEC 60456 ed. 6 (0,5 kg), TAED

    SKU: 88012

Standard Detergent Type B, IEC 60456 ed. 3 (HD, with phosphate, medium suds)

This detergent is no longer specified in the latest version of the standard (IEC 60456). It is used and referred to by other standards (e.g. AS/NZS 2040.1:2005) and test protocols. It is specified to be distributed and stored in 2 separate parts:

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    IEC B BASE

    Base detergent ref. to IEC 60456 (ed. 3) with phosphate, IEC B BASE, 5 kg bucket

    SKU: 88020

Standard AS/NZS 2040.1:2005

“Performance of household electrical appliances—Clothes washing machines Part 1: Methods for measuring performance, energy and water consumption”

The 2005 edition of AS/NZS 2040.1 specifies two standard detergents:
One of them is not available from us the other is the “Detergent for drum type machines”.

This detergent specification uses IEC-B BASE plus some low dosed bleach:

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    IEC B BASE

    Base detergent ref. to IEC 60456 (ed. 3) with phosphate, IEC B BASE, 5 kg bucket

    SKU: 88020

AHAM Standard Detergent Formula 3 (HD, low bleach, phosphate free, low suds)
Standard ANSI/AHAM HLW-1 “Procedure for evaluating the performance of household clothes washers”
The current version of AHAM standard HLW-1 specifies our:

  • AHAM Standard Detergent Formula 3, wfk 88039

This detergent specification is based on IEC-A* BASE plus some very low bleach content.
As an alternative to the fully formulated powder, also IEC-A* BASE may be used with the addition of 1,5% Sodium Perborate-Tetrahydrate:

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    IEC-A* BASE

    Base Detergent Type A* ref. to IEC 60456 ed. 5, phosphate free, IEC-A* BASE (base detergent Type P ref. to Draft IEC 60456 ed. 6), 5 kg bucket

    SKU: 88010-1

    106,60

Standard Wool Detergent (liquid) +++ DRAFT +++

Working groups under IEC technical committee SC 59D are working on a revision of the wool wash testing to also include wash performance (besides the currently specified wool shrinkage test). The new procedure is planned to include a formulation for a dedicated standard wool detergent, because the formulation of the IEC-A* detergent (which is currently used for the shrinkage test) differs significantly from market wool detergents.

The respective IEC working groups already developed and tested a draft formulation of a liquid wool detergent. It is planned to introduce the new formulation with edition 6 of the standard. The tests showed an adequate performance of the draft detergent as compared to market detergents, the current draft formulation was therefore agreed to be used for further development of the new test method.

The detergent according to the latest draft formulation is available on request from wfk:

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    wfk wool wash detergent 2020

    wfk wool wash detergent 2020 ref. to Draft IEC 60456 Ed. 6, liquid, 1 kg (approx. 1L)

    SKU: 88038

Standard detergent formula 1977, ISO 105-C06:2010

“Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part C06: Colour fastness to domestic and commercial laundering”
Part C06 of ISO 105 specifies “methods intended for determining the resistance of the colour of textiles of all kinds and in all forms to domestic or commercial laundering procedures used for normal household articles using a reference detergent.”

The formulation of that detergent is based on that of IEC-B BASE, the difference being that ECE-1 does not contain optical brightener.

The standard specifies the following detergent:

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    ECE-Test detergent

    ECE-Test detergent (1 kg), Formula 1977, ref. to ISO 105-C06

    SKU: 88030

Standard detergent formula 1998, ISO 105-C08:2010

“Textiles — Tests for colour fastness — Part C08: Colour fastness to domestic and commercial laundering using a non-phosphate reference detergent incorporating a low-temperature bleach activator”
Part C08 of ISO 105 specifies methods “intended to reflect the effect of laundering by domestic or commercial laundering procedures, as distinct from the washing test methods given in ISO 105-C10.”

The formulation of that detergent is based on that of IEC-A BASE, the difference being that ECE-2 does not contain optical brightener nor protease.

The standard specifies the following detergent:

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    ECE-2 Dye Transfer test detergent

    ECE-2 Dye Transfer test detergent (1 kg), without phosphate (Formula 1998), ref. to ISO 105-C08

    SKU: 88031

Standard detergent, ISO 15797:2002

Textiles — Industrial washing and finishing
procedures for testing of workwear

The standard specifies the following detergents:

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    Reference detergent A1

    Standard test detergent A1 ref. to ISO 15797:2002, with optical brightener, (25 kg bag) Please note: This product is classified as dangerous goods regarding transportation.

    SKU: 88060-A1-25

    242,55
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    Reference detergent A2

    Standard test detergent A2 ref. to ISO 15797:2002, without optical brightener, (25 kg bag) Please note: This product is classified as dangerous goods regarding transportation.

    SKU: 88060-A2-25

    242,55

The AATCC have used standard reference detergents in various textile test methods since the 1960s. AATCC Standard Reference Detergent 124 and AATCC Standard Reference Detergent WOB (without optical brightener) were the first formulations adopted by the AATCC to represent typical US home laundry products of that era. Since then, the AATCC have adopted new, additional standard detergents to respond to changes in market formulations. The following products are still commercially available (we may order them for you on request):

  • 1993 AATCC Standard Detergent, (AATCC 1993, SKU: 88037)
  • 1993 AATCC Standard Detergent WOB (without optical brightener), (AATCC 1993 WOB, SKU: 88036)

If you need other AATCC detergents, please contact us. We’ll try to provide them for you.

Reference and standard dish wash detergents

IEC 436 (ed. 2) Reference dish wash Detergent Type A (with phosphate)

This detergent is no longer specified in the latest version of the standard. The main (or rather: only) field of application now remains in material testing according to EN 12875 “Mechanical dishwashing resistance of utensils”.

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    WFK GSM A

    Standard dish wash detergent A ref. to IEC 436/A3, (1994), WFK GSM A , unit 1 kg. Please note: This product is classified as dangerous goods regarding transportation.

    SKU: 88101

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    WFK KSB

    Standard rinse aid II (acidic) ref. to IEC 436 (1994), WFK KSB, unit 1 Litre. Please note: This product is classified as dangerous goods regarding transportation.

    SKU: 88120


IEC 456 (1981) specified the standard rinse aids formulas I and II. The definitions were revised in IEC 60436:2004 by deleting formulas I and II and introducing new formulas III and IV. The old formulas I and II are still listed here as they are referred to in other standards and therefore still commercially available.
Formula IV was specified but later found not to be stable. It is therefore not available.

Reference dish wash Detergent Type B, according to IEC 60436 (ed. 3) (phosphate free):


Standard Rinse Aid formula III, according to IEC 60436 (ed. 3 and ed. 4)

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    WFK KSC

    Standard rinse aid III (acidic) ref. to IEC 60436:2015, WFK KSC, unit 1 Litre

    SKU: 88130

Reference Detergent Type D, according to IEC 60436:2015 (phosphate free, with Savinase 6T and Termamyl 120T)

The detergent according to the latest formulation (corrected formula) is available from wfk:

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    WFK GSM D

    Standard dish wash detergent D ref. to IEC 60436:2015 (with Savinase 6T and Termamyl 120T), WFK GSM D including 1 pastry brush per kilogram, unit 1 kg

    SKU: 88104