see also:

Foster Dee Snell: "Souring as a laundry operation", Ind. Eng. Chem. (Ind. Ed.) 29 (1937) 560

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Yolken R., Konecny P., McCarthy P.: "Acute fluoride poisoning", Pediatrics 58 (1976) 90

A case of fluoride poisoning of a girl aged 2(1/2) years is reported. "Although the possibility of ingestion was originally denied by the mother, repeated questioning revealed that prior to becoming ill the child had been playing with a laundry powder. The mother had obtained this material from a commercial laundry. The powder was identified as "Bayline Brand Laundry Sour" (manufactured by BASF Wyandotte, Michigan), a whitener sold only to commercial laundries. This contained sodium silicofluoride (Na₂SiF₆) as its major ingredient ..."

Laundry powders and fabrics softeners based on fluorides and silicofluorides have a long history, as the following patents, arranged in chronologic order, reveal: 

1909

Howard B. BISHOP, New York, N.Y.: "Cleansing Fabrics", US Patent 1,016,928; filed Dec. 2, 1909; pat. Feb. 13, 1912; (hydrofluoric acid, hydrofluosilicic acid, or silicofluorides, or acid fluorides)

1921

Phil L. MABREY, of Columbus, Ohio: "Laundry Preparation", US Patent 1,435,541; filed May 12, 1921; patented Nov. 14, 1922 ("59% sodium silico fluoride")

Robert A. PHAIR, assignor, by mesne assignments, to H. Kohnstamm & Co., Inc.: "Souring composition and method", US Patent 1,483,519; filed July 18, 1921; pat. Feb. 12, 1924; (fluorides and silicofluorides combined with a bleaching agent such as a sulfite or bisulfite) 

1923

Robert A. PHAIR, assignor, by mesne assignments, to H. Kohnstamm & Co., Inc.: "Souring composition and method", US Patent 1,514,067; filed June 16, 1923; pat. Nov. 4, 1924; (fluorides or silicofluorides alone or in combination with stannous chloride as a bleaching agent)

1925

Reginald Eaton ELLIS, assignor to H. Kohnstamm and Company, Inc., of New York City, N.Y., USA: "Improvements in or relating to the laundering of textile materials after bleaching", British Patent GB 243,877; filed Nov. 7, 1925, patented Dec. 10, 1925 ("mixture of sodium acid fluoride, sodium silico fluoride or other acid compound of fluorine ...")

1934

Electric Smelting and Aluminum Company Inc., Cleveland Ohio: "Improvements in or relating to a process of washing or laundering", British Patent GB 441,379; filed April 9, 1934, patented Jan. 9, 1936 (contains sodium fluoride)

1935

Rutgerswerke Aktiengesellschaft, of Berlin, Germany: "Improvements in and relating to rinsing and cleaning liquids", British Patent GB 449,275; filed March 19, 1935; patented June 24, 1936 (85% ammonium fluosilicate, or 95% sodium / ammonium bifluoride, or mixtures of sodium fluoride and sodium / potassium bifluoride making 85% of the composition)

1936

Howard B. BISHOP, of Summit, N.J.: "Laundry blueing and souring composition", US Patent 2,141,589; filed Jan. 9, 1936; patented Dec. 27, 1938 (60% fluosilicates of sodium and ammonium, 40% dextrose)

1941

Leslie R. BACON, assignor, by mesne assignments, to Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, Wyandotte, MI: "Laundry souring composition", US Patent 2,422,066; filed July 2, 1941; patented June 10, 1947 (sodium, zinc or ammonium silicofluorides, and sodium or ammonium bifluoride + polyphosphate)

1942

Ralph H. HUMBAUGH, Donald N. UTESCH, assignors to the Speare Supply Company, of Chicago: "Laundry Sour", US Patent 2,331,396; filed March 8, 1942, patented Oct. 12, 1943 (90-99% sodium acid fluoride)

1943

Lowell Russell McCOY, of Detroit, assignor to Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, Wyandotte, MI: "Noncaring laundry sour composition", US Patent 2,426,836; filed June 26, 1943; patented Sept. 2, 1947 (nitre cake + polyphosphate + sodium, ammonium, or potassium fluoride, acid fluoride, or silicofluoride)

1944

Edwin S. GARVERICH, assignor to the Pennsylvania Salt Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pa.: "Laundry sour composition", US Patent 2,463,761; filed Nov. 17, 1944; patented March 8, 1949 (98% Zinc fluosilicate, or 48% zinc fluosilicate + 48% ammonium fluosilicate)

1947

Albert L. COURTNEY, Clifton E. SMITH, assignors to Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, Wyandotte, MI: "Laundry souring composition", US Patent 2,460,680; filed July 10, 1947; patented Feb. 1, 1949 (alkali metal and ammonium salts of fluosilicic acid (alternatively called "silicofluorides) have been used in laundry souring compositions ...We have discovered that an excellent laundry souring composition  ... can be formulated from ammonium silicofluoride and magnesium silicofluoride, present in critical proportions")

1961

Rodney A. BLOMFIELD, John J. CRAMER, assignors to Wyandotte Chemicals Corporation, Wyandotte MI: "Antimicrobial laundry sour composition", US Patent 3,193,505; filed Sept. 20, 1961; patented July 6, 1965 (mixture containing any of the following landry sours: ammonium acid fluoride, ammonium silicofluoride, sodium acid fluoride, sodium silicofluoride and zinc silicofluoride)

1971

William LOZO, assignor to BASF Wyandotte Corporation, Wyandotte, MI: "Mildewstatic laundry sour", US Patent 3,729,422; filed March 22, 1971; patented April 24, 1973 (contains zinc silicofluoride)

1976

John D. CIKO,  John J. CRAMER, Geoffrey A. JAMIESON, assignors to the Diversey Corporation, of Wyandotte, Mich.: "Compositions for souring and softening laundered textile materials, and stock solutions prepared therefrom", US Patent 4,426,304; filed Nov. 22, 1976; pat. Jan. 17, 1984 (contains fluorides, silicofluorides, or hydrofluosilicic acid)

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