Cyclodextrins form complexes with detergent molecules, and can act as defoaming agents. Addition to the rinsing water in a laundry will fix the last traces of the detergents. This defoaming effect may be used to reduce water con- sumption [2].
In a common laundering process, in which the wash cycle was followed by two rinse cycles with cold soft water and one rinse cycle with cold hard water, each lasting 3 min, addition of 3 g/L cyclodextrin to the final rinse water re- duced the residual surfactant content on the laundered fabric from 209 to 134 ppm [3,4].