CA1283510C - Concentrated stable non-aqueous fabric softener composition - Google Patents

Abstract

CONCENTRATED STABLE NON-AQUEOUS
FABRIC SOFTENER COMPOSITION

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

Hexylene glycol alone or in combination with a lower alkanol or another glycol or glycol ether, or mixtures thereof provide a non-aqueous liquid carrier for cationic fabric soft-eners, especially the quaternary ammonium and imidazolinium cationic compounds, for preparing stable concentrated fabric softener compositions. The compositions may contain up to 60%
by weight of the cationic compound and may additionally include up to 15% by weight of a nonionic surfactant. The concentrated compositions disperse easily in cold water and are easily dis-pensed from automatic dispensers.

Description

35i~LO`

i CONCENTRATED STABLE NON-AQUEOUS
_ FAsRIc SOYTENER COM _SlTION

~ BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

i The present invention relates to fabric softener ; compositions adapted for the use in the rinse cycle of a launder-ing process and in particular to highly concentrated fabric softener compositions which are easily dispersed in water when , used, particularly in 18undry machines having automatic dispensing oechanlsms.
, Compositions containing quaternary ammonlum salts having i at least one long chaln hydrocarbyl group are commonl.y used to provide fabric softening bene:Eit~ when employed in a laundry rinse operation; for example, see U.S. Patents 3,349,033; 3,644,20 3;
.~ 3,946,115; 3,997,453; 4,073,735 and 4,119,545.
For most aqueous ~oftener compositions containing cationic quaternary ammonium co~pounds as active ingredients, the concentration of such cationics has5 in general, been limited to l; the range of about 3 to 6% by weight (see U.S. Patent 3,904,533 and V.S. Patent 3,920,565~. Such a low concentration is general-~ I ly necessitated by the fact that cationics form gels in water .~ ¦ systems at concentrations at above about 8%, and while the use o electrolytes to lower t~e viscosity of such compositions is : . known (see in particular U.S. Patent 4,199,545), such electrolyte I are far from satisfac~ory. From a unctional point of view, the electrolytes of~en do not perform as requlred particularly at :~ concentrations of ~he cationics in the neighborhood of about 1l ~2-15%. I~u ther, while the perforrance of the electrolyten =ny ' I

lZ83~10 i mitlgate some of the gelling problem, their use i9 far from satisfactory i~ providing a highly concentrated aqueous system , of cationics which does not gel or severely change in viscosity ! withln the usual ran~e of ~emperatures encountered in the han-, dling thereof, for example 0F (about -18C) up to about 140F
I (about 60C~ or in the dispens~lng from washing machines.
In the ordinary use of ~uropean hou6ehold automatic washlng machines, the user places the rinse cycle fabric softener Il in a dispensing unit (e.g. a dispensing dra~er) of the machine~
I Then, in the operation of the machine, during the rinse cycle, the softener composition i8 sub;ected to a stream of cold water to transfer it to the drum. In winter, when the soften compo-l sition and the water fed to the dispenser may be especially cold, ! there can be problems in that some of the composition is notflushed completely off the dispen~er during operation of the machine, and a deposlt of the composition may build up with re-peated wash cycles, so that it may become neces~ary for the user I to flush the dispenser with hot water. This problem can be par-ticularly severe for highly concentra~ed softener formulations because of the aforementioned gelling proble~ ~nd also when a nonionlc surfactant is present with the cationic ~oftener since there is a tendency for the viscosity of the nonionic to increase when ~ixed with cold water forming a gel.
I In British application 2053249A publlshed February 4, 1981l ~here are disclosed cationic fabric ~oftenlng compositions containing 15 to 60X by weight of cationic softener, 25 to 75%

by weight of an aqueous medium and 0.5 to 40% by weight of a specified water soluble polymer.

S~LO

In U.S. Patent 4,351,737 concentrated fabric softeners are described con-taining both cationic and non-ionic soEteners and a non-ionic dispersing agent along with a solvent mixture of a Cl to C3 alkanol and a liquid glycol, polyglycol or an alkyl ether thereof~ Hexylene glycol is not disclosed.
I-t has now been found that the dispersibility in cold water and the flow from automatic dispensers, even in highly concentrated, non-ionic surfactant-containing liquid fabric softener compositions can be improved considerably by replacing part or all of the coinvention liquid carrier of the non-aqueous liquid softener composition by hexylene glycol.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a stable substantially non-aqueous concentrated fabric softening composition comprising about 20 to 80~ oE a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic so.Etener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non~aqueous carrier l:iquid~h~said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight o:E hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight of non-ionic surEactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of compounds of the formula (IIa) or (IIb):

~ R3~ 4 ll (IIa) _ _ +

4~ ~C~ ;~ 3 (IIb) N ~ ~N-(CH2)m~ C 7 ~3~ 62301-1343 wherein R2 is C6 to C30 alkyl or alkenyl, R3 and R4 are, independently, h~dro~en or Cl to C4 alkyl; R5 is Cl to C4 alkyl; R6 is hydrogen or Cl to C4 alkyl; R7 is C6 to C30 alkyl;
m is 2 or 3; and Y is a water-solubilizing anion.
The present invention further provides a stable substantially non-aqueous, concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essenti.ally of about 20 to 80~ of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about ~0 to 20% by weight oE a non-aqueous fB) carrier liquid' said carrier liquid comprising at least ?5% by weight of hexalene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected rom the group consisting of compounds of the formula (I) R .R
\ / _ R / N \ R (L) wherei.n two o:E the R's are selected from the yroup consisting of ditallow, distearyl, dihexydecyl and dihydrogenated tallow;
and the other two R's are selected from the group consisting of methyl, hydroxypropyl, isopropyl, ethyl and -(CH21CH)xH
Rl where x is 1 to 5 and Rl is hydrogen or C1 to C4 alkyl, and Y
is a water-soluble anion.
The present invention also provides a method by which highly concentrated fabric softening compositions are produced and used.

,s:

~LZ~S~ 62301-1343 DET~ILE~ DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The compositions of the present inventlon are stable substantially non~aqueous compositions which eontain a high coneentration of the cationic fabric soEtener which is a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound as hereinafter described and hexylene glycol as the, or as part of the, liquid carrier. Preferred compositions may also include non-ionic surfactant and electrolyte.
In one embodiment of this invention the compositions of this invention contain at least about 20% cationic softener and up to about 80% thereof, preferably up to about 70% and more preEerably up to about 60% oE said cationic softener having the general formula (I) as defined above.
In the compounds of Eormula (I) ~ is a water-solubilizing anic~n sueh as ehloride, bromide, iodide, fluoride, sulphate, methosulEate, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate and earboxylate (i.e.
aeetate, adipate, propionate, phthalate, benzoate, oleate, ete.). Typieal eationics of Eormula (I) inelude the following:
distearyl dimethyl ammonium ehloride ditallow dimethyl ammonium ehloride dihexadeeyl dimethyl ammonium chloride distearyl dimethyl ammonium bromide di(hydrogenated tallow) dimethyl ammonium bromide ditallow isopropyl methyl ammonium ehloride distearyl di(isopropyl) ammonium chloride distearyl dimethyl ammonium methosulfate.
In the other quaternary softeners whieh are of the formula IIa and IIb as defined above, R2 is preferably C8 to C18 alkyl or alkenyl and R7 is preferably C8 to C18 alkyl;
Illustrative compounds of formula II inelude:

5~
. .

128~ 62301-1343 1-methyl-1-((tallowylamido-)ethyl~ -2-talloyl-~,5-dihydro imidazolinium methyl sulphate; l-methyl-l-~(palmitoylamido) ethyl)- 2-octadecyl- 4,5-dihydroimidazolinium chloride.
Specifically preEerred cationics are: ditallow monomethyl monohydroxypropyl ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethyl-ammonium chloride, ditallow dimethylammonium chloride, ditallow isopropyl methyl ammonium chloride, etc.
The invention further comprises a method for imparting so~tness to fabrics which comprises adding inventive compositions comprising compounds of formula I, IIa or IIb as defined above to an aqueous medium containing the fabrics in an amount sufEicient to provide a concentration o:E the cationic of ~rom about 0.005~ to 0.05~ based on the weight of :Eabrics.
PreEerably the composition is added during the rinse cycle oE
an automatic washing machine by flowing a stream o~ cold water onto the composition. Whereby the composition is dispersed in the flowing stream and then trans:Eerred to the aqueous medium.
Alternatively one can dilute the composition with ~ to 15 times as much water and then add the diluted composition to the clothes.

- 5a ~.

- ;

~335~L~
, The non-aqueous carrier may comprise from about 80X
to about 20~, preferably from about 60% to about 25%, by weight of the co~position.
The non-aqueou~ carrier of the composition of thi6 invention co~prises at least about 25% and preferably at leas~ l 30% of hexylene glycol and the balance a Cl to C3 alkanol~ prefe~-ably ethanol or propannl, a C2 to C6 glycol 9 preferably dlethyle~e glycol or propylene glycol, or a Cl to C6 mono- or di-alkyl ether of such glycol9 or mixtures thereof. The en~ire carrier may consist ofihexylene glycol to the exclusion of the alcohols and¦or glycols (and/or glycol ethers~. ~exylene glycol is the commercial name for 2-methylpeneane-2~4~diol.
Typical carriers may co~prise (a) 25% hexylene glycol and 75% propylene glycol; tb~ 31Z hexylene glycol and 69% pro-pylene glycol; (c) 31Z i~opropallol and 69% hexylene glycol;
(.d2 lOOX hexylene glycol.
The total amount by weight of the cationic fabric softener and the non-aqueou~ liquid carrier ln the co~position will Be at least about 80 and up to 100~, preferably from about 85% to 9~% by weight, the balance including the nonionic Rur-factan~ electrolyte andlor optional co~entio~al additives.
The optional no~-ionic compcnent of the present compo-sition comprises from about 0 to about 15Z, preferably from about 1 to 12%, by weight of the compo~itiou and generally may vary wieh t~e cationic softener in a ~eight ratio of cationic to nonionic of from about 25-1 ~o about 3:1, prePerably from about 12:1 to 6:1 and e~p@cially preferably abou~ 10:1. Suitable ~2~3~

1, non-ionic compounds include ethylene oxide and propylene (and mixtures thereof) condensates of C8 to C20 aliphatic alcohols and mono, dl- and tri-alkyl (each C4 to Cl2) phenols- Generally, t~e non-ionics preferred herein are moderately hydrophilic in nature with a moderate hydrophilic group. In the present in-vention, ehi~ group is preferably an oxyethyl chain generally of at leas~ about 2 terminal oxyethyl groups ti.e. the oxyethyl groups are conti~ous and terminate in an hydroxyl group) with no more than about 20 such groupg, although there may be as many as 2ao moles o~yethylene per mole of the hydrophobic group.
Particularly suitsble n~n-ionic surfactants include a C9 ll aliphatic a1cohoL containing 8 moles of condensed ethylene oxide; an etho~ylated nonyl phenol with 6 moles of ethylene oxide, an e~hoxylated octyl phenol wlth 4.5 mole~ of ethylene oxide and a C9 aliphatic alcohol with 7.5 moles ethylene oxide.
In addition to the foregoing components of the soften-ing compositions of this invention, there may also be included numerous conventional, suppleme~tal9 and optional ingredients which do not adversely affect the s~ability and/or funct~onal characteristics of ~he instant composi~ions. Thus, for example, there may Be presen~ ~he ubiq~itou~ perfumes, dyes, pigments, opacifiers, germicides, optical brighteners, anti corrosion agents ~e.g. sodium slllcate) 7 polymers, ant~-s~atic agents and the like. ~here used, each may comprise, for example, from O.Ol to about 5X by weight of the composition.

5~6 ;
It is, of course, recognized and understood that most available chemical materials and part~cularly those containing an hydrocarbyl moiety are generally mix~ures of closely related ., , moietles. Thus, the long chain alkyl substituents (R) in the cationics used in this invention may not only be a single lengthl carbon chain but more likely a mixture. In this regard, a par- ¦
ticularly useful quaternary salt, wherein the alkyl groups are derived f~om tallow, may contain about 35~ C16 and 60% C18 and minor amounts of C14 and even others. Slmilarly, the aliphatic alcohol perc~irsors for the non-ionic~ used herein may be of a single carbon chain length but more likely, again, it will and can be a ~lxture in any proportion of the operable chain length compounds.
The fabric softenlng compositions of this invention should have vi~cosi~ies in the range of about 10 to 250 centipoi- es and preferably 25 to 150 centipoises in addition to their essent- .
ial wate.r-disperYibility in the rinse cycle (or any other form of dilution prior to use).
The manner of comblning the hexylene glycol, other optional carriers, cationic softener snd optional nonionic sur-factant, electrolyte, and other optional conventional additives ~s not particularly critical9 nor i8 the order of addition.
However, some degree of care ghauld be taken to avoid excessive heating in crder to limit solvent evaporation and, more importan _ ly, to stay below the flash point tempera~ure of the carrier and any other low boiling liquids that may be present or brought in as components of the softe~er and the like. For example, tha flash point for hexyl~ne glycol is 93C. Generally; ho~ever, lX83510 it is preferred to combine all of th~ ingredients at room temperature, e.g. form about 15C to 25C, or lower.
A suitable procedure for preparing the compositions of this invention involves dissolvlng any nonionic and other additives (e.g. brlgh~ener, ~olor, perfume, etc.) in the carrler and then adding this mixture to the cationic which preferably i5 in liquid orm9 e.g. as a dispersion in the carrier of any component thereof tfor example, as a dispersion in lsopropanol).
Theq~following examples will serve to illustratc the present invention without being deemed llmitative thereof.
Parts are by weight unless otherwise indicated.

_ _ Following the procedure described above, 2 part~ of an ethoxylated nonyl phenol (contsining 6 moles of ethylene oxide~ are dis~olved ln about 75 parts of hexylene glycol at a temperature of about 20C. To this solutio~ are slowly added 20 parts of dlstearyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (75~ active in isopropanol) with stirring. A stable product results with a viscoqity of about 100 cps.

EXAMPLE_2 The procedure of Example 1 is repeated utilizing the followlng parts of (A) ca~ionlc (active), (B~ surfactant, ~aCl) ;

and (C) hexylene glycol (a) A = 22; B - 2.0; C - 76.0 (b) A = 34; B = 315; S = 62.5 (c) A ~ 46; B s 4.8, C s 49.2 (d) A = 58; B - S~5; C 5 36.5 hexylen~ glycol/ethylene glycol a~ 3:1 welght ratio O g _ ~Z~3~

.

Exa~ples 1 and 2 are repeated utilizing in place of distearyl d$methyl ammonium chloride the ~ollowing:
I (a3 ditallow dlmethyl ammonium chloride I (b~ di~tearyl dlmethyl ammonium methosulfate (c3 di(hydrogena~ed tallow) dimethyl ammonium bromide (d~ di hexadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (e~ dlstearyl diethyl ammonium chloride.
(f) l-methyl-l-((tallowylamido)ethyl)-2-tallowyl-4,5-dihydroimidazolinium methyl sulfa~e.

In order to demon~trate ~he improved dispensibllity of the hexylene glycol Ba~ed liquid carrier for the concentrated softening compocition~ ~he following formulation~ A-E are pre-pared:
Weight %
Solvent (A-E) 3109 i Cationic fabric ~oftener ~ 60.0 Nonionic ~ 5.0 Perfume, dye, minors 3.1 _ _ __ _ 75% A.I. in isopropanol . ~ nonyl phenol ethoxyla~ed ~ith an a~erage of 6 moles athylene oxide (C-9 phenol ~06:13 ~LZ~33~

The following are used a~ the ~olvent:
A lOX i~opropyl alcohol and 21.9X diethylese glyc~l (comparlRo ) B - lOX hexylane glycol and 21.9Z propylene glycol C - 10~ l~opropyl alcohol ~nd 21.9~ he~yle~ glycol D - 31.9~ hexylene glycol E - 31.9% propylene glyco~ (comp~ri~on) ~ ach of ~he sbove ~ofte~er formulatlon~ are added to the dl~penser of a typic~l European wa~hi~ machi~e,anAEG-802, and after 3 cu~ulative up-to-boll cycl~9 (~ho di~pe~r being refilled for cach cycl~), th~ a~ount o~ th~ ~o~ulation rem~in-in~ in the di~pe~ mea~u~d. The r~ult~ are ~hown in the followin~ table a~ a percant of th~ tot~l amouat u~ed (i.e. A
~r~ple dos~):

For~ulation Solvent Quantit~ Remalnln~ (%) A lOZ i~opropanol 15 21.9X ~letbylene glycol B lOX he~ylene ~lycol 6.7 21.9X propylen~ ~lycol C lOX i~opropa~ol 3.6 21.9X hexylen~ ~lycol D 31.9Z hexyle~e glycol 208 31.9X propyle~e ~lycol 19 Fro~ the abov~ ~sults~ lt e~ be ~aslly ~pprQclatcd that the use of heYyl~e glycol i~ repl~c~ o~ ~11 or part of the conventlo~al ~on-a4ueou~ liquid c~rlers ~or ri~4e cycle added ~abric ~ote~er for~ulstion gre~tly l~proves the cold water disper~ibility ~d flow Sdisp~n~lbllity~, even of con-centrated or~ulatlon~ contalnlu~ nonlo~c ~uract~t~.

*Trade-mark B~

~35~

Moreover, the concentrated liquid fabric softener composltions of this invention are ~table for long periods of time at both low, e.g. 4C and high, e.g. 35C storage temper-atures, includlng freeze-thaw cycles, over period~ of 6 week~
and longer.
The compo~ition~ of thia lnven~ion have the further advantage that he2ylene glycol i~ non-toxic and, ~herefore, the formulations are safe to u~e.
~ While the instant compoaitions are intended primsrily ,j :
I for direct useb,.~n the rinse cycle of automatic washing machines ;I they can also be used in diluted form and for manual treatment, jl both in and out of the ~ashlng machine.
`I i ~I St~ll Purther, it ~hould be understood thst as used I herein, the term "non-aqueouB" menn~ ~hat no water i9 illtentiOilay-ly added to the sy~tem, although minor amounta of water, e.g.

, up to a~out 5X, can be pre~ent, based on additlon of specific I ingredients, e.g. dyes, a~ aqueoua ~olution~, the water contain-¦ ed in the softener, etc.
; I I

~ , ' ~

ll - 12 -.

Claims (21)

1. A stable substantially non-aqueous concentrated fabric softening composition comprising about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of compounds of the formula (IIa) or (IIb):

(IIa) (IIb) wherein R2 is C6 to C30 alkyl or alkenyl, R3 and R4 are, independently, hydrogen or C1 to C4 alkyl; R5 is C1 to C4 alkyl; R6 is hydrogen or C1 to C4 alkyl; R7 is C6 to C30 alkyl;
m is 2 or 3; and Y is a water-solubilizing anion.

2. A stable substantially non-aqueous, concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of compounds of the formula (I) (I) wherein two of the R's are selected from the group consisting of ditallow, distearyl, dihexydecyl and dihydrogenated tallow;
and the other two R's are selected from the group consisting of methyl, hydroxypropyl, isopropyl, ethyl and where x is 1 to 5 and R1 is hydrogen or C1 to C4 alkyl, and Y
is a water-soluble anion.

3. The composition of claim 1 or 2, wherein the weight ratio of cationic fabric softener to non-ionic surfactant is from about 25:1 to about 3:1.

4. The composition of claim 1 or 2 wherein the non-aqueous carrier (B) comprises at least 35% by weight of hexylene glycol.

5. The composition of claim 1 or 2 wherein the non-aqueous carrier consists of hexylene glycol.

6. The composition of claim 1 or 2 wherein the non-aqueous carrier comprises a mixture containing at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol and the balance being a C1 to C3 alkanol, a C2 to C6 glycol, a C1 to C6 mono- or di-alkyl ether of said glycol, or mixtures thereof,

7. The composition of claim 1 or 2 wherein said non-aqueous carrier is comprised of (a) 25% hexylene glycol and 75%
propylene glycol; (b) 31% hexylene glycol and 69% propylene glycol; (c) 31% isopropanol and 69% hexylene glycol; or (d) 100% hexylene glycol.

8. The composition of claim 1 or 2 wherein the non-ionic surfactant is an ethylene or propylene or mixtures thereof, oxide condensate of C8-C20 aliphatic alcohol or a mono-, di-, tri-alkyl phenol, each of said alkyl groups containing from 4 to 12 carbon atoms.

9. The composition of claim 8 wherein said condensate comprises from about 2 to about 20 moles ethylene oxide per mole of alcohol or phenol.

10. The composition of claim 1 or 2 wherein the non-ionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of C9-C11 aliphatic alcohol containing 8 moles of condensed ethylene oxide, an ethoxylated nonyl phenol with 6 moles of condensed ethylene oxide, an ethoxylated nonyl phenol with 6 moles of ethylene oxide, an ethoxylated octyl phenol with 4.5 moles of ethylene oxide and a C9 aliphatic alcohol with 7.5 moles of ethylene oxide.

11. A method for imparting softness to fabrics which comprises adding the composition of claim 1 to an aqueous medium containing the fabrics in an amount to provide a concentration of the cationic of from about 0.005% to 0.5%
based on the weight of the fabrics.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein the composition is added to the aqueous medium during the rinse cycle of an automatic washing machine by flowing a stream of cold water onto the composition whereby the composition is dispersed in the flowing stream and then transferred to the aqueous medium.

13. A method for imparting softeners to clothes which comprises diluting the composition of claim 1 or 2 with from about 4 to 15 times as much water by volume as the composition of claim 1 or 2 and then adding the diluted composition to the clothes.

14. A method for imparting softness to fabrics which comprises adding the composition of claim 2 to an aqueous medium containing the fabrics in an amount to provide a concentration of the cationic of from about 0.005% to 0.5%
based on the weight of the fabrics.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the composition is added to the aqueous medium during the rinse cycle of an automatic washing machine by flowing a stream of cold water onto the composition whereby the composition is dispersed in the flowing stream and then transferred to the aqueous medium.

16. A stable substantially non-aqueous, concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of 1-methyl 1-((tallowylamido) ethyl)-2-talloyl-4,5-dihydro imidazolinium methyl sulphate; and 1-methyl-1(palmitoylamido)ethyl)-2-octadecyl-4,5-dihydroimidazolinium chloride.

17. A stable substantially non-aqueous concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of ditallow monomethyl monohydroxypropyl ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethylammonium chloride, ditallow dimethylammonium chloride and ditallow isopropyl methyl ammonium chloride.

18. A stable substantially non-aqueous, concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about l to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of dihexadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethyl ammonium bromide, di(hydrogenated tallow) dimethyl ammonium bromide, distearyl di(isopropyl) ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethyl ammonium methosulfate and distearyl diethyl ammonium chloride.

19. A method for imparting softening to fabrics which comprises adding a stable substantially non-aqueous, concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to

20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about l to 15% by weight of non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of 1-methyl-1-(tallowylamido-) ethyl) -2-talloyl-4,5-dihydro imidazolinium methyl sulphate, and 1-methyl-1-(palmitoylamido)ethyl)-2-octadecyl-4,5-dihydroimidazolinium chloride to an aqueous medium containing the fabrics in an amount to provide a concentration of the cationic of from about 0.005% to 0.5% based on the weight of the fabrics.

20. A method for imparting softness to fabrics which comprises adding a stable substantially non-aqueous concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight non-ionic sufactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of ditallow monomethyl monohydroxypropyl ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethylammonium chloride, ditallow dimethyl ammonium chloride and ditallow isopropyl methyl ammonium chloride to an aqueous medium containing the fabrics in an amount to provide a concentration of the cationic of from about 0.005% to 0.5 based on the weight of the fabrics.

21. A method for imparting softness to fabrics which comprises adding a stable substantially non-aqueous, concentrated fabric softening composition consisting essentially of about 20 to 80% of a water dispersible quaternary ammonium compound cationic softener (A), about 80 to 20% by weight of a non-aqueous carrier liquid (B), said carrier liquid comprising at least 25% by weight of hexylene glycol, and about 1 to 15% by weight non-ionic surfactant (C), wherein the cationic softener (A) is selected from the group consisting of dihexadecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethyl ammonium bromide, di(hydrogenated tallow) dimethyl ammonium bromide, distearyl di(isopropyl) ammonium chloride, distearyl dimethyl ammonium methosulfate and distearyl diethyl ammonium chloride to an aqueous medium containing the fabrics in an amount to provide a concentration of the cationic of from about 0.005% to 0.5% based on the weight of the fabrics.