Detergent Builder Glycolic acid has properties that make it a candidate for a detergent builder. Detergent builders remove hard water calcium and magnesium salts. Glycolic acid will chelate calcium and magnesium in a similar fashion. It has the added advantage of being readily biodegradable so it does not accumulate in the environement and does not contribute to waste treatment plant sludge. Limited testing has shown that it performs well under hard water laundry washing conditions.
Some uses require very high-purity glycolic acid.
99 Crystal grades of glycolic acid have undergone additional purification steps. These steps minimize trace impurities and color. Because of its ability to complex aluminum salts, as well as hard water salts, glycolic acid can be valuable in conditioning paper felts. It is noninjurous to the wool and nylon components of paper felts. The ability of glycolic acid to react with casein to form cationic casein glycolates has been used to manufacture adhesives.