Patent ID: 7828907

Claim:
A method of removing soils from a textile surface and preventing calcium precipitation from the textile surface, the method comprising: (a) forming a use solution having a pH of between 10 and 12 consisting of an alkyl vinyl ether-maleic acid copolymer, water, and at least one component selected from the group consisting of: sodium carbonate and sodium hydroxide, phosphates, phosphonates, phosphites and aminocarboxylates, wherein the use solution has less than about 100 parts per million phosphates, phosphonates, phosphites and aminocarboxylates; (b) applying the use solution onto the textile surface for an amount of time sufficient to remove soils from the textile surface and to prevent calcium precipitation onto the textile surface; (c) washing the textile surface in the use solution; and (d) rinsing the use solution from the textile surface.