Detergent word probably won't strike your mind about mushrooms. It may sound weird and you may ask yourself why? But yes! A Danish firm called Novozymes is using the fungi to make the laundry cleaners more effective, environment friendly and energy efficient. Specifically, mushroom's enzymes are extracted from it that breaks down the tough materials that the fungi feed on. Finding the most effective enzyme to remove any stain chocolate ice cream, say, or grass could lead to better detergents that work at lower temperatures, using less energy per load. And they'd be biodegradable. Two scientists from Novozymes have hunted for oyster mushrooms that protrude from fallen beech or bracken fungi that feast on tough plant fibers. They are studying the enzymes in mushrooms that speed up chemical reactions or natural processes like decay. Their work has helped many companies to come up with enzymes that could be useful for laundry and dishwasher detergents which would require less water rather or would work as effectively at lower temperatures. This may be a significant step in energy saving. Washing machine, for instance accounts for over 6% of the total energy used in any household. Modern detergents contain as many as 8 different enzymes. In 2016, Novozymes generated about $2.2 billion in revenue and provided enzymes for detergents including Tide, Ariel and Seventh Generation.