HOME CLEANING PRODUCTS LIKE LIQUID HAND WASH, SOAPS, TOILET CLEANERS, FLOOR AND GLASS CLEANERS, LIQUID DISHWASH AND DETERGENTS ETC.

A cleaning product is a mix of special materials used to remove stains and soils from a surface, and to restore its original condition. It is also used to help remove unwanted microbial contaminants from a surface.

Cleaning plays an essential role in our daily lives. Keeping surfaces clean and free of soils helps reduce the spreading of germs and help extend the life of our belongings.

Countless products are available in stores to help us keep our homes and offices clean. There are many different kinds that are made especially for kitchens, bathrooms, laundries, different surfaces and so on.

Cleaning products play an essential role in our daily lives at home, in school and in the office. By safely and effectively removing soils, germs and other contaminants, they prevent the spread of infectious diseases and control allergens, such as dust and mold, helping us to stay healthy. Cleaning products also enable us to care for our homes and possessions.

Chemicals used for cleaning and in cleaning products, such as laundry detergents, bleaches, dishwashing products and other household cleaners, help improve cleaning efficiency, making homes, offices and other environments both easier to clean and more hygienic.

Now days, the hardest part about cleaning is finding the right — well, best — products to get the job done. Because, let’s face it, a pesky wine stain isn’t going to remove itself. Whether you’re dealing with stubborn soap scum, hard-to-clean streaks, or burned-on spills, these cleaning products selected by the Good Housekeeping Cleaning Lab will make everything in your house — clothes, countertops, and carpets, included — look just like new. Right this way to a cleaner, mess-free home…

Cleaning products contain substances that remove dirt, stain, and bad smell. There are different cleaning products, and some of them are used to clean surfaces such as bathroom tiles,floors, sinks, and drains. Others are used to clean clothing, blankets, and curtains.

A detergent contains surfactants, which are substances with cleaning properties. Surfactants have long water-insoluble hydrocarbon tail and water-soluble polar heads. When these molecules are placed in water, they form micelles. They orient themselves with the hydrocarbon tails, sticking to one another while the polar heads are pointing outwards and into the water. A mixture of detergent and water is a colloid. Micelles are dispersed throughout the water, so the mixture appears cloudy. When oil or grease is present, the micelle disperses and entraps the grease. When the detergent is rinsed out, the grease comes with it.

Bleach is a household cleaning agent used to remove dyes and whiten clothing. The color that stains white fabrics typically a rise from organic dyes and pigments. For example, when carrot juice spills on your white garment, the pigment beta-carotene binds with the fabric. Chlorine-based bleach is used to break the chemical bonds of the pigment. The pigment ischanged to a different substance that do not absorb visible light. Hence, the stained garment appears white again.

Air freshener or purifier is used to emit fragrance in different spaces at home, especially in restrooms. It can be in the form of spray, candle, oil, bead, or gel. Its main purpose is to eliminate or mask unpleasant odors. Its name is misleading though because it does not really freshen or purify the air. Solid or liquid air fresheners (candle, oil, bead, or gel) have volatile fragrant molecules. These molecules easily change from solid or liquid into gas, even at room temperature. When they mix with air, they move via diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of particles from higher concentration to lower concentration. Hence, the air freshener molecules spread out across the room.

Spray air fresheners are aerosols. Aerosols are colloids of solid or liquid particles in gas. The fragrant molecules dissolve in air. When these molecules are allowed to escape their spray containers, they mix with air, and the fragrant smell spreads.

Disinfectant

A disinfectant is an antimicrobial household product. It kills microorganisms on surfaces of inanimate objects. Note that it is different from antiseptics, which are used on living things to kill microorganisms. The effectiveness of a disinfectant depends on the number of microorganisms, environment (temperature), time of exposure, and nature of microorganisms.

Most disinfectants, such as alcohol and chlorine, work by denaturing proteins of microorganisms. When their proteins are damaged, metabolic processes are disrupted, causing death.

The active ingredient is the compound that acts to fulfill the function of a said product. A finished household product is usually a mixture of many different compounds. All products have an active ingredient that enables it to work. Some products only have one active ingredient while others may have more than one. Here are some important pointers in determining the active ingredient.

• The active ingredient can be classified as acidic, basic, or neutral.
• The determination of its acidity or alkalinity often dictates how the product will work.
• The active ingredient must always be labeled in consumer goods.

Importance of an Active Ingredient

Knowing the active ingredient in certain products will tell you what function they can serve.

Product labels are required to put down their active ingredients. Some of these ingredients may be toxic to the user or even to the environment. In some cases, a few household products will share the same active ingredient, allowing them to be used for different purposes. While other products may have the same function, they have different active ingredients.

The active ingredient determines the mode of action of a specific product.

• Dissolution – A common mode of action based on the principle of like-dissolves-like and the concept of solvent– solute interactions.
• Acid–Base – Certain substances are either acidic or basic. An acid will react with a base, or vice versa, allowing it to be dissolved or carried away by water.
• Reduction–Oxidation- Oxidizing agents work to convert certain substances into water-soluble ions.
• Surfactants – Detergents and soaps can be classified as surfactants. They form tiny vessels known as micelles that carry away the undesired material.
• Disinfectant – The reagent targets a biological organism responsible for an undesired effect.

A cleaning agent is a mixture of many compounds. They are considered as additive ingredients. These additive ingredients have some functions in the product. Some ingredients are added to mixtures while others have more complex mechanisms.

Some functions if additive ingredients include: solvents, fragrance enhancers, masking agents, builders, preservatives, antimicrobial agents, and bubble enhancers.

A solvent is often used to increase the quantity of the cleaning agent. The solvent is used to dilute the cleaning agent to its minimum functional concentration. For instance, ethanol which is used as a disinfectant is functional at 40% solution while bleach can be functional as low as5% solution. In other cases, fragrance enhancers are added to products to mask a more putrid smell. Particularly, bathroom cleaners use these added fragrances. Fragrances often come in the form of essential oils.

A scent of a product is often underestimated in terms of its toxic effects. Some cleaning agents have masking agents to remove fragrance for chemically sensitive users or people who present with allergies. However, the molecule of fragrance still remains in the product.

The term ‘builders’ is something used in discussing surfactants? In the case of cleaning agents, these builders are often present in detergents. Builders are substances that prevent other contaminants from reacting with the active ingredient in the detergent.

Cleaning agents that are stored for long term periods need some sort of preservative to keep the active ingredient functional. These may come in the form of salts, organic reagents, or buffers that maintain pH balance.

Antimicrobial reagents

Microbes are often the cause of infection or cause some products to degrade. The purpose of a cleaning agent is to maintain the appearance or use of a certain material. Therefore it would make sense for antimicrobials to be present in cleaning agents.

Adding bubble enhancers to allow detergents to do their job more effectively by enhancing the covered area of the surfactant. The formation of foam/bubbles facilitates the surfactant by aiding in the accumulation of unwanted particles. To summarize, the functions of additive ingredients are (but not limited to the following):-

• serve as disinfectant for hygienic purposes and to prolong the shelf life of the product
• enhance or mask a specific property; and
• protect the active ingredient from attacking other molecules

Triclosan is an example of an antimicrobial additive that reduces or prevents bacterial contamination. They are usually present in toothpastes and soaps.

Sodium tri-polyphosphate is a common example of a builder found in detergents. It allows surfactants to work at their full potential. It also acts as a pH buffer and prevents deposition of soil.

History of cleaning products

The origin of personal cleanliness dates back to prehistoric times. Since water is essential for life, ancient people lived near water and knew something about its cleansing effect.

Soap got its name, according to an ancient Roman legend, from Mount Sapo, where animals were sacrificed. Rain washed a mixture of melted animal fat, or tallow, and wood ashes down into the clay soil along the Tiber River. Women found that this clay mixture made their washing cleaner, with less effort.

The science of modern soap making was born with the discovery of Michel Eugene Chevreul, a French chemist, who discovered the chemical nature and relationship of fats, glycerine and fatty acids. His studies established the basis for both fat and soap chemistry.

The first detergents were used mainly for hand dishwashing and fine fabric laundering. The breakthrough in the development of detergents for all‐purpose laundry uses came in 1946, when the first detergent (containing a surfactant) was introduced.

Since those early achievements in detergent chemistry, new product activity has continued to focus on developing cleaning products that are efficient and easy to use, as well as safe for consumers and for the environment.