The Science Behind Effective Cleaning

Cleaning is one of those everyday tasks that we do on autopilot and despite the fact that we all tend to be clear about which products should be used on each surface or task we undertake, we make our decisions with little thought as to what makes these products the right ones for the job!

We learn which products work best in each situation and choose the best products to clean effectively, (without causing damage), through our own practical experience, but there are of course scientific reasons to explain what makes each cleaning product suitable for each specific task.

Different combinations of chemicals are combined with water to create powerful cleaners that we can use to make our environments safer and more hygienic. For example: 

Surfactants
A surfactant lowers the surface tension of water, helping the cleaning product to interact with grease and oil and enabling water to penetrate foods and other substances that are stuck to a surface.

Emulsifiers
Organic dirt and oily substances cannot be removed by water alone and effective cleaning relies on soap, which acts as an emulsifier, allowing oil and water to mix so that the dirt can be removed efficiently during the rinsing process.

Once the grease has been broken down into droplets by the emulsifier, it is easier to rinse it away. 

Saponifiers
Saponification is the chemical reaction that converts animal fats and oils to soap, a process that has been used for centuries. A saponifier is an alkaline chemical. Following the saponification process, fats and oils become water soluble, allowing them to be washed away easily.

Solvents
A solvent is a fluid that is used to break down another chemical. Sometimes a water-based solvent is sufficient, but when fats or oils are involved, alcohol or a hydrocarbon is usually required to cut through a substance and dissolve it.

All cleaning products rely on some kind of liquid solvent. 

Chelating Agents
Hard water impedes cleaning solutions and prevents them from doing their job properly. Tiny quantities of a chelating agent will often be included in cleaning products to eliminate water hardness making the product more effective. 

Oxidizers
Oxidizers are present in cleaning products including bleach and borax. They work by breaking chemical bonds in molecules, resulting in the whitening of a material or surface. 

Enzymes
Enzymes are included in certain cleaning products as they digest proteins and fats and are capable of breaking down molecules to remove stains. 

Acid & Alkaline
All substances that contain water have their own PH level, which will react differently with different types of stains and substances. A PH of seven is neutral, (pure water is PH7). Anything below seven is an acid and anything above seven is an alkaline.

When cleaning, we choose products with a certain PH, to neutralise the impact of the acidic or alkaline ions in the substance or on the surface that we are cleaning. When we clean with the appropriate type of cleaner, we must neutralise in order to clean effectively.

In a veterinary practice for example, cleaning up a urine spill from an animal effectively, would require the use of an alkaline-based detergent, because urine is on the acidic side of the PH scale. 

Acid Cleaners
Acid cleaners are required when cleaning inorganic soils, i.e. carbon free matter that was never alive. For example:

• Lime Scale
• Rust
• Watermarks 

Alkaline Cleaners
On the other end of the scale, an alkaline cleaner is required when cleaning organic soils containing matter that once lived, such as:

• Animal Fats
• Animal Waste
• Proteins
• Mould 

Combination Cleaners
Sometimes, just to complicate things, a substance or stain may be a combination of both organic and inorganic soils. This generally makes cleaning more of a challenge and a combination cleaner, either acid or alkaline, combined with a solvent of some kind will be required to clean effectively.