Chemistry Behind Cleaning
How Do Chemicals Keep your house clean?
There are hundreds of specialty cleaners on the market that claim to fight stains, blast mildew, and get tough on grime. But how do these chemical cleaners work to get the job done?
There is chemistry behind every cleaner underneath your kitchen sink
In many environments, like hospitals, schools, and even homes, these chemical cleaners are essential to remove harmful bacteria, mold removal and reduce the spread of infection. Chemical cleaners can also be used for aesthetic appeal—to keep a surface clean and free from dust and dirt. Cleaning products are made with a number of potent chemicals designed to eradicate contaminants, such as bathroom and tile cleaners, stain removers, all-purpose cleaners, glass cleaners, and furniture polishes.
While every cleaning product has its purpose, they each contain different chemical ingredients. Before you use any cleaner in your home or business, it’s important to read labels carefully. Most over-the-counter cleaners are made with toxic ingredients and should be kept out of reach of children. Some chemical cleaners can irritate the eyes and skin upon contact; these products may release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that pollute indoor and outdoor environments in the form of smog.
For this reason, it is critical to read cleaning product labels carefully before purchasing and using chemical cleaners in your home.
Commercially-sold cleaning chemicals can be broken
Strong alkali
Designed to destroy harmful microbes and dissolve proteins; examples include drain cleaners, oven cleaners, and lye. Strong alkali products are corrosive and must be handled with care as they can burn and irritate the skin and lungs.
Heavy-duty alkali
These products contain sodium carbonate, a corrosive degreaser used to remove fatty buildup from pans, burners, and drains. Sodium carbonate can be found in powdered detergents and washing soda.
Mild alkali
These products contain sodium bicarbonate, also called baking soda. Mild alkali products can be used for gentle cleaning as they are not corrosive; these products are safer to use around children and pets but still must be handled with care.
Strong acid
Used to clean sinks, bathtubs, and toilets to remove soap scum, toilet bowl rings, and hard water deposits. Strong acid products are highly corrosive and may contain phosphoric and hydrochloric acids.
Mild Acid
Cleaners made with acetic, citric, hydroxyacetic, levulinic, and gluconic acids, used to remove hard water stains, rust, and tarnish in sinks and showers. Mild acid cleaning products are safer to use around children and pets when made with citrus or acetic acids but still must be handled with care.
Solvent
Used to dissolve oil and grease with ingredients like mineral spirits, denatured alcohols, and acetones. Solvent cleaners may come in the form of stain removers, rug cleaners, and all-purpose cleaning products, all of which are highly flammable.
Soaps/Detergents
Used to emulsify grease and fat when found in laundry soap and dishwashing detergent. These products are safer to use around children and pets but still must be handled with care.
COMPARISON of SOAP & DETERGENT
ingredients
Soap
Sodium salts of long chain carboxylic acids
Detergent
Sodium salts of long chain benzene sulphonic acids or alkyl sulfate
How to Obtain
Soap
Obtain by natural resources from plants and animals (fats, oils)
Detergent
Synthetic materials, hydrocarbon of petroleum or coal
calcium and salts in water
Soap
Insoluble
Detergent
Soluble
Affected by hard water?
Soap
Affected. Produces scum in hard water, which affects its cleaning ability
Detergent
Not affected
biodegradable?
Soap
YES
Detergent
NO
For this reason, it is critical to read cleaning product labels carefully before purchasing and using chemical cleaners in your home.
Modern cleaning products may contain a number of toxic chemicals, like phthalates found in fragranced air freshener and dish soap, considered known endocrine disruptors; perchloroethylene or “perc,” a neurotoxin found in stain remover and carpet cleaner; and the powerful irritant ammonia found in glass cleaner and bathroom polish, known to affect sufferers of asthma and respiratory issues. When mixed with bleach, ammonia can create poisonous gas.
It is for this reason that many families and businesses have chosen to “go green” when cleaning. To minimize toxic chemical exposure while still effectively cleaning, environmentally safe product lines have been created to meet Green Seal, New American Dream, or Canada’s Environmental Choice Program criteria.
The use of at-home DIY green cleaning products is also on the rise
Cleaning with natural, non-toxic ingredients cuts down on indoor chemical exposure. As an alternative to a more corrosive drain cleaner, a solution of baking soda, water, vinegar, and lemon juice can be used. Natural air fresheners can be made from lemon zest and cinnamon sticks simmered on the stove. Baking soda, water, and vinegar can be stored in a spray bottle and used as an all-purpose cleaner to cut through grease, mildew and mold.
Drain Cleaner
Pour 1/2 cup of baking soda down the drain
Mix 1 cup white vinegar and the juice of 1/2 a lemon
Pour the mixture down the drain after the baking soda
Wait five minutes, then pour a gallon of hot water down the drain. The water will wash out the mixture, leaving you with a clean drain.
WHY it WORKS?
Baking soda is an alkaline chemical, so it will cut through grease and other gunk left in your pipe. Vinegar is an acid and will make the baking soda foam, providing some agitation to clean your drain.
How Do Household Cleaners Work?
Cleaning is a task most of us never give a second thought to, a mundane chore that is part of basic household upkeep. However, for every cleaning product that you use to keep a surface squeaky clean, there is a chemical reaction behind it. Cleaning products are formulated with different chemical properties to most effectively clean clothing, dishes, upholstery, flooring, or hard surfaces.
The use of at-home DIY green cleaning products is also on the rise
As you may remember from grade-school science class, the pH scale measures the alkalinity or acidity of a certain substance. The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 used to measure a neutral substance. A substance with a pH less than 7 is an acid; a substance with a pH greater than 7 is a base. This pH scale matters when it comes to your housekeeping. A cleaning product’s pH will determine its efficacy.
Here are the average pH levels of common chemical cleaning products
Bleach should not be used on fabric or mixed with any other chemicals or cleaning supplies
An alkaline substance like chlorine bleach can be found at the top of the scale; most of us are quite familiar with the fact that bleach is corrosive and requires proper ventilation during use.
Low on the acidic spectrum, you will find toilet bowl cleaner. Some toilet cleaning products have a pH as low as zero, indicating extreme levels of acidity. Acidic toilet bowl cleaner used to break down mineral buildup should be used cautiously and with adequate ventilation.
On the neutral spectrum of the pH scale is mild dish soap. Soaps are made from water-soluble potassium or sodium fatty acid salts, produced through fat hydrolysis in the chemical reaction of saponification. Soap is a preferred cleanser because of its ability to work as an emulsifier. An emulsifier disperses one liquid into another immiscible liquid. As a result, oils and all of the dirt that they cling to are unable to mix with water; soap suspends oil and dirt so that they can be thoroughly cleansed.
On the neutral spectrum of the pH scale is mild dish soap. Soaps are made from water-soluble potassium or sodium fatty acid salts, produced through fat hydrolysis in the chemical reaction of saponification. Soap is a preferred cleanser because of its ability to work as an emulsifier. An emulsifier disperses one liquid into another immiscible liquid. As a result, oils and all of the dirt that they cling to are unable to mix with water; soap suspends oil and dirt so that they can be thoroughly cleansed.
Mineral salts meet soap in a chemical reaction that creates soap scum or film on a surface, known as an insoluble precipitate.
This soap scum is hard to wash away. It is easily left behind in the hard water chemical reaction and can build up on surfaces, clothing, and other fabrics. Because of minerals found in hard water and some soft water that create this film, effective soap options can be limited. Surfactants found in detergents may be used instead with a specific chemical makeup designed to avoid hard water reaction and subsequent soap scum.
Stain removers fall into another category of chemical agents that can be used for even deeper cleaning. A stain remover attacks a trouble spot by dissolving the blemish in a solvent. Surfactants help water to penetrate fabric in order to dissolve a stain. Specific oxidizing agents in a stain removal product, like peroxides, borax, and chlorine bleach, may be used to eat at the stain and even digest proteins and fats with the help of additional enzymes. In the final step in the stain removal process, a detergent may use whitening chemicals to hide portions of the stain that were not removed completely.
Why Is It So Dangerous to Mix Ammonia and Bleach?
It has been said before and will be said again—never mix ammonia and bleach when cleaning. But why?
Household cleaners containing these ingredients will come with a warning that ammonia and bleach should never be mixed because of their chemistry. A mixture of ammonia and bleach will release chloramines, toxic compounds such as monochloramine (NH2C1), dichloramine (NHC12), and nitrogen trichloride (NC13).
Fumes released in this chemical reaction will burn the mucous membranes in the nose. This potentially deadly combination can also create hydrazine—a toxic, explosive substance found in polymer foam and rocket fuel.
Bleach is one chemical that may be found in a stain remover to lighten or whiten using oxidation
Bleach comes in a number of formulations, including chlorine bleach, oxygen bleach, bleaching powder, and bleaching agents like sodium persulfate, sodium persilicate, calcium peroxide, zinc peroxide, and more. Bleach whitens by breaking down chromophore chemical bonds, where a molecule’s color can be found.
These chemical changes affect the molecule so that it loses or reflects color. Reducing bleach has the power to alter chromophore double bonds into single bonds to change a molecule’s optical properties so that it becomes colorless.
WARNING: Watch Out for These Dangerous Chemical Combinations!
Powerful chemical chemistry should not be taken lightly.
Chemicals in a home or business should be treated with caution and stored in a locked location to safeguard against accidental poisoning. On top of that, those who use the chemicals most often, adults cleaning in the home or a business’s cleaning staff, must be trained in the proper handling of chemicals to prevent a deadly reaction.
One of the most common cleaning rules is to never mix bleach with ammonia
These two chemicals can create a poisonous and even deadly gas. But there’s more—read carefully to find out which household cleaning products you should never combine:
As a rule of thumb, mixing different brands of the same type of cleaner is a recipe for disaster. You never know how the unique chemical formulations will react. In a best-case scenario, the two products may cancel each other out and negate their chemical effects entirely. In a worst-case scenario, the product mixture may produce harmful toxins.
Make it your goal to use household chemicals mindfully and safely
Wear gloves and long-sleeved clothing when cleaning to avoid skin contact, as well as safety goggles when necessary. Always clean with chemicals in a well-ventilated area to prevent any reactions from fume inhalation. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends taking special precautions around chemical cleaners labeled corrosive, toxic, or flammable with warnings like poison, danger, and caution. Chemical cleaners should always be stored in a locked cabinet out of reach of pets and children.
Sources:
- “Cleaning Chemicals.”Healthcare Environmental Resource Center (HERC). “What are the Different Types of Cleaning Chemicals?” wiseGEEK.
- “8 Hidden Toxins: What’s Lurking in Your Cleaning Products?”Experience Life.
- “What Are the pH Levels of Common Cleaning Supplies?”About.
- “Everyday Chemistry – Household cleaners.”humantouchofchemistry.com.
- “16 Common Product Combinations You Should Never Mix.”BuzzFeed.