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The ingredients in your cleaning products fall into several different categories, added to provide different characteristics and cleaning functions. Each product formula is a careful balance of various ingredients that will work best for what you are trying to clean.
For more information about the specific ingredients in a cleaning product, visit the manufacturer's website or look for the product in SmartLabel…
Surfactants (yellow) cause water to lose surface tension, which is what keeps water separate from other materials
Have you ever seen a bead of water sitting on a surface? This is because water has a property called surface tension. This tension causes water to form a bead on the surface of things like glass or fabric. You can see surface tension at work by placing a drop of water onto a counter top. The drop will hold its shape and will not spread.
In order to clean the dirt on our clothes,…
What is soap and how does it work?
The sudsy stuff we use every day of our lives is a mystery to most of us. But behind our cleaning products is an array of scientific data and information. This science and chemistry helps to ensure our products work and are safe for you and your family to use. The resources below will walk through what it means to be clean and how the cleaning process works. For more information and activities, we encourage you to check out ExplorationClean.…
Understand the language of soaps and detergents.
ALCOHOL: A class of organic compounds containing one or more hydroxyl groups. The alcohols used in light duty and liquid laundry detergents are isopropanol or ethanol (ethyl alcohol). These alcohols are used at low levels in liquid detergent formulations to control viscosity, to act as a solvent for other ingredients, and to provide resistance to low and freezing temperatures encountered in shipping,…
How Does Cleaning Affect Your Health?
Personal hygiene and regular housecleaning are essential to good health and cleaning products can help. Frequent handwashing is key to preventing the spread of microorganisms (also known as microbes or germs) that cause many common illnesses. And regular cleaning of surfaces in the home removes dirt and food particles on which germs can grow.
In addition, cleaning and disinfecting products that contain an active antibacterial or…
Experts agree that frequent handwashing is one of the first lines of defense against many illnesses. But no matter how many times you wash your hands, there are always some sneaky little germs lurking around to hitch a ride on your skin. They loiter on shopping cart handles, linger on light switches, lurk about the phone and even hang around on the remote controls. That's why disinfectants and disinfecting cleaners can be a helpful option…
Laundry Safety Alerts & Icons
Education is the key to injury prevention and ACI is working with a variety of organizations who are helping echo our safety messages. You may have noticed that some retailers are posting information near single-load liquid laundry packets on the shelves of your favorite stores to help raise consumer awareness of the safe use of these products. This information is important and should not be ignored when shopping and using these products.…
"Grandma's recipes" for home cleaning have been a part of household lore for years. Lately, these recipes have been promoted as a "safer" alternative to commercially formulated cleaning products. While we may feel comfortable using these ingredients in cleaning applications, perhaps because some are edible, there are important facts about these recipes to consider. Ignoring these considerations may mean missing some safety assurances, spending more,…
Whether you have an infant, toddler or preschooler at home, it’s important to understand cleaning priorities and practices as kids crawl, toddle and run. Focus cleaning efforts on key places for health and wellbeing and stay ahead of cleaning safety precautions.
Cleaning for Health
Parents with infants do, on average, a load of laundry a day. Parents with toddlers know anything within reach will be put in their mouths eventually. And as children get older, there are different…
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the single most important thing we can do to keep from getting sick and spreading illness to others is to wash our hands.
When should you clean your hands?
Regular handwashing with soap and running water is one of the best ways to remove germs, avoid getting sick, and prevent the spread of germs to others. If soap and water are not available use a hand…