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Cleaning technology has come a long way from the ancient Babylonian way of soap-making. Today’s cleaning products are the result of thoughtful design, experimentation, and safety testing.
The machines we use to clean have also improved, becoming more sustainable and friendly for our environment. So far we have been able to make new cleaning products that allow us to wash in cold water (saving energy…
"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…
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…
The use of the terms "natural" and "synthetic" to describe cleaning products has led to some confusion among consumers. The best advice is to avoid making assumptions about safety or performance based on a "natural" label alone.
What do the terms "synthetic" and "natural" really…
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…
What is Coronavirus
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), coronaviruses are a large family of viruses, some of which already circulate among humans and cause mild illness, like the common cold. COVID-19 has symptoms associated with respiratory illnesses, including fever, cough and shortness of breath. It spreads like other respiratory illnesses as well, primarily through person-to-person contact…
If you or your child have allergies or asthma, you already know that many things can bring on, or "trigger," an asthma flare or episode. Some things that trigger asthma attacks are called allergens. Some people get symptoms from only one allergen - like dust mites. For other people, more than one kind of allergen can trigger an episode.
Tobacco smoke is an asthma trigger. Avoid smoking in a home where a person with asthma lives…
People don't typically dispose of cleaning products - they use them up. Empty packages can then be recycled or discarded with other household waste. Unused amounts of cleaning products can generally be safely disposed of down the drain or in the trash. That's not the case with all products found around the home. For those products that do require special handling, such as solvent-…
Cleaning is much more than just a common chore. It is a way we show we care for ourselves and one another, not only for our physical health but also our mental health.
Nearly 9 in 10 Americans (87%) feel their best, both mentally and physically, when they have a clean home yet, 21% of Americans find cleaning tasks overwhelming. Creating regular cleaning routines and finding ways to break down…
Cleaning products play an essential role in daily life. They can remove dirt and stains from our clothes, dried on food from our dishes, and even germs from our hands! Let’s learn more about the chemistry that makes this happen.
What Is Cleaning?
Cleaning is the process of taking something dirty—like your kitchen counter—and removing dirt, grease, and grime found on it. When we clean, we leave things…