Cleaners and Detergents FAQ 2
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Contents:
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Detergents and soaps
Solvents
Oils
Abrasives
bleaches
spray and wipe cleaners
Limescale removers
specialist cleaner
alkalis
Water cleaners
Stains
More information
Detergents and soaps
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Cheapo washing up liquid: probably the fastest detergent, but the least
powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply
liquid soap. Dries skin.
Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove
everything, so not recommended for continued use.
Its speed makes it useful for washing carpets, saves much labour.
Liquid soaps: Most goods sold as liquid soaps are not, they are in
nearly every case sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth
sulphate, a synthetic detergent. This is a nearly universal low cost
human cleaning detergent. It is mildly irritant, mildly skin drying,
very cheap to make, and although not currently receiving much
publicity, there have been concerns about its toxicity. Nearly all
commercial skin washes and shampoos contain it, regardless of price,
brand, marketing, etc.
Quality washing up liquid: much better on skin than the cheapie stuff,
remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap
type.
Ecover washing up liquid: much better on skin than other washing
liquids. Can strip some household paints. Non toxic. Can also be used
as body wash and shampoo: mix a very little vegetable oil in for drier
skin and hair. Palm oil is favoured for hair.
Washing powder: more powerful than washing liquids, effective
degreasing with hot water. Alkaline. More drying and irritant to skin
than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to
improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at
hotter temps. Most contain various additives such as optical
brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler. An overnight soak with
bio powder can remove a wide range of stains and organic materials.
Washing powder tablets: take time to dissolve, thus give less cleaning
time than powders. Also some brands fail to dissolve, causing poor
washes and clothes with a residue of washing powder, which irritates
skin.
Dishwasher detergent, powders and tablets: most powerful detergent,
alkaline, requires hot water to work, the most irritant detergent to
skin. Skin contact best avoided.
Dishwasher detergent, liquid: I know nowt about em.
Wonder / miracle / magic cleaners / stain removers: ordinary detergents
sold at steep prices. Stain removers designed for a limited range of
stains are a different thing to these general purpose wonder bars.
Household soap bars: Soap intended for skin cleaning is normally
superfatted, meaning it contains free fat. This makes it poorly suited
to general household cleaning, and so outside the scope of this FAQ.
In poorer countries a wider variety of soaps are found, with bars for
household cleaning, shampooing, laundry etc, but these are not often
seen in Britain. If you want to find them, look for them at ethnic
supermarkets. They are often sold in big bars a foot or so long, you
slice off a new soap bar when you need one. The colours indicate which
type of soap it is. They make very economical cleaners, but are not
widely available, not widely used, and not the best type of cleaning
product available.
Solvents
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Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic, melt plastics,
and/or drug-like. Ensure good ventilation.
- white spirit: aka turps substitute. Petroleum distillates. Very
irritant to skin, slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss)
paints and uncured epoxy resin. Not very versatile.
- 1,1,1 trichloroethylene: aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. No
longer sold. Adequate ventilation essential. Never place dry cleaned
goods in a closed car.
- alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated
spirits. Meths leaves purple dye residue behind after it evaporates.
Removes fresh ballpoint ink.
- Isopropyl alcohol: aka isopropanl. almost identical properties to
alcohol. Screen wash, head cleaner.
- paraffin: very slow to evaporate, repels insects, dissolves oils. One
of the safer solvents
- diesel:
- acetone, aka nail varnish remover: dissolves polyurethane (squirt
can) foam. Dissolves perspex and can be used to solvent weld it.
- cellulose thinners: a powerful mix of solvents, often used when other
solvents have failed. Removes tar.
- Nitromethane: aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
- nitromors: Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper. Produces
fumes
- turpentine and turps substitute: gloss/eggshell/oil paint solvents.
See white spirit
- petrol: flammable and explosive, fumes can produce intense headaches.
- orange oil: aka limonene, sticky stuff remover.
- glo-fuel for model aircraft: various mixtures exist, containing
methanol, oils, solvents, etc. Flammable, explosive, very toxic, fumes
can be fatal.
- carbon tetrachloride: powerful general purpose solvent, narcotic, now
banned from domestic use due to toxicity.
- pipe weld solvent:
Oils
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- Olbas oil: a solvent plant oil mixture. removes ballpoint ink, paint,
varnish, wax. Available from superdrug, boots, supemarkets etc
- clove oil: strips paint, irritant, use diluted with oil or soap and
water. Available from superdrug, boots etc
- penetrating oil: oil and solvent mix, help free rusted parts,
dissolves oils, dissolves bath grease, leaves oil film behind.
Penetrating oils make poor lubricants.
- WD40: a penetrating oil mix, also repels water.
Abrasives
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- plastic scouring pads
- metal scourers
- Ajax: abrasive powder and bleach, once popular as toilet cleaner
- bath brick: strong abrasive suited only to unfinished cast iron
- sand: ditto. Also sand blasting strips paint and rust
- melamine sponge, aka flash cleaning block:
- wire wool pads: suited only to unfinished cast iron, damages all
modern surfaces and finishes. Effective rust remover for cutlery, but
will scratch and mark the metal. Causes metal splinters.
- scrapers and razor blades: simple mechanical cleaners mostly used on
glass. Can permanently mark the glass. Do not use on toughened glass.
- brass wire brush: for cleaning suede and soiled clothes. Causes
damage, dont overdo it.
- pumice:
- metal balls: used to clean inaccessible places. Insert balls and
cleaning liquid, whizz em round, remove balls. Typically used for
inaccessible places, eg very narrow necked vases etc
Bleaches:
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Bleaches sterilise and remove the dirt's colour, but don't remove the
dirt.
Chlorine bleach: the most common household bleach. Irritant to lungs,
exacerbates asthma. Contact with acids releases toxic chlorine gas.
Discolours and damages many fabrics. A mild environmental toxin. Kills
bacteria and moulds.
Thick bleach is not a stronger bleach mix, it is bleach plus detergent.
Oxygen bleach: aka hydrogen peroxide, avoids the downsides of chlorine
bleaches, and does not discolour fabrics. Oxygen bleach can be used in
laundry. Not as powerful as chlorine bleach.
Soap and sun: soaping clothes and hanging them in sunlight while wet
can bleach marks and discolouration not removed by chlorine or oxygen
bleaches. It is a slower process, taking many hours. The clothes should
be kept wet or damp.
Spray and wipe cleaners:
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Quick and easy hard surface cleaners. Produce noxious fumes. What is in
them, ammonia?
Limescale removers:
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Limescale removers are all acids. Many are potentially dangerous and
should be treated with some care. Many will attack metals, skin, cloth,
and so on. They are here listed from weakest to strongest. The first 2
are safe to handle, and even eat, the others are not, and skin should
be rinsed if contact occurs.
Citric acid: weak limescale remover. Requires boiling and long
immersion time. Only effective on thin layers of scale. A common food
additive. Available from any chemist, typically at a fraction of the
price of brand name supermarket descalers. Multipurpose appliance
descalers are normally citric, since it is safe on a wide range of
materials. Citric is also used for washing machine descaling, but is
not altogether effective.
Vinegar: good for minor descaling of taps. Restores shine. Heat the tap
first with boiling water. Wash any remaining vinegar off after the job
is done.
Sulphamic acid: most popular ingredient in limescale removing toilet
cleaners.
Sulphuric acid: stronger than sulphamic but costs more.
Phosphoric acid: ?: where does phosphoric acid belong in this strength
ranking?
Hydrochloric acid: powerful and fast, avoid contact with skin, eyes,
metal, mortars, lime paints and tile grout. One of the higher risk
cleaners, follow instructions with care.
Effective at removing scale from glass, but care must be taken to keep
it off metal, wood etc. This can be done by wiping it on the glass very
thinly, as just a smear, and washing off well afterwards.
Specialist cleaners
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- wax based paint cleaners etc
- Brick acid: aka patio cleaner. Hydrochloric acid cleaner/etcher for
concrete and brick. Eats concrete and mortar, damages a brick's
fireskin, very fast toilet limescale remover, dangerous to skin and
eyes.
- oxalic acid, also sold as patio cleaner: non-etching concrete and
brick cleaner. Toxic. Less powerful than the acid type, but does not
damage the items being cleaned. Toxic residues should be washed away
with plenty of water.
- fuller's earth: dry powder sometimes used to clean very delicate
items such as baby animal skin gloves. It is a dry absorbent. Some
brands of cat litter are fuller's earth.
- vinegar: resurfaces copper by etching the surface off, leaving fresh
clean copper. The liquid runoff is toxic if eaten. Diluted vinegar is
also an old favourite for cleaning glass, best applied with newspaper
rather than cloth.
- saliva: still the best cleaner for fine art oil paintings, but not
available in litre bottles
- ammonia: used for cleaning jewellery
- Autoglym glass cleaner: one of the best commercial glass cleaner
preparations, but pricey. From car accessory shops.
- jewellery dips
- Brasso
- Silvo
- stain devils for ballpoint ink: I had no result with it at all. Olbas
oil was quick and effective. Not recommended.
Alkalis
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The stronger alkalis can cause serious eye injury. The damage takes
time to occur, so may not prompt a person to seek medical assistance.
In the worst cases blindness can result. Use eye protection.
- caustic soda: strong alkali, cleans ovens, unblocks drains. Toxic,
irritant, can cause serious eye injury. One of the high risk cleaners,
follow instructions with care.
It is important to add crystals to water gradually, and never the other
way round. Use rubber(?) gloves, plastic apron, goggles. Again
proprietary stuff with added 'cling' is probably more effective.
- washing soda: degreases when used with boiling water. For clothes and
drain unblocking. The majority of drain blockages are mostly solidified
fat. Discolours aluminium.
- sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda - a mild safe alkali, with many
uses:
For brushing teeth
Removes tea and coffee stains
Reduces laundry odour: add to final rinse
Removes black scuff marks from floors
Cleans fibreglass baths
Freshens sour dishcloths: soak in water and bicarb
Deodorises laundry awaiting washing: sprinkle in the basket.
Removes crayon marks: use a brush and soda paste.
Water cleaners:
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Pressure washers: The pressure of these can be enough to go through
skin.
Effective on very hardy materials eg concrete or brick paths. Can
damage brickwork when used repeatedly. Can remove paint in some cases.
Good for cleaning undersides of cars etc, as long as excessive pressure
is avoided. The one caveat is that water on brake pads makes them not
work. (I once got water on all 4 at once: thankfully I never got out of
the car park!)
Pressure washer FAQ link.
Steam cleaners: Effective at removing some types of dirt, ineffective
for many as well. Useful for some jobs, but not for general purpose
cleaning. Heat damages some materials, minor risk of burn injuries.
Removes nicotine.
Stains:
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Firstly the general purpose stain removers:
Washing powder: the most versatile stain remover is biological washing
powder. Soak the stain overnight.
Bleach: will remove many stains, but discolours and rots natural
fabrics and dyes.
Dry cleaning solvents: will remove many stains from most fabrics and
hard surfaces
Cellulose thinners: dissolve many things - might dissolve what youre
trying to clean though
Ballpoint pen ink:
- alcohol
- olbas oil
Blood:
- soak in biological washing powder in cold water (I think! not sure)
Chewing gum on carpet:
- fill a bag with ice cubes, add a tablespoon of salt, and use the bag
to freeze the gum.
The gum will now break apart.
Cup ring marks:
-
Egg:
- always use cold water to wash egg off, heat will set it in place.
Epoxy resin
- white spirit
- it will peel off with a fingernail from some surfaces
- or pare it down with a knife
Foam, polyurethane squirty type:
- acetone
Limescale:
- see the limescale section
Nicotine
- steam cleaning
Paint, emulsion:
- if unset, water and washing powder or washing up liquid, and rub
with a cloth.
Several water changes may be needed.
- if set but soft: soak in dilute ecover overnight, then rub and wash
repeatedly.
- if set and hard: first, crefully break the paint up to help it to
come out much quicker.
A kitchen knife can do this. Then use a suede brush to remove the
remains.
Suede bruhes do damage fabric, so take care to only brush exactly
where the paint is.
- oil type paint removers may soften the paint and allow it to be
washed out by machine
- if all else fails, small paint marks can often be successfully
disguised temporarily with
a fine tipped black marker pen, or permanently with a button,
brooch, patch, decorative
motif, etc.
Paint, lime:
- hot water and washing powder
- vinegar.
Paint, oil based gloss:
- white spirit
Plastic glue:
- acetone
****:
- biological washing powder
Superglue:
- cyanoacrylate debonder, nitromethane
Stubborn stains:
- cellulose thinners will remove a lot of stains, but also damage some
things.
Tea & coffee
- soak overnight in bio washing powder
- bicarb
Toilet scale:
- limescale removing toilet cleaner containing hydrochloric acid. This
is by far the most
effective. It will need applying several times of the amount of
scaling is significant.
Unknown stains:
- Use the general purpose stain treatments above, starting with an
overnight soak in
biological washing powder.
varnish:
- olbas oil
wax:
- olbas oil
- apply blotting paper, iron. Repeat. The paper soaks up the molten
wax.
- wash in boiling water with dishwasher detergent
Wine, red:
Wine, white:
Yellowed cotton:
- bleach sometimes works. If not:
- dip in soapy water, hang in the sun while wet. Allow a day or 2, and
keep it moist.
Very effective, though slow.
More information:
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Mrs Beeton: possibly the most famous writer on this subject, she
produced a series of household guidance books a century ago, which
include a thorough section on cleaning materials and methods. Available
in any second hand book store. The materials discussed in the book are
mostly out of date, but there is lots of useful stain removal
information, and lots of cooking recipes.
Remaining Questions:
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What things are missing from here?
More info on some of the solvents would be welcome
Where does cream cleaner fit into this list?
Where does phosphoric acid fit in the strength list?
Whats Jizer?
Other stain devils and similar?