USE OF DETERGENTS

What detergents and cleaning products to use, and how to use, for easy cleaning and stain removal!.Also, here will you find some old recipes for home made cleaning products.

How to clean properly

You can use any detergent you choose, but you need to know how to use them. Cleaning does NOT involve scrubbing or chipping away at the dirt with a sharp blade. Cleaning is the application of the detergent solution to the surface, leaving it to work, and then rinsing it off. If this is done correctly and the detergent left long enough to work then scrubbing and any other related hard work is not needed. Scrubbing is likely to damage the surface, this method will not. Make your detergents work.

How to choose a detergent

A detergent is a mix of surfactants and water treatments, plus thickeners and builders, which has been formulated to do the job it is designed for, exactly. These are the same ingredients which you use in your cosmetics, soap, washing up liquids hair shampoos and conditioners - the list is endless and also includes paint and toothpaste. Without surfactants, the useful part cannot do its work and you need to lift the soil from the surface you are cleaning.
Where is the problem with that? Having read so much nonsense about detergents we feel that it is time to squash some of those myths. Detergents are produced from plant oils including coconut and palm - they are always biodegradable. Detergents produced from organic (petroleum - based) solvents are not.
Without being specific, most cleaning problems can be solved by cleaning with a good neutral (neither acid nor alkali) hard surface detergent in solution with water. So buy one from from a janitorial supply. The detergent should not have any perfume in it and should be used at a dilution rate less than that recommended - be really mean with it and it will last for months. Cost-wise, this evens out very much in favour of the detergent so you will save time and money in the end.
Remember that detergents are formulated with two objectives in mind - the health of the user, and the work it is intended to do, so they are always perfectly safe to use.
On the other hand, how long do you want to spend cleaning? Make life easy for yourself lf and use a properly formulated detergent. A very good detergent with it’s own natural perfume (so it will fade in a short time) is one based around citrus oil, derived from orange and grapefruit skins. This makes a good gentle degreaser but should be left to work in its own time. Like all detergents, it should be left in contact with the surface, to work.
Neither do detergents work from a spray bottle - you just get a lungful. Most people use a spray bottle and then wipe the solution. This is not cleaning as it should be done. Take note and try an alternative way - the way of the wash bucket

Using alcohol as a cleaner

The exception we would make is alcohol which, on stains in a carpet, it should be first choice. Alcohol comes from methylated spirit, denatured alcohol or even gin. You could use an alcohol -based window cleaner. Windscreen wash is alcohol based. I suppose we should look at the alternatives:
BORAX is being pushed as an alternative to detergents, we noticed, but we can say this: the first result is nowhere near as good as a commercial detergent and takes twice as long to get to the same result. The reason is that borax is a water softener and that is why it is called laundry aid. In hard water areas borax in the water will make your very sensible detergent go much further.
Also think of this. Most of your surfaces are plastic or plastic based. In other words cleaning problems today are much different to those of 50 years ago. You need those surfactants, and borax is not a surfactant A good quality hard surface detergent makes what can be a difficult job that much easier because of the
surfactant content. Cleaning was a long difficult process many years ago. Why make work for yourselves when it can be so easy? Note also that you need very little of a detergent to achieve the same result that a large quantity of borax will achieve. This can be an expensive product to purchase and is soon used up. So use borax in the manner in which it is properly intended and stretch that detergent even further. Otherwiseyou are just wasting money.

Bleach and Hypochlorites - Throw them out. Bleach ruins most surfaces it comes in contact with, and that includes ceramics and toilets. It is the very death for stainless steel and also concrete. That is the reason why you never use it for mold removal. Contrary to most people’s impression, bleach does not clean, nor is it a good steriliser.
Bleach in atoilet will not remove scale - it removes the colour and damages the ceramics. Bleach produces chlorine gas on contact with many chemicals, especially acids. Bleach will damage fabrics, metals, woods, all floorings, your health - tried breathing it in recently? There are so many other safer alternatives out there, so why bother with bleach? One last point. Got a septic tank, or a bacterial toilet on a boat? Bleach will kill anything in either, so that the aerobic bacteria needed to keep it functional will not be present. Result? a smell you would rather not have. And in passing, bleach will damage any rubber and plastic fittings you may have in any part of your house.

Cleaning with vinegar

Vinegar will clean glass and furniture quite well but only when the surface is relatively clean. Really soiled surfaces need a full clean with a detergent first, then use vinegar for a maintenance clean. Don’t be too keen on using vinegar on wooden flooring, it will not work, and never use it on marble or similar type surfaces
Vinegar is a weak acid -acetic acid - and will work on scale but oh so very slowly, so should you choose to go down this route, allow much longer for it to work. Like overnight. Is this practical?

USE OF DETERGENTS

How to clean properly

How to choose a detergent

Using alcohol as a cleaner

Cleaning with vinegar

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