Search
Results (27)
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…
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…
Make your own mini-book: The Art of Sciences & Bubbles is now available in a downloadable PDF format.
Combine water and detergent.
Stir well, but do not shake.
For stronger bubbles, add ½ cup corn syrup or glycerin, or more detergent.
Experiment with different brands of dishwashing detergent until you find one that works best for you.
HINT: Playing with bubbles can be messy and slippery! Try blowing bubbles outdoors, near…
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…
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, warehousing, and use. &…
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…
Q: Because they can be uncomfortable and not always safe, last year I convinced my kids to forgo masks in favor of face paint and other makeup to create their Halloween "personas." It was a great success and we're doing it again this year. The only problem is the makeup stains on their outfits. Some stain-removal help, please!
A: Stains from face paint, makeup, hair gel and lipstick can all be treated with a prewash stain remover, and then laundered in the hottest water that…
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 better than they were when we found them. Cleaning helps remove dirt,…
Think about all the "public" surfaces you touch on your way to work – railings, door handles, coins and tokens, cash machines, elevator buttons and more. Then, when you get to your destination, washing your hands probably isn't the first thing you do. Instead, you probably grab a cup of coffee and turn on your computer. If you power up before you clean up, all the germs and bacteria that commuted with you are transferred from your hands to your workstation. Ugh! And then, if…
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 from water heating), wash with less water, and make packaging smaller (to save…