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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…
What is the history of soap? And where did cleaning come from?
This history of soap is a long one, dating back thousands of years to Ancient Babylon. Humans have built on that knowledge to create the soaps and detergents we use to clean dishes, laundry, our homes and ourselves today.
Evidence has been found that ancient Babylonians understood soap making as early as 2800 BC Archeologists have found soap-like material…
Q: Will a bar of soap last longer if you let it air out or if you keep it closed up in a soap dish with a lid?
A: It's preferable to let it air out. If you keep your bar soap in a closed container, the soap will stay wet. As a result, it can become mushy and dissolve quicker.
No matter the type of product you are using (soap or detergent), good cleaning takes a lot of energy. Three different kinds to be exact:
Chemical energy, provided by the soap or detergent
Mechanical energy, provided by a machine or by hand
Thermal energy, provided by heating water Let’s look at how all these elements work together.
Assume we have a great, big, oily, greasy stain on one of our favorite shirts. Water alone is not enough to remove the stain…
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,…
Wash Your Hands the Right WayWet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the "Happy Birthday" song from beginning to end twice.Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.Dry your hands using a clean…
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…
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…
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.How to Wash Your Hands
Teaching Handwashing
From teaching hand hygiene to preschoolers with Hooray for Handwashing songs and stories to getting students involved in promoting clean hands through the…
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. &…