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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…
December 5, 2018
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. …
January 29, 2019
Child care is essential for millions of working parents and caregivers across the country. This became even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic. The C Is for Clean: Building Blocks of Health Child Care toolkit is designed to serve all members of the child care community, from providers and employees to children and parents/caregivers, echoing public health guidelines for disinfecting, cleaning and reinforcing hand hygiene…
June 23, 2021
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-based paints, used motor oil and certain pesticides, household hazardous waste collection programs are an…
July 11, 2019
How Does Cleaning Affect Your Health?
Personal hygiene and regular housecleaning are essential to good health and cleaning products can help. Frequent handwashing is key to preventing the spread of microorganisms (also known as microbes or germs) that cause many common illnesses. And regular cleaning of surfaces in the home removes dirt and food particles on which germs can grow.
In addition, cleaning and disinfecting products that contain an active antibacterial or antimicrobial ingredient…
December 5, 2018
Surfactants (yellow) cause water to lose surface tension, which is what keeps water separate from other materialsHave 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…
December 5, 2018
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,…
December 5, 2018
Follow #CleaningIsCaring
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We're sharing tips on how to care for loved ones, the environment, your community and more through cleaning through our social media channels.
Healthy Schools, Healthy People
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The Healthy Schools, Healthy People program is a collaboration of the American Cleaning Institute and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dedicated to…
April 1, 2021
Cleaning products play an essential role in our daily lives. By safely and effectively removing soils, germs and other contaminants, they help us to stay healthy, care for our homes and possessions, and make our surroundings more pleasant.
Promoting Wellness
Regular cleaning and disinfecting can do a good job of removing allergens and germs, helping to prevent illnesses and promote wellness…
March 10, 2019
Ingredient labels contain a lot of information. They have a list of ingredients, but they also need room for directions and important safety messages. Smart consumers can get additional information from company websites to find out more about those ingredients, including where they are sourced and the role they play in making that product effective. Learn more about the formulations in your favorite soaps and home cleaning products with these resources from the companies that make them…
December 14, 2020