Why Your Company Needs To Use PH Neutral Cleaning Products
Selecting products to stock your commercial cleaning pantry can be an overwhelming endeavor; there is no shortage of different cleaning products, ingredients and the benefits they promise to offer.
It’s tempting to grab the cheapest or most familiar products from the shelf or catalog. However, taking the time to properly research the commercial cleaning products available and selecting the ones that are truly right for your company’s needs will pay off in the long run in effectiveness, efficiency and customer satisfaction.
A common consideration when researching cleaning products is the pH level. Keep reading to learn more about the impact pH has on cleaning products and why you should purchase pH neutral cleaning products.
What is the meaning of pH level?
pH measures how acidic/basic a solution is. Whether a solution is acid or basic relates to the charge of hydrogen molecules. In fact, pH stands for the potential of hydrogen.
pH can only be measured in aqueous solutions, which any liquid solution that contains water (like cleaning products!). You cannot measure the pH level of solutions or liquids that don’t contain water, such as oil.
pH is measured on a scale from 0 to 14, which means that a pH neutral solution has a pH level of 7 instead of 0. A solution with a pH level of less than 7 is acidic, while anything over 7 is basic.
What is the pH of cleaning products?
Cleaning products can be found at all levels of the pH scale, which is why it’s important to do your research and check labels when selecting products to use or purchase. Products like bleach and oven cleaner are more basic and have pH levels above 7, while products like vinegar and toilet bowl cleaner are more acidic and their pH levels are below 7. Products in the middle are known as pH neutral cleaning products.
What does pH neutral cleaner mean?
Simply put, a pH neutral cleaner is one that has a neutral pH level. While a truly neutral solution has a pH level of 7, pH neutral cleaners are typically considered to have a pH level between 6 and 8.
Considering pH levels when selecting commercial cleaning products is critical to avoid damaging surfaces. While products that are more acidic or alkaline can be useful for certain surfaces or types of dirt, they also bring greater risks of harmful fumes and environmental damage.
What types of surfaces can you use pH neutral cleaning products on?
pH neutral cleaning products are suitable for use on any type of surface. They are commonly thought of for use on floors but can be used on any hard surface including countertops, tables and appliances.
pH neutral cleaning products are particularly beneficial for sensitive or untreated surfaces such as natural stone and untreated wood. They should also be used when cleaning tile and grout, as well as other sealed surfaces such as hardwood floors and stone floors.
What is a good pH neutral cleaner?
Sheiner’s is proud to offer a full selection of pH neutral cleaning products for everything from stone and tile to hardwood floors and all-purpose products.
What are the benefits of Using pH Neutral Cleaning Products?
There are many benefits to using pH neutral cleaning products for your cleaning company, such as:
Prevents Damage to Surfaces
Overall, using a pH neutral cleaning product means it’s safe for use on any surface. This is especially useful in environments with multiple surfaces, such as offices, where using the wrong product could have costly damages.
While pH neutral cleaners are intended for use on hard surfaces (essentially anything but carpet!), you can rest assured that they won’t damage any soft surfaces they may come into contact with such as carpets, clothing, towels or curtains. We’ve all seen what can happen when bleach ends up in the wrong places or other strong cleaning solutions touch surfaces they weren’t intended for, so thankfully using pH neutral cleaning products takes away this concern.
Safe For Use On Natural Or Untreated Surfaces
pH neutral cleaning products are particularly beneficial for untreated surfaces such as natural stone, tile and wood. These surfaces must be cleaned with care to ensure proper cleaning without damage and pH neutral cleaning products are ideal for this task.
Fewer Products for Your Staff to Carry Around
pH neutral commercial cleaning products that are safe for use on a variety of surfaces means fewer products for your staff to carry around with them. This means less physical strain as the weight of the supplies they need to carry or push around with them is lower, cleaner storage areas and fewer difficulties with products running out while on the job or being out of stock of needed products.
Safer For the Environment
Commercial cleaning products with higher levels of acid or alkaline can have a greater negative impact on the environment than pH neutral ones. This applies both in the production process as well as the damage that can be caused from runoff water entering local water systems. pH neutral cleaning products are simply less harmful to every surface they touch.
Prevents Skin Irritation
Similar to how pH neutral cleaning products are safe for use on all surfaces, there is a much lower risk of skin irritation (both mild and serious) than other cleaning products. It is still, of course, recommended to use gloves when cleaning and to clean your hands after, but the neutrality means that if the cleaning solution does come into contact with skin it is less likely to cause irritation or other problems.
Lowered Risk of Toxic Fumes
Everybody, professional cleaner or not, has had moments where you have to leave a room because the fumes from a cleaning product are simply too strong. Heavy duty products like toilet bowl cleaner, oven cleaner and bleach are often the worst culprits for this experience. While proper ventilation is important when using any product, pH neutral products are less likely to create this problem and are much safer for those using them.
Toxic fumes or other reactions can also occur if cleaning products are mixed together (whether intentionally or by accident). The results of this can be particularly damaging, if not fatal. pH neutral cleaning products reduce this risk as the neutrality of their chemical makeup prevents these kinds of reactions from occurring.
Beyond comfort, these fumes can have serious health impacts both in the short-term (nausea, dizziness, headaches etc.) and long-term (respiratory problems, allergies etc.). pH neutral cleaning products prevent these fumes from occurring and create a safer cleaning and work experience for your company’s staff.
Easily Rinsed and Leaves No Residue
pH neutral cleaning products are easy to rinse off of surfaces, meaning they leave behind little to no residue. This lowers the chance of slippery floor surfaces from leftover residue and an overall better cleaning experience.
In summary, pH neutral cleaning products are better for the surfaces you’re cleaning, better for the environment and better for your staff. There are many pH neutral cleaning products available and they should be a standard product in any commercial cleaning company’s supply list for safer, more effective cleaning and ultimately higher customer satisfaction.
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Sheiner’s Cleaning Products is proud to offer a comprehensive line of pH neutral cleaning products. View our catalog online now and bring the benefits of pH neutral, environmentally friendly and highly effective commercial cleaning products to your company today.