abrasive – an ingredient whose purpose is to help a product physically abrade a surface; usually a fine, hard powder.
acids – chemical compounds that lower the pH of water-based solutions.
aerosol – a small particle of a liquid or solid suspended in a gas.
aerosol product – a pressurized, self-dispensing product form used for a wide variety of cleaning products.
alcohol – a class of organic compounds containing a hydroxyl (-OH) group; common examples are ethanol (the alcohol in alcoholic beverages), isopropanol (rubbing alcohol), and methanol (wood alcohol).
amphoteric surfactant – a surfactant having both anionic and cationic functionality, sometimes referred to as zwitterionic. Amphoteric surfactants in solution usually generate lots of foam and impart mildness (reduced irritancy) to skin. Amphoteric surfactants are often used in personal care products.
anionic surfactant – a surfactant having a net negative charge, common anionic surfactants include sulphonates, sulphates, carboxylates, etc.
bases – chemical compounds that raise the pH of water-based solutions.
bioaugmentation – the addition of selected microbes to a system to produce specific benefits.
biodegradation – the process by which complex organic compounds are broken down into simpler compounds by microorganisms in the environment.
bioenzymatic – a product or process involving both microbial cultures and enzymes for the removal of organic stains or accumulations for cleaning or odor control.
bleach activators – material that reacts with oxygen bleaches to enhance their effectiveness, the most common peroxygen bleach activator is TAED, tetraacetylethylenediamine.
builder – a material that increases detergent performance by either softening the water of the cleaning solution (a sequestrant), or by increasing the alkalinity of the cleaning solution (an alkali). Many builders function by both mechanisms.
cationic surfactant – a surfactant having a net positive charge, common cationic surfactants include quatneray ammonium compounds.
caustic – common name for an alkali, common examples include sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide
chelant – a compound capable of binding with positively charged metal ions, effectively preventing them from interaction with other ions in solution.
chemicals – all of the solids, liquids and gases that are formed from elements or compounds of those elements; all matter at or above the atomic level.
chemical reactions – interaction between 2 or more substances to produce different substances.
child-resistant closures/packaging – containers designed to be difficult to open for children, used to deter accidental contact or exposure.
chlorocarbons – a class of chemical compounds composed of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine; also called chlorinated hydrocarbons.
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) – compounds composed of carbon, chlorine, and fluorine, and containing no hydrogen; currently used as refrigerants, formerly used as aerosol propellants.
chronic toxicity – the slow or delayed onset of an adverse effect, usually from multiple and/orlong-term exposures.
compounds – chemical substances that are composed of molecules containing specific arrangements of elements held together by chemical bonds.
defoamers – a material added to products to limit or eliminate foam.
disinfectants – products approved by appropriate governmental agency, as capable of reducing or eliminating microgranisms when used according to label directions. In U.S. disinfectants must reduce microrganisms specified on product label by 99.999%in a standard test.
EDTA – ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, a strong chelant commonly used to reduce water hardness
efficacy – how well a product performs its specific tasks and functions.
elements – the basic building blocks of which all chemical substances are formed, each element is composed of a specific number of protons.
emulsion – a stable mixture of two or more materials that are not mutually soluble in each other, usually formed using surfactants.
enzyme – a protein that catalyzes the rate of specific chemical reactions.Enzymes are key to the cell chemistry of all living organisms.
eutrophication
fats – a family of non-water-soluble chemical substances composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, often of biological origin; fats are in the same chemical class as saponifiable oils, but are solids instead of liquids at room temperature.
gases – chemical substances with no fixed volume or shape; gases become liquids or solids when subjected to high pressure.
glycol ethers – solvents based on alkyl ethers of ethylene glycol or propylene glycol
hydrocarbons – large class of chemical compounds composed solely of carbon and hydrogen.
hypochlorite – salt of hypochlorous acid, very strong oxidizing agent, commonly known as bleach
hydrophilic – water soluble or polar
hydrophobic – water insoluble, oil soluble or non-polar
inert – a substance that does not participate in a given reaction or process.
inorganic – chemical compounds typically lacking carbon-hydrogen bonds,
ionic – a chemical compound that creates separate positively- or negatively-charged species (ions) in water solution.
kerosene – a petroleum distillation fraction containing a mixture of hydrocarbons and related compounds that is less volatile than gasoline but more volatile than motor oil.
liquids – chemical substances that have a fixed volume but no fixed shape; they can therefore be poured, but not easily compressed. (See also solids, gases.)
metals – a large class of chemical elements that forms positive ions when its compounds are in solution and whose oxides form hydroxides instead of acids in water; about three quarters of the known chemical elements are classified as metals.
microbe or microoganism – a member of a class of very small organisms including bacteria, virus, fungi, and protozoa. Microbes can be detrimental or beneficial.
mixture – two or more chemical substances combined, but not uniformly dispersed, at the molecular level.
molecule – a group of atoms joined together by chemical bonds, the smallest unit of a chemical compound.
monomer – a molecule that is the smallest repeating unit in a polymer.
nonionic surfactant – a surfactant that does not contain positively- or negatively-charged head group.
Non-polar compounds- non-polar compounds have their electrical charge distributed evenly around the molecule.
non-porous – not permeable to fluids
non-woven substrate – manmade synthetic polymer fibers used as diaper linings, wipes, carpet backing, insulation, etc.
NTA – nitrilotriacetic acid, a strong chelant useful for reducing water hardness
oils – a family of non-water-soluble liquid substances. Oils can be characterized as saponifiable, that is oils that contain an ester functionality, and non-saponifiable, that is oils that do not contain an ester functionality.
optical enhancers or optical brighteners – colorless fluorescent organic compounds that absorb ultraviolet light and emit visible blue light. Optical brighteners are used to mask undesirable yellow coloration of textiles, paper, and plastics.
organic compound – chemical compounds containing carbon-hydrogen bonds.
oxidation– a chemical reaction that results in the loss of an electron; the opposite of reduction.
oxygen bleach – commonly referred to as “non-chlorine” or “color safe” bleach. Oxygen bleaches are molecules containing the peroxygen functionality. Oxygen bleaches will decolorize stains and contribute to stain break down and removal like hypochlorite bleach.
pH – value that represents acidity or alkalinity of an aqueous solution ranging from values of 0 – 14, with water as neutral at pH of 7.
pesticide – a product that kills, repels, or otherwise mitigates pests; the legal definition includes a wide variety of products, including insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, rodenticides, disinfectants and sanitizers.
petroleum distillates – mixtures of chemical compounds derived from the distillation of petroleum; usually characterized according to the range of boiling points between which they were distilled.
phosphates – salts of phosphoric acid and poly phosphoric acid, a strong chelant useful for reducing water hardness.
polar compounds – compounds with electron density unevenly distributed so that one side is partial-positive and the other side is partial-negative.
polish – a product used to beautify and protect a surface by removing surface materials and/or applying a protecting layer to the surface.
polymerize – chemical reaction in which many simple molecules (monomers) combine to form a polymer chain.
polymers – a broad class of chemical compounds composed of repeating series of one or more chemical units called monomers.
precipitates – small particles that settle out of a liquid suspension via gravity.
propellant – the compressed or liquefied gas in an aerosol product that serves to pressurize the container and usually also serves as a solvent.
proteins – naturally-occurring polymers composed of monomers called amino acids.
salt – a class of chemical compounds that are formed when an acid and a base react and are neutralized.
saponify – a process that involves the conversion of fat, oil, or lipid into soap and alcohol.
sanitizer – products approved by the EPA as capable of eliminating 99.999% of bacteria on food contact surfaces or 99.9% of bacteria on non-food contact surfaces when used according to label directions. Sanitizers must pass a standardized test.
sequestration – the inhibition or prevention of normal ion behavior by combination with added materials, especially the prevention of metallic ion precipitation from solution by the formation of a coordination compound with a chelant such as EDTA.
silicone – inorganic-organic polymer used to change the energy of a surface.
solid – chemical substances that have fixed volume and shape; includes powders, granules, crystals, and other such forms.
solubilize – to bring into solution one substance with another (solid in liquid, liquid in liquid, etc.)
solution – a mixture of a solid or liquid in another solid or liquid that is uniformly dispersed at the molecular level.
solvent – a liquid that brings other chemical substances into solution.
substrate – any hard or soft surface on which a coating or layer of different material is deposited.
surface tension – in liquids, this is the attractive force exerted by molecules below the surface upon those at the surface. This inward pull restrains the liquid from flowing.
surfactant – surface active agent that contains both hydrophilic and hydrophobic groups.; a chemical compound with both polar and non-polar characteristics that can help bring polar and non-polar substances into common solutions or emulsions. Surfactants tend to lower the surface tension of water.
synthetic compound – a chemical compound or mixture derived from petro chemicals that requires further processing and/or refinement.
viscosity – the thickness or resistance to flow of a liquid often measured in cps (centipoise per second)
volatile organic compounds – organic chemical compounds that have high vapor pressure and low water solubility.They are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids.
wax – a mixture of water-insoluble organic compounds (usually mostly long-chain hydrocarbons) that is solid a room temperature but melts at high temperatures.
wet wipes – a disposable nonwoven substrate used as a carrier of a cleaning solution with or without disinfectant properties to clean soiled surfaces.