Glossary Page 1

Soap: A cleaning agent produced by combining plant or animal fats with an alkali. Soapmaking dates back to 2800 B.C. when animal fats and fire ashes accidentally combined to form the first soap. Soap remained the primary cleaning agent until WWII.

Detergents: An effective cleaning agent that contains one or more surfactants. Detergents were engineered during WWII to possess superior cleaning characteristics through modern chemistry. Characteristics we look for are: loosening, emulsifying, holding in suspension, and rinse quick/complete. Since WWII, detergents have replaced soap in almost every cleaning application. Your bath “bar soap” is probably really a detergent.

Surfactant: Also called “Surface Active Agent”. Super Tough Hand Scrub is a detergent -based product formulated with multiple surfactants. Since most stains contain some form of oil/grease, it is important to break-down the oil. Surfactants do this by emulsifying the oil while solvents dissolve or dilute. Solvents tend to be harsh on your skin. We recommend cleaning auto parts with solvents, not your hands. Each surfactant molecule has two ends. One side loves water and the other loves oil. Together, they pull apart and surround the sticky oil so it can be washed away.

Loosening: Characteristic of separating or lifting a stain from an object.

Emulsifying: To disperse in water. It forces microscopic globules of oil to remain mixed in the water to be carried off your skin and transported to the water treatment facility.