Cleaning Services - Cleveland Ohio, OH

Cleaning Services

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Cleaning
Cleaning can be a rewording and sometimes fun! It helps to know the basic cleaning principles. First look at what it is you want to clean. Do you know where the dirt came from? If not don't worry. I will give you some ideas on how to find out. It's also important to know the different cleaners and when to use them.

Let's get familiar with some basic cleaners!
1. Abrasives work like sandpaper and physically remove dirt. They come in powders, liquids and tools like brushes, sponges and pads.

2. Acid is the opposite of alkaline and can be used to remove rust stains, water deposits and even clean clogged pipes. Depending on its pH level the lower from 7 the more powerful. 7 being neutral and anything higher is considered a Alkaline. Some acids include lemon juice, (citric acid) vinegar, (acetic acid) and hydrochloric acid.

3. Alkaline can be used to remove heavy soil and grease, wash windows. Clean coffee and tea stains and dissolve grease. Alkaline include banking soda, ammonia, TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) and lye.

4. Bleaches used to bleach out a discoloration by removing or adding oxygen. Bleaches are also used to disinfect because of their ability to kill germs safely. Bleach types include oxygen bleach (adds oxygen) reducing bleach (removes oxygen) and peroxide.

5. Detergents have the ability to lower surface tension and of deflocculating soil and dirt clumps and keeping them in suspension, so they can be washed away. Detergents are typically considered to be both water and oil soluble, which serves as an emulsifying agent. Detergents are used to clean both soil and grease. Detergents include laundry cleaners (synthetic detergents) and soap.

6. Solvents are capable of dissolving another substance to form a uniformly dispersed mixture. They are chemically capable of dissolving oily and greasy soils and stain and speed up drying time because they evaporate faster than water. The types of solvents are water miscible (wet solvents) like alcohol and butyl cello solve, and water immiscible (dry solvents) like OMS (odorless mineral spirits) and kerosene.

7. Enzymes are microorganisms engineered to break down protein and oil into their basic components. Enzymes are sensitive to pH changes and chemical reactions.

Now you have the knowledge of what the basic cleaners do. So now we need to identify the problem. Some grime you might already know. Some might be more complicated. Food might automatically be considered a protein; some foods like juices and condiments contain dye. Urine is a protein but it's also very acidic and may require a combination of enzyme and alkaline to completely remove it. There are of course products specific for each problem but that goes beyond the scope of this article.