Understanding the Acids Used in Commercial Cleaning

Commercial cleaning seems very cut and dried. Use a strong chemical to ensure all surfaces are free of the great majority of pathogens and appear clean. However, not all cleaners are created equally. Industrial cleaning requires a variety of formulas and pH levels to properly clean all areas. Industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem stocks hundreds of cleaners, and many of those are acidic.

Why use an acid?

Acids have a pH lower than the average pH of 7. Acidic conditions are generally unfavorable to many microbes, with the likelihood of contamination fluctuating with how acidic a cleaner is. Acidic cleaners can range from mild to strong, depending on your needs.

Strong Acids

These are examples of strong acids that are frequently used in industrial cleaning:

Hydrobromic acid serves as a flux material to cleanse metals before they are soldered. In food prep areas, hydrobromic acid controls bacteria and other pathogens.
Hydrochloric acid is an ideal acidic cleaner for bathroom surfaces, such as bathtubs, sinks, tiles, and toilets.
Muriatic acid is ideal for persistent stains, rust, and mold from many surfaces such as brick, natural stone, and swimming pools.
As a fantastic all-around cleaner, nitric acid can specifically target soak tanks. Its use with steam cleaning devices is renowned. Nitric acid in electronics has the ability to clean silicon wafers. When combined with phosphoric acid, food and dairy equipment are quickly cleared of precipitated calcium and magnesium buildup.
Mineral deposits, grime, and hard water stains are eradicated with phosphoric acid. Many manufacturers use phosphoric acid as a degreaser and oxidizer, giving it use in cleaning products both indoors and outdoors. Clean tile, grout, natural stone, masonry, and concrete with phosphoric acid. If you are targeting cement grout haze, lime deposits, rust, hard water deposits, and grime, reach for phosphoric acid.
Another contender is sulfuric acid, which is frequently used in toilet bowl cleaners to break through drain blockage, to dissolve rust on surfaces, and to rinse away stains in clothes and dishes. Sulfuric acid is also effective in breaking apart organic products such as food, grease, and hair.

Weak Acids

These are weaker acids that are used for commercial cleaning on more sensitive surfaces:

To remove limescale and hard water stains, and as a toilet bowl cleaner, oven and stove top cleaner, and drain opener, rely on formic acid.
Hydrofluoric acid removes rust as an oxidizer, removes stains, and dissolves silicates on surfaces.
While oxalic acid is considered a weak acid, it is stronger than most other weak acids. Its properties lend it to be used much like bleach for more stringent cleaning. Oxalic acid removes stains and rust from concrete, metal, fabric, leather, wood, stone, brick, and linoleum. In laundering products, oxalic acid as part of an acid rinse removes rust and ink.

Bell Chem is an industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including acid cleaners. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Monique Day 6/14/24 Monique Day 6/14/24

Choosing the Right Cleaning Chemicals for Your Food Production Facility

The chemicals used in food production must be safe, effective, and often specific for the task at hand. Choosing the correct chemical or mixture of chemicals to sanitize and clean your facility is not only important— it has to meet or exceed standards set by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other agencies specific to your industry. Industrial chemical supplier Bell Chem shares information on choosing the correct chemicals for your industry.

Cleaning, sanitizing, and disinfecting

Most consumers believe these words are interchangeable, but industrial cleaners are far different than industrial-strength sanitizers, which differ from disinfectants. A cleaner is a chemical used to remove surface debris and some materials from surfaces. Cleaners are great for maintaining your equipment and environment, but must be paired with an antimicrobial to meet strict safety standards.

Sanitizers, on the other hand, remove many pathogens on surfaces. Sanitizers work far better on surfaces free of debris, which means cleaners are generally used before sanitizers are applied. Many products are labeled “cleaner/sanitizer,” covering both functions simultaneously.

Disinfectants remove 99.9% of disease-spreading pathogens. Many disinfectants are manufactured with certain pathogens in mind, such as bacteriocides.

Hypochlorites

This disinfectant combines chlorine and calcium, sodium, or another inorganic compound. Hypochlorites are most effective when used in a specific pH range, temperature, and for the correct amount of time. Too little time could provide inadequate coverage while too much time can corrode equipment.

Peroxyacetic acid (PAA)

Bacteria, viruses, yeasts, and other microorganisms have cellular membranes necessary for their functioning. Peroxyacetic acid destroys these membranes by breaking the chemical bonds holding them together, thereby destroying the organism, be it bacteria, yeast, or other form of pathogen. PAA is ideal for refrigerated areas and for biofilm removal. Because it breaks down into acetic acid, water, and oxygen, PAA leaves no harmful environmental byproducts. When compared to hypochlorites, PAA performs better, is environmentally friendlier, and corrodes equipment less frequently.

Quaternary Ammonium Compounds (Quats)

When nitrogen bonds to alkyl chains, it forms quaternary ammonium compounds (quats), disinfectants that can be applied to lightly soiled surfaces and used in a wide temperature range. In other words, quats might replace cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants in some applications. Thoroughly rinse all surfaces after using quats as part of your cleaning regimen.

What method works best for you?

Many chemicals are distributed in multiple forms, such as tablets, powders, liquids, or foams. How you use your chemicals determines which method is most advantageous: will the chemical be used on a flat surface or between tiny crevices, or will it come in direct contact with food?

Remember, mixing chemicals is often dangerous; if your organization does not have ample manpower to manipulate chemical processing, it would be to your benefit to choose pre-mixed solutions.

Consider more sustainable options.

Many companies are opting for more environmentally friendly or green products that break down into harmless chemicals or those with a lesser impact on the environment. Choose chemicals effective against the pathogens you wish to eradicate, ensure they are FDA approved, and find those with the lightest environmental footprint.

Bell Chem is an industrial chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including industrial cleaners, sanitizers, and disinfectants. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.

Monique Day 12/15/23 Monique Day 12/15/23

Chemicals Needed to Clean a Wholesale Bakery

Working in a bakery is more than deeply inhaling fresh bread odors all day. Creating wholesale products for consumers often requires sticky bread dough, sugary icings, and combinations of flavorings – all of which can feed armies of hidden microorganisms. As a chemical supplier, Bell Chem has a thorough understanding of a bakery’s chemical needs, and works to ensure these products can be delivered to you in record time.

One-step cleaners and sanitizers

Industry demands a vigorous approach to cleaning, degreasing, and sanitizing. One-step cleaners may not be a solution for baked-on dough or greasy surface, but their day-to-day use is vital.

Alkaline detergent cleaners

Baking is a sticky situation, literally. Bread hooks covered in dough will harden if not cleaned immediately, and surfaces suffer the same fate. Machinery can gum up quickly unless the proper cleaner is used. Alkaline detergent cleaners are available in foams to cling to uneven surfaces, or sprays for flat, easy-to-reach countertops. The most common everyday cleanser is chlorinated alkaline detergent. Baked-in or carbonized carbohydrates may require a stronger alkaline cleaner.

Solvent-Containing Detergents

Solvents are excellent for quickly eliminating liquid and solid lipid-based spills. Lipids include grease and fat, which are not easily cleaned with water since water and oil do not mix. Acetone and toluene are great solvent-containing detergents.

Enzyme-Based Detergents

Some cleaning surfaces can deteriorate when strong oxidizers or heavy-duty alkaline cleaners are used frequently. Those instances might call for enzyme-based detergents, which easily remove biofilms that cause microbiological contamination. Enzyme-based detergents are not only easy on machinery, they are also safer for the individuals coming into contact with them.

Hypochlorous Acid Solutions

Hypochlorous acid effectively deters pathogens over time – microbes are simply unable to develop a defensive strategy to overcome this heavy-duty bleach.

Degreasers

Any industry where grease is present can experience buildup and possible damage to equipment. Choose a concentrated degreaser to remove buildup and a diluted solution to maintain your equipment. Remember, grease splatters out of its intended container onto counters, walls, floors, and any other nearby area, which means degreasers are utilized far more often than you may anticipate.

Personal Sanitation

Even the most carefully maintained bakeries may suffer from contamination if the workers do not properly clean and sanitize their clothes and themselves. Implement a hand sanitizing system and ensure it is followed. Install hand sanitizing stations at key locations. Keeping clean rooms properly ventilated will also prevent microbes from entering unintentionally.

Bell Chem is a chemical supplier based in Longwood, FL (just north of Orlando) with hundreds of products stocked in their 50,000+ square-foot warehouse, including chemicals specific for bakery uses. You can expect the highest quality products, expedited shipping options for maximum efficiency, and unrivaled personalized customer service. Let our knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives and accounting staff personalize all your needs by either calling 407-339-BELL (2355) or by sending us an online message.