Bathroom cleaner

Ingredients and warnings

Bathroom cleaners are cleaning agents for surfaces in bathrooms such as wash basins, shower trays or wall tiles. Since limescale deposits often occur in bathrooms , acids are often added to bathroom cleaners (mostly organic acids ). In order to avoid damage to joints and enamel coatings , the pH values of bathroom cleaners should not be below 3.0. The rough surfaces caused by the damage to the enamel are difficult to clean. The pH values of acidic bathroom cleaners are 3.0–5.0.

Mode of action

The surfactants contained in the bathroom cleaners serve the purpose of removing non-polar impurities such as grease or dust. The acids serve to remove limescale . The acids react with the calcium deposits to form water and carbon dioxide . This can be illustrated by the reaction of acetic acid with lime.

{\ displaystyle \ mathrm {2 \ CH_ {3} COOH + CaCO_ {3} \ longrightarrow Ca _ {\ (aq)} ^ {2 +} + 2 \ CH_ {3} COO _ {\ (aq)} ^ {-} + CO_ {2} + H_ {2} O}}

ingredients

In most cases, organic acids , such as. B. citric acid , acetic acid and formic acid are used. In some cases, maleic acid and lactic acid are also used. The lactic acid has an antibacterial effect in addition to the limescale-removing effect. Some bathroom cleaners also contain oxidizing agents . These mostly alkaline cleaners are used to bleach stains and can also have antimicrobial effects. Hydrogen peroxide and sodium hypochlorite are used as oxidizing agents . When using alkaline bathroom cleaners that contain sodium hypochlorite, make sure that they do not come into contact with acids or acidic cleaners, as otherwise harmful chlorine gas can form.

The composition of bathroom cleaners varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The typical composition of a bathroom cleaner is listed in the following table.


ingredient	function
Surfactants such as B. Alkyl polyglucosides (APG) or fatty alcohol ethoxylates (FAEO)	Wetting, dirt and grease removal
Organic acids such as B. citric acid or lactic acid	Limescale removal
Dyes	Appearance
Perfume oils	odor

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b Hauthal, Hermann G .: Cleaning and care products in the household: chemistry, application, ecology and consumer safety . Verl. Für Chemische Industrie Ziolkowsky, Augsburg 2003, ISBN 3-87846-230-1 , p. 199 ff .

[:0-1] Hauthal, Hermann G .: Cleaning and care products in the household: chemistry, application, ecology and consumer safety . Verl. Für Chemische Industrie Ziolkowsky, Augsburg 2003, ISBN 3-87846-230-1 , p. 199 ff .