Buying Cleaning Chemicals

Types of Cleaning Chemical

There’s many factors to consider when buying cleaning chemicals. Do you need an environmentally solution? A ready-to-use or concentrated formula? A perfumed or unperfumed product? But before all of that, you need to make sure you’re purchasing the correct type of solution.

Each type of chemical is better suited for certain jobs, equipment and areas. Below, you’ll find some of the most common types of chemical we stock, and how you would use them in your business.

If you’re uncertain about what type of chemical you need, we have a collection of solutions handpicked for use in each of the four main areas in a catering and hospitality environment.

Washing Up Liquid

Washing up liquid is a staple of any kitchen. These professional solutions make manual dishwashing extremely easy - quickly removing grease, fat and oil to leave your equipment sparklingly clean.

Washing up liquid works by using molecules with two opposing ‘heads’: Hydrophilic, that are attracted to water, and hydrophobic that are attracted to oil. The hydrophobic heads attach themselves to soiling on your equipment and surround it with the hydrophilic heads pointing outwards. This makes any grease, oil or food residue on your equipment water-soluble, allowing it to be easily rinsed away.

While washing up liquid is primarily made for manual dishwashing tasks, many of these versatile detergents can also be used in spray bottles to remove light stains from your kitchen surfaces.

In our range, you’ll find perfumed washing up liquid that’s great for adding a fresh fragrance to your equipment, and unperfumed solutions that deliver a thorough clean without leaving behind any scents. We even stock antibacterial washing up liquid to give your tableware, utensils and equipment added protection against germs.

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Degreasers

Degreasers are powerful cleaning solutions designed to dissolve thick build-ups of grease. While solutions such as multi-purpose cleaners can be used on many different surfaces in your kitchen, a degreaser specialises in fast and effective removal of the toughest grease deposits. This makes it extremely easy for you to remove unhygienic residue from your equipment, surfaces and appliances, while also keeping your floors free from potential slip hazards.

As build-ups of grease on kitchen floors and surfaces can cause unpleasant smells, you may find that a perfumed degreaser is best for you – tackling heavy deposits while leaving behind a refreshing scent. For food-prep surfaces, equipment and appliances, an unperfumed degreaser may be better suited – ensuring there’s no risk of artificial scents affecting the taste and aroma of your food.

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Oven Cleaners

Commercial cooking equipment is quick to attract build-ups of grease, fat, oil and carbon. These deposits aren’t just unhygienic, they can also affect the taste of your food and become serious fire hazards.

Professional oven cleaners quickly dissolve these baked-on deposits – ensuring your appliances are running safely, efficiently and hygienically.

For particularly stubborn soiling, look for oven cleaners with thickened or foaming formulas. These solutions cling to surfaces for longer to deliver greater cleaning power. Also pay attention to the cleaner’s contact time. The lower the contact time, the quicker the solution will restore your ovens, grills and other appliances back to their former glory.

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Descalers

A descaler is a chemical made to tackle build-ups of limescale and other mineral deposits caused by hard water.

Everything from sinks and bathroom taps to kettles and dishwashers can be affected by these build-ups – dulling your surfaces while also reducing the working life of your appliances.

Descalers use highly acidic formulas to react with the alkaline-based limescale deposits, quickly dissolving them to leave metallic surfaces brightened and appliances working at maximum efficiency.

If you need a descaler for your kitchen and bar areas, consider a food-safe solution. These formulas have been specially designed for use on food-service equipment, surfaces and appliances.

TIP: Food-safe chemicals still need rinsing after use to ensure there’s no risk of contamination.

For washrooms and bathrooms, we offer washroom cleaners and descalers that tackle common bathroom soiling such as soap residue along with limescale. Many of these also feature perfumes to give your facilities a fresh smell long after cleaning.

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Disinfectants and Sanitisers

While multi-purpose cleaners and other solutions will remove stains such as grease, dirt and food residue, they will only make your surfaces and equipment visibly clean. Even spotless surfaces can still harbour hidden microorganisms that harm staff, customers and ultimately, your reputation.

Disinfectants and sanitisers help to keep your food and hand-contact surfaces hygienic. When used on a clean surface, the solutions will kill bacteria and reduce the amount of microbes to a safe level.

Disinfectants and sanitisers are available with or without perfumes. The perfumed solutions are ideal for disinfecting washrooms, drains, toilets and refuse areas. Unperfumed formulas are better suited for use in food-prep areas where a strong scent could potentially contaminate food.

What’s The Difference Between a Sanitiser and Disinfectant?

The difference between a sanitiser and disinfectant is that sanitisers clean and disinfect, while disinfectants just target bacteria. This means for a disinfectant to work effectively, the surface must first be cleaned with a detergent.

However, many disinfectants we stock – ‘cleaner disinfectants’ - also contain detergent agents. So like sanitisers, they’ll both clean and disinfect your surfaces.

While sanitisers are generally made to tackle just bacteria, disinfectants are often effective against a wider range of microbes – such as viruses, yeasts and fungi. However, you should always check the EN certifications that each product meets to confirm exactly what it’s effective against.

EN Certifications

To ensure cleaning chemicals are able to perform effectively, they are often tested to European Standards. These standards require the solution to pass a number of different criteria. For disinfectants and sanitisers, this means they must be able to kill various microbes within set time frames.

One of the most common standards seen in the catering and hospitality industry is BS EN 1276. This standard requires a solution to eliminate bacteria on a clean surface by 99.999% within 5 minutes – essential for food-service environments where germs are common and pose a serious health risk.

The Food Standards Agency requires any food and hand-contact surfaces to be cleaned with sanitisers or disinfectants that meet the BS EN 1276 standard. Alternatively, the FSA also allows the solutions to meet the similar BS EN 13697 standard.

Contact Times

While all products that pass the BS EN 1276 standard work within 5 minutes, many are quicker than others. Time is of the essence in busy catering environments, and so many solutions have been developed to work in as little as 30 seconds. So if you need a solution that works rapidly, choose one with a low contact time.

While improving the efficiency of your service and making your cleaning tasks a lot easier, these low contact times often come at a premium – with slower-working solutions being a more affordable alternative.

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Bleach

Bleach is an extremely versatile chemical that’s as effective a bactericide as it is a stain remover. This means bleach can be used for everything from cleaning toilets and drains to disinfecting bins and waste areas.

While great at tackling stains and pathogens, the use of bleach on food preparation surfaces and equipment is highly discouraged by the Health Standards Agency.

Bleach is not a food-safe solution, and contains chemicals that can be highly poisonous to humans. Bleach can also cause surface corrosion when used on some metals and plastics. Because of this, it’s better to use a food-safe disinfectant or sanitiser to ensure your food preparation surfaces and equipment are thoroughly decontaminated.

When buying bleach, you’ll find some solutions have thickened formulas that allow them to cling to vertical surfaces for longer – delivering a more effective clean. Some of these solutions also feature perfumes or innovative deodorising technologies to help you tackle bad odours too.

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Hard Surface Cleaners and Polishes

Hard surface cleaners and polishes are essential when it comes to keeping streak and stain-free surfaces.

Some of these solutions are designed for use on one or two specific materials – such as stainless steel and glass cleaners. Others, such as multi-purpose and all-purpose cleaners, are more versatile and can be used to clean a wide variety of different surface materials. This is particularly useful as using one chemical on a number of surfaces will save you both time and money.

Hard surface cleaners are designed to remove various types of soiling, while polishes protect and leave your surfaces with a high-shine, glossy finish.

Hard surface cleaners and polishes are available with and without perfumes, while some also contain deodorising technologies to make sure your surfaces are smelling as fresh as they look.

TIP: It’s important to remember that hard surface cleaners and polishes will only tackle soiling, not bacteria or other microbes. So if you’re using one of these solutions on food or hand-contact surfaces, you’ll also need to stock up with an appropriate sanitiser or disinfectant to make sure you’re reducing bacteria down to safe levels.

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Floor Care Chemicals

The condition of your floors is vital in not only making a great first impression on guests, but also maintaining a hygienic environment that’s free from slip hazards. There’s many different types of floor care chemical available, below are some of the most common you’ll see:

Floor Cleaners

Floor cleaners are designed to remove stains and other types of soiling from your hard surfaces. Some are more effective at removing specific types of soiling than others.

Floor Polishes

Floor polishes are designed to leave a protective coating and provide an attractive shine or gloss on your surfaces. Many will also fill in small scratches and even out any imperfections on your surfaces.

TIP: Before purchasing a floor polish, first check the type of flooring you have as the type of solution you use may not be suitable. Floors with a polyurethane finish need to be polished with water-based urethane polish, whilst other flooring may require a wax-based polish.

Floor Strippers

Floor strippers are designed to removes finishes, polishes and wax from your hard surfaces. This is an essential step for when you need to refinish your floors. Refinishing your hard floors will help to restore their shine, prevent scratches and make them even safer for guests or staff to walk on.

TIP: Some floor strippers foam too much for use in machines, so ensure you check the bottle when purchasing if you intend to use the solution with a machine stripper. Stripping can also be the most labour intensive task when maintaining floors, so make sure you’re using comfortable and quality equipment too.

Carpet Shampoos

Carpet shampoos are made for use on carpets, upholsteries and other fabrics. Carpet shampoos will lift up dirt and remove stains, before needing to be extracted from your fabrics. Carpet shampoos are ideal for spot cleaning or large surface areas. By shampooing your carpets, you’ll be able to extract far more dirt than regular vacuuming, and ultimately extend the life of your fabrics.

In our range of floor care products, you’ll find solutions with perfumes, perfect for any customer-facing areas, as well as unperfumed formulas better-suited for use in kitchens or any area where a strong scent may not be appropriate.

Many of these solutions are also suitable for use with floor cleaning machines, such as scrubber dryers, making the task of maintaining your surfaces far easier. However, you should always check each solution to make sure it’s appropriate for use with such equipment.

TIP: When purchasing a floor care chemical, it’s vital you make sure the solution is safe for use on the type of surface you have. Highly acidic or alkaline solutions can etch, tarnish or even ruin your floors beyond repair if not suitable for use on that material.

You should always check with the manufacturer of your flooring first to find out what type of chemical you can safely use on your surfaces.

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Glasswasher and Dishwasher Detergent, Rinse Aid and Salts

Whether you use a commercial dishwasher or glasswasher, there’s three main chemicals that are key to a thorough and effective clean.

These are:

1. Detergent

2. Rinse Aid

3. Salt

When shopping for these chemicals, it’s important to look at the type of machine each solution is suitable for. Some are designed solely for use in dishwashers, others glasswashers. Using the wrong solution in your machine can result in poor wash results and potentially damage your equipment.

TIP: Some chemicals are universal, meaning they can be safely used in both dishwashers and glasswashers.

Usually, commercial warewashers will draw the detergent and rinse aid into the machine with an internal chemical pump. This chemical pump ensures the exact amount of solution is used every time. The dosing rate is generally set at the time of installation through a process called commissioning.

As each detergent and rinse aid has a different concentration, it’s vital that you read the instructions on the container to make sure the correct amount of solution is used.

Glasswasher and Dishwasher Detergent

Glasswasher and dishwasher detergents are solutions designed to remove stains, grease and oil from your equipment.

These chemicals use surfactants to separate soiling from the surface of your crockery, cutlery, glassware and equipment – making it easy for the jet arms of your dishwashers and glasswashers to wash away any debris or stains.

Some detergents contain sanitising agents to help eliminate microbes. This is particularly important in low temperature warewashers where the water isn’t hot enough to effectively kill bacteria.

Rinse Aid

Rinse aid is a solution made for both glasswashers and dishwashers; designed to speed up drying and leave equipment free from steaks and spotting.

Rinse aid works by using surfactants to reduce the surface tension of water on your equipment. This stops water from forming into droplets, instead ensuring it spreads into thin sheets that roll right off your crockery, cutlery, glassware and utensils.

Using rinse aid will significantly improve your drying times – ensuring a quick turnaround of equipment. On top of this, rinse aid also stops unattractive spotting that's caused when minerals are left behind on your equipment as water evaporates off the surface.

Glasswasher and Dishwasher Salt

Glasswasher and dishwasher salt is sodium chloride, the exact same chemical that makes up table and sea salts, but in far larger granules. This salt is used to tackle calcium and magnesium ions that cause hard water and effect the wash process.

The salt is added to the water softener unit of your warewasher to provide sodium for the ion exchange resins that are in the softener. When regenerated by the sodium of the salt, the softener absorbs the calcium and magnesium ions in the water before it enters your machine – leaving it softened.

Glasswasher and dishwasher salt is particularly important in hard water areas, where limescale build-ups caused by calcium carbonate can quickly effect performance, efficiency and lifespan of your machine. These build-ups can also lead to spotting and watermarks appearing on your equipment – so dishwasher salt is a must if you’re based in a hard water area!

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Laundry Detergent and Fabric Conditioners

Commercial washing machines are designed to deliver thorough cleans when faced with even the heaviest of soiling. But without a commercial laundry detergent and fabric conditioner, these machines will struggle to give you the best results.

In our range, you’ll find a collection of laundry detergents and fabric conditioners specially formulated for use in professional environments – so you can get the best results the first time, every time.

Laundry Detergents

Laundry detergents are solutions made to remove soiling from clothing, linen and other fabrics. Laundry detergents work by using surfactants (surface active agents) to attach to soiling and separate it from your fabrics – allowing the water to easily wash away any stains.

Many laundry detergents contain enzymes; these are called biological detergents. Biological laundry detergents break down protein-based stains such as milk, blood or grass, as well as fat, starch and cellulose-based stains. Each type of stain requires a different type of enzyme to work effectively.

Bio detergents are most effective in a 50°C wash, but provide similarly effective results at lower temperatures.

TIP: Chef’s whites and staff clothing in particularly can become dirty with sweat, food and other protein-based stains. A biological detergent is an extremely effective product for tackling these types of soiling.

A laundry detergent without these enzymes is called a non-biological or non-bio detergent. Non-biological detergents provide slightly less effective cleaning results, but don’t cause any irritation to skin. People suffering from sensitive skin, eczema or other skin conditions may find non-bio detergents preferable.

Fabric Conditioners

Fabric conditioners, also known as fabric softeners, are chemicals designed to protect and maintain your laundry. Fabric conditioners coat the surface of your fabrics with electrically charged chemicals to eliminate static and leave the fibres softened.

By eliminating static charge and lubricating the fibres, fabric conditioners make your laundry easier to iron, leave it lavishly soft and result in less wear and tear.

On top of this, most fabric conditioners contain perfumes to leave a long-lasting smell on your laundry. In our range of fabric conditioners, you’ll even find solutions with innovative odour neutralising technologies to tackle bad smells at the source and keep your laundry smelling fresher for longer.

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Drain Unblockers

Drain unblockers are solutions formulated to remove blockages caused by everything from food waste and grease to hair and other organic matter.

Drain unblockers work by using a range chemical reactions to dissolve any blockages and restore your drains back to normal. These solutions are also generally heavier than water. This allows them to sink through standing water and reach the source of the blockage.

These chemical reactions create heat that can be damaging to certain pipe materials. Therefore, it’s important that you always check the drain unblocker is suitable for your pipes before use.

In our range, you’ll also find a selection of alternatives to traditional drain unblockers: enzyme-based solutions. Enzymatic drain unblockers use naturally occurring bacteria or enzymes to break down organic matter such as hair and food waste. These bacteria and enzymes will then spread throughout your pipes to deliver a thorough clean.

Enzyme-based drain unblockers are kinder to your pipes as they contain no corrosive ingredients, and are better for the environment as they’re free from chemicals that can leach into soil and water.

While they’re kinder to your pipework and the planet, these natural drain unblockers can take longer to work – so make sure you use them at the end of the day, or after the last service.

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Toilet Cleaners

Toilet cleaners are highly powerful chemicals designed to clean toilet bowls and pipes. These solutions contain chemicals such as acids and chlorine bleach to tackle stains and bacteria. Many cleaners also contain descaling agents that help to remove limescale and uric scale from your toilet bowls. These deposits are both unattractive and can damage the enamel of your toilet bowls, so it’s important to quickly tackle them.

Many toilet cleaners feature thickened formulas that means they can cling to vertical surfaces and deliver a more effective clean. You’ll also find solutions with perfumes and deodorising abilities to ensure your toilets are smelling as fresh as they look.

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Washroom Cleaners

High-traffic washrooms and public toilets provide the perfect conditions for the quick build-up of dirt and grime. This can be harmful to your reputation, your guests’ health and the lifespan of your facilities. Washroom cleaners are solutions designed to remove this soiling and ensure your surfaces remain spotless.

Washroom cleaners are available with a variety of different features. Some, 'washroom cleaners and descalers', contain special ingredients that help to remove limescale and uric scale deposits that are both unattractive and can cause long-term damage to your surfaces.

For extra protection against bacteria, consider a washroom cleaner that’s certified to the BS EN 1276 standard.

TIP: For the fastest possible antibacterial performance, look for a solution that meets the BS EN 1276 standard and has a contact time of 30 seconds or under.

And to tackle bad odours? Many of our washroom cleaners also feature pleasant perfumes and deodorising abilities to eliminate malodours and leave your washrooms smelling fresh long after cleaning.

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Air Fresheners

Even if your rooms are sparklingly clean, unpleasant smells can still be off-putting to staff and customers. Air fresheners feature long-lasting perfumes to help mask bad odours and make your rooms more inviting. Many are also made with deodorising technologies to tackle unpleasant smells at the source.

Some solutions are supplied in spray bottles that allow for quick and portable use. You’ll also find air fresheners made in concentrated and super-concentrated form. While they offer great cost savings compared to ready-to-use spray solutions, these air fresheners do need to be dispensed into a trigger spray bottle and diluted before use.

We also stock refills designed for use in air freshener dispensers. When used in a dispenser, these provide continuous odour protection - ideal for washrooms and public toilets.

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Hand Soap and Sanitisers

Poor handwashing technique is one the biggest causes of cross contamination. Bacteria can be picked up after handling raw food, going to the toilet, touching the bin or any surfaces that have come into contact with food. If your staff are not properly washing their hands, these bacteria can spread to other areas of your business and onto food that’s being served to customers. That’s why ensuring you’ve got an effective hand soap or sanitiser is crucial.

Hand soap and hand sanitisers are commonly confused, and it can be difficult to know which one you should use.

Hand Soap

Hand soap is made to remove soiling from your hands – not kill bacteria.

However, when washing your hands thoroughly with hand soap and water, both the dirt and bacteria will be released from your hands and washed away with the water.

In kitchens, hand soap is preferred over hand sanitisers as workers’ hands are likely to have a wide range of soiling on them that will stop hand sanitisers from working.

Hand soap will remove this soiling and, as long as the correct handwashing technique is used, remove bacteria too.

TIP: Some hand soaps also contain antibacterial agents to help kill bacteria.

When buying hand soap, there’s a few key factors you need to consider. Firstly, whether you need a perfumed or unperfumed solution. Perfumed soaps will make sure your hands are thoroughly cleaned and smelling sweet, great for front-of-house or customer-facing areas. However, there is risk of perfumes tainting food, so an unperfumed soap should be used in kitchens and other food-handling environments.

The second factor to think about is whether you’d like a liquid or foam soap. Foam soaps start as a liquid, but the dispenser then injects air into it to produce foam. This means foam soap is pre-lathered, so users don’t have to lather up with water. As such, using a foam soap will significantly reduce your water consumption - as much as 50% estimated by WRAP. The pre-lathered form of foam soap also means less solution is used per wash, giving you a better cost-per-use.

On the other hand, some evidence suggests liquid soap delivers a slightly more effective clean as more solution is used per wash. Also, liquid soaps generally tend to be cheaper than their foam alternatives – although the cost-per-use is slightly higher.

Hand Sanitisers

Unlike soaps, hand sanitisers are not made to remove soling from your hands, only kill bacteria. This means that in order for a hand sanitiser to work properly, your hands must first be free from grease, food remnants and other soiling. As such, sanitisers are not usually suited for use in kitchens where hands are likely to be dirty.

Hand sanitisers are effective against a wide range of microbes – from bacteria to viruses and yeasts. It’s important you check the BS EN certification that each sanitiser meets before purchasing, as different standards mean a sanitiser is effective against a different range of microbes.

Sanitisers shouldn’t be a substitute for handwashing, although they do provide an effective backup in areas where access to water is not available. This makes them extremely useful for use in healthcare environments where hands must be clinically clean at all times.

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Environmentally Friendly Chemicals

Sustainability has never been more important in the catering industry. Whether it’s making the switch to eco-friendly supplies or sourcing locally grown ingredients, more and more businesses are looking for ways in which they can make a positive change to the planet and their corporate responsibility. And the cleaning chemical market has certainly shifted to reflect this change in demand.

In our range of eco-friendly cleaning products, you’ll find a huge selection of green solutions from leading brands such as Diversey SURE, Winterhalter BLUe and much more - all designed to keep your business and the planet clean.

When shopping eco-friendly cleaning chemicals, look out for these key features:

Renewable Ingredients

Many of our green cleaners are made partly or entirely from plant-based ingredients such as corn starch, maize and coconut. These ingredients are kinder to the environment as they’re renewable, meaning they can be naturally replaced as quickly or faster than they’re used.

In comparison, many traditional cleaning chemicals are made from crude-oil based ingredients. Crude oil is a non-renewable resource, meaning that it cannot be replaced as quickly as it’s used. This can have a hugely negative impact on the future of our planet and its raw materials.

Low Classifications

Many of these plant-based solutions are also free from chemicals such as artificial dyes, perfumes, quats (quaternary ammonium compounds), chlorine, phosphates and oxide compounds. As such, these products will break down without causing harm to the environment, its ecosystems or water sources.

The lack of harmful ingredients means many of these solutions also meet the lowest hazard possible classifications, posing less of a health risk to your staff when cleaning.

Ecolabels

Many of our eco-friendly cleaning solutions are accredited by the EU Flower and/or Nordic Swan ecolabels. These independent certifications are given to products that meet strict environmental and safety requirements. These requirements include everything from the raw material extraction and production process of a product, to its distribution and eventual disposal.

Choosing a product that meets either of these certifications gives you a guarantee that it stands for the highest environmental performance.

Sustainable Packaging

Plastic pollution is one of the most widely recognised challenges facing our planet. While the use of plastic is often unavoidable, there are more sustainable ways in which we can deal with the resulting waste.

Many of our eco-friendly cleaners are supplied in containers made from recycled plastic. This is far kinder to the environment as it means the amount of waste sent to landfill sites is reduced. On top of this, products made from recycled material require far less energy, carbon and raw resources to produce than those made from a new material. Many can also be recycled at the end of their life to further cut your plastic footprint.

Article: Want to make more sustainable choices in your day-to-day operation? Check out our guide on how to be an eco-friendly catering business.

Perfumed vs Unperfumed Cleaning Products

Perfumed cleaning chemicals are essential for customer-facing areas. A cleaning solution with the right perfume can go a long way in making your rooms a more inviting place for guests – and ultimately be the difference between a great review and a poor one. We stock a wide range of perfumed cleaning solutions with a huge array of fragrances so you can find the scent that’s just right for your business.

However, perfumed cleaning products are often not suited for use on food-prep surfaces and other areas close to food. This is because there is a risk of artificial scents penetrating and tainting your food while it’s being prepared. As such, we offer a huge selection of food-safe, unperfumed cleaning chemicals that are non-tainting and perfect use on your food prep surfaces.

TIP: We recommend always rinsing your surfaces after using a food-safe cleaning solution.

Ready-To-Use, Concentrated and Super-Concentrated Chemicals

Another factor to consider when purchasing cleaning solutions is the concentration of the chemical. There are three main types of chemical concentration that each have their own benefits and drawbacks. These are:

• Ready-To-Use

• Concentrate

• Super-Concentrate

Ready To Use

Ready-to-use cleaning products are solutions that are supplied pre-diluted.

The benefits of ready-to-use cleaning solutions are:

• They can be used straight away without any potentially confusing preparation or dilution.

• They’re usually supplied in trigger spray bottles, so are easy carry around your premises.

• Because they’re already diluted, they pose less of a risk to your staff or the environment in the event of a spillage.

• Something To Consider: As they’re supplied pre-diluted, RTU solutions only contain small amounts of the active cleaning ingredients. This means they offer a higher cost-per-use compared to concentrates and super-concentrates.

Concentrated

Concentrated cleaning products are solutions that need to be diluted with water before use. These solutions are usually dispensed with a pelican pump or wall-mounted dispenser system into a mop bucket or trigger spray bottle.

The benefits of concentrate cleaning solutions are:

• They offer a great cost-per-use.

• They will last a lot longer than ready-to-use solutions.

• They allow you to customise the strength of your cleaning solution by adding more or less water.

• Something To Consider: In order to get the most out of concentrated chemicals, they need to be dispensed accurately and consistently. Pouring straight from the bottle will increase your cost-per-use and may result in the solution being too strong or too weak to cope with the task at the hand.

TIP: While dispensing a concentrate solution is made simple with a pelican pump or dispenser, chemical suppliers are creating new ways to make the task even simpler. Diversey’s SmartDose packaging features an integrated dosing system that allows the user to dispense straight from the bottle and adjust shot sizes for different cleaning tasks.

Super Concentrated

Super-concentrated cleaning products are stronger forms of concentrated solutions. They also need to be mixed with water before use. Super-concentrated cleaning chemicals are usually supplied in containers with capacities between one and two litres.

The benefits of super-concentrate cleaning solutions are:

• They offer the best cost-per-use.

• They will last you the longest.

• The high concentrations mean less packaging is needed – resulting in less waste and less raw resources needed in the production process.

• Something To Consider: Like concentrated chemicals, it’s incredibly important that your staff follow the dilution instructions and accurately dispense the correct amount of solution for each task. Failure to do so will result in wasted solution and money.

Where Should Cleaning Chemicals Be Stored?

Commercial cleaning products have the potential to cause serious harm to your staff, your customers and your premises. As such, cleaning chemicals should be stored in a secure area, such as a COSHH cabinet. In order to fully comply with the Control of Substance Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH), it’s important that you also follow the below points when storing cleaning chemicals.

• Ensure only trained staff have access to cleaning chemicals and products, and keep any storage containers locked when not in use.

• Provide good washing facilities near any stored chemicals, to reduce the risk of injury in the event of an accident. E.g. a sink for washing hands if chemicals come into contact with skin.

• Keep storage areas well ventilated. The HSE recommends 5-10 air changes per area with a through draught.

• Keep a spill clean-up kit nearby. This reduces the risk of injury or accidents in the event of a spillage.

The segregation of specific types of cleaning chemicals is also integral to maintaining a safe storage space. Keep apart:

• Solid and liquid products

• Flammable and non-flammable liquids

• Acids and alkalis

• Wastes

Article: For more tips on the best practices when working with cleaning chemicals, check out our guide on staying safe with cleaning chemicals. Alternatively, view our helpful CHIP and CLP code sheet for more information on the dangers of cleaning products, and what their labels mean.