Household Cleaning Products

Objectives
At the end of the lesson, you should be able to give examples of household cleaning
products and explain the need to use them.

Cleaning products contain substances that remove dirt, stain, and bad smell. There are
different cleaning products, and some of them are used to clean surfaces such as
bathroom tiles, floors, sinks, and drains. Others are used to clean clothing, blankets,
and curtains.

Cleaning products include detergent, bleach, air freshener or purifier, and disinfectant.

Learn about it!

Detergent

A detergent contains surfactants, which are substances with cleaning properties.

Surfactants have long water-insoluble hydrocarbon tail and water-soluble polar heads.
When these molecules are placed in water, they form micelles. They orient themselves
with the hydrocarbon tails, sticking to one another while the polar heads are pointing
outwards and into the water.

A mixture of detergent and water is a colloid. Micelles are dispersed throughout the
water, so the mixture appears cloudy. When oil or grease is present, the micelle
disperses and entraps the grease. When the detergent is rinsed out, the grease comes
with it.

Bleach
Bleach is a household cleaning agent used to removed dyes and whiten clothing. The
color that stains white fabrics typically arise from organic dyes and pigments. For
example, when carrot juice spills on your white garment, the pigment beta-carotene
binds with the fabric.

Chlorine-based bleach is used to break the chemical bonds of the pigment. The pigment
is changed to a different substance that do not absorb visible light. Hence, the stained
garment appears white again.

Air Freshener or Purifier

Air freshener or purifier is used to emit fragrance in different spaces at home, especially
in restrooms. It can be in the form of spray, candle, oil, bead, or gel. Its main purpose is
to eliminate or mask unpleasant odors. Its name is misleading though because it does
not really freshen or purify the air.
Solid or liquid air fresheners (candle, oil, bead, or gel) have volatile fragrant molecules.
These molecules easily change from solid or liquid into gas, even at room temperature.
When they mix with air, they move via diffusion. Diffusion is the movement of particles
from higher concentration to lower concentration. Hence, the air freshener molecules
spread out across the room.

Spray air fresheners are aerosols. Aerosols are colloids of solid or liquid particles in
gas. The fragment molecules dissolve in air. When these molecules are allowed to
escape their spray containers, they mix with air, and the fragrant smell spreads.

Disinfectant

A disinfectant is an antimicrobial household product. It kills microorganisms on surfaces

of inanimate objects. Note that it is different from antiseptics, which are used on living
things to kill microorganisms. The effectiveness of a disinfectant depends on the
number of microorganisms, environment (temperature), time of exposure, and nature of
microorganisms.

Most disinfectants, such as alcohol and chlorine, work by denaturing proteins of

microorganisms. When their proteins are damaged, metabolic processes are disrupted,
causing death.

Key Points

 Cleaning products contain substances that remove dirt, stain, and bad smell.
They come in different physical forms such as solids, liquids, and aerosols.
 Cleaning products include detergents, bleaches, deodorizers, and disinfectants.