CHEMICAL GUIDE

This guide will help you determine correct

dosing levels and product application

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 Index

Section Page

1. Test kit contents 3

2. Method 1 Water hardness 4
3. Method 2 Detergent concentration 4
4. Method 3 Alkali solutions 6
5. Method 4 Starch 6
6. Method 5 Available chlorine 6
7. Method 6 Biosan concentration 6
8. Method 7 Quaternary Determination 6
9. Dishwashing selection guide 8
10. Dishwashing troubleshooting 11

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1. TEST KIT CONTENTS

Reagent A1 Acid 1 solution

Reagent A2 Acid 2 solution
Reagent C Alkali solution
Reagent H Hard water Indicator
Reagent I Iodine solution
Reagent P Phenolphthalein
Reagent S Starch / Potassium Iodide
Reagent T Sodium Thiosulphate solution
Reagent Q Quaternary reagent
Reagent B Bromophenol Blue indicator

Test tube
Syringe
Instructions

2. METHOD 1

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2. METHOD 1
Determination of water hardness

1. Fill the test tube to the 10ml mark.

2. Add Reagent H (Hardness reagent) 1 drop at a time, holding dropper
bottle vertically. Swirl after each addition to mix until the colour changes
from red to blue.
3. Number of drops multiplied by 20 is equal to water hardness in parts per
million.

Soft Water 0 – 100 ppm

Medium Water 100-200 ppm
Hard Water Above 200 ppm

Use of a Water Softener would soften the water to around 20ppm.

3. METHOD 2
Detergent concentration measurement

1. Fill test tube to 5ml mark.

2. For chlorinated products (1E,) add 3 drops of Reagent T (Sodium
Thiosulphate).
3. Add 1 drop of Reagent P (Phenolphthalein Indicator). Solution will turn
pink.
4. Add Reagent A1 (acid 1) or A2 (acid 2)# one drop at a time, holding
dropper bottle vertically. Swirl after each addition to mix until the colour
changes from pink to colourless.

Count number of drops and read product concentration from Table 1.

#Use A1 for liquid and A2 for powder detergents.

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 Products Concentration g/l – number of drops

Alpha Product name Acid 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 3.0 6.0

1A Hard Water Machine A1 1 3 4 5 7 14

Detergent
1B Machine Detergent A1 2 4 5 7 10 20

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1C Soft Water Machine A1 3 4 6 8 13 23
Detergent
1T Ultra Conc Machine A1 2 4 6 7 10 21
Detergent

1S Sealed Machine Detergent A1 2 4 6 7 10 21

Chlorinated Machine
Table 1 – Machine Detergent Concentration

1E A1 1 3 4 5 6 14
Detergent

1G Traywash Machine A1 1 2 3 5
Detergent
1H Aluminium Machine A1 2 3 4 6 7 15
Detergent

Bio Machine Detergent A1 2 3 4 6 8 15

1D Manual Machine Dishwash A2 1 2 3 4 6 12

Powder
Compact Force Powder A2 2 4 6 8 10 20

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4. METHOD 3

Detection of alkaline solution

When Reagent P (Phenolphthalein Indicator) is added to the surface, a pink
colouration will develop indicating presence of alkali.

5. METHOD 4

Detection of starch
A drop of Reagent I (Iodine Solution) on the surface to be tested will give a
blue/black colour in the presence of starch.

6. METHOD 5

Determination of available Chlorine

1. Fill the test tube to the 5ml mark.
2. Add a few crystals of Reagent S (Starch Iodide) indicator.
3. Add approximately 5 drops of Reagent A2 (Acid).
4. Add Reagent T (Sodium Thiosulphate), dropwise, swirling until black
colouration completely disappears.
5. Number of drops x 12 = ppm available Chlorine.
6. Note: Thoroughly rinse test tube between tests.

7. METHOD 6

Biosan concentration measurement

1. Fill test tube to the mark as indicated in Table 2

2. Add 1 drop of Reagent P (Phenolphthalein Indicator).
3. Add Reagent C (Alkali) 1 drop at a time, holding dropper bottle vertically.
Swirl (do not shake) after each addition to mix until the colour changes
from colourless to pink

Count number of drops and read product concentration from Table 2.

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 Products % concentration – number of
Sample drops
(ml)
Alpha Product name 1.0 2.0 5.0 12.0 16.0

2X Biosan 3 1 2 4 8 10

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7X Biofresh 3 1 2 4 8 10
Table 2 – Biosan Determination

14W Organic Salad Wash 5 1 2 5 11 15

Concentration (%) – number of

Sample drops
Alpha Product Name Indicator Titrant
(ml)
0.5 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0

4N Liquid Sanitiser 5 B Q 3 7 10 13 18 28

Concentrated
4X/4L Cleaner Sanitiser 2.5 P A1 2 4 8 12 17 20

Ultra Cleaner
SA42 Sanitiser 5 B A1 6 10 15 19 24 33

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Table 3 – Quaternary/Amphoteric Reagents
 8. METHOD 7
Determination of Quaternary/Amphoteric Reagents
1. Fill test tube to the mark as indicated in Table 3.
2. Add 5 drops of the Indicator stated.
(Reagent B = blue colouration, Reagent P = pink colouration)
3. Add the Titrant stated (Q or A1), dropwise, shaking in between drops,
until the end point is reached.
Reagent Q: the solution changes from blue to yellow. (In some cases, as Reagent
Q is quite strong, an obvious purple end-point will occur instead).
Reagent A1: the solution changes from pink to colourless/the original colour of
the solution (pale purple).

Count number of drops and read product concentration from Table 3 on the
previous page.

9. DISHWASHING PRODUCT SELECTION

Product selection is made considering:

1. Water hardness (to prevent scale build up)
2. Level of soiling (enough detergent to remove soil; bleaching agent to
remove stains)
3. Dosing system and size of machine

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 Alpha Product name Description

conditions.
Hard Water Machine Warewashing detergent for hard
1A
Detergent water

Warewashing detergent for medium

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1B Machine Detergent
to hard water

1C Soft Water Machine Warewashing detergent for soft

Detergent water
Ultra Conc Machine Concentrated warewashing detergent
1T
Table 4 – Machine Detergent Selection

Detergent for medium to hard water

Sealed Machine Concentrated warewashing detergent

1S
Selection of product system and concentration

Detergent for medium to hard water

Chlorinated Machine Chlorinated warewashing detergent

1E
Detergent for soft to medium water
Use Table 1 to identify the on site product use concentration

1G Traywash Machine Bottle & traywashing detergent

Detergent
Aluminium Machine Warewashing detergent safe for use
1H
Detergent on aluminium

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Use Tables 4 and 5 to select detergent/rinse aid combination required for site
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Alpha Product name Description

Acidic hard water rinse aid recommended

2A Machine Rinse Aid Super
for use with polycarbonate ware
Table 5 – Rinse Aid Selection Guide

2B Machine Rinse Aid Rinse aid for soft to medium water

Acidic hard water rinse aid recommended

2S Sealed Machine Rinse Aid
for use with polycarbonate ware
10. DISHWASHING TROUBLE SHOOTING

Problem: Tannin stains

Cause: Tea or coffee and wine. Worse where glaze has eroded.
Solution: Use chlorinated detergents or destainer.

Problem: Foaming
Cause: Low wash/rinse temperature, hand dishwashing detergents contaminating
wash, high food soiling, high wash tank water level.
Solution: Increase temperature, reduce rinse aid level, remove problem detergents,
improve draining and remove high foam product.

Problem: Starch
Cause: Heated plates, long delays, greasy sticky foods, low detergent level, poor wash
pressure, poor wash temperatures.
Solution: Increase detergent level, change to a more alkaline detergent, improve
practices, improve temperatures, increase wash pressure.

Problem: Drying marks/streaking

Cause: No or poor performance from rinse, low rinse aid level, low rinse temperature,
high rinse temperature, hard water, high dissolved solids, poor racking.

Solution Repair dishwasher, increase rinse aid level, lower or raise rinse temperature,
use hard water rinse aid, in extreme cases us a de-ioniser, improve racking
procedure.

Problem: Limescale forming

Cause: No/broken water softener, incorrect detergent level, incorrect rinse aid.
Solution: Repair water softener, increase detergent level, move to hard water detergent
and rinse aid.

Problem: Cracking plastic

Cause: Excessive heat, non-ionic based hand dishwashing detergent, some rinse aids,
very high levels of available chlorine.
Solution: Reduce temperature on rinse section, remove any problem chemicals, use
plastic safe products, remove sources of chlorine as far as possible.

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Problem: Bits after rinsing
Cause: Poor or broken machine rinse, dirty wash water, contaminated rinse water,
coffee grounds and tea bags, poor racking.
Solution: Repair dishwasher, change wash water and clean out dishwasher, improve
pre-scrapping operation, improve rinse water supply, improve racking.

Problem: Detergent carryover

Cause: Poor or broken machine rinse, very high detergent level, poor rinse pressure.

Solution: Repair dishwasher, reduce detergent level, increase rinse pressure, clear rinse
jets.

Problem: Rusty cutlery

Cause: Prolonged soaking in any solution, contact with salt or chlorinated product at
high concentration.
Solution Improve operation, remove or reduce sources of chlorine, upgrade cutlery.

Problem: Black stainless steel cutlery

Cause: Silver dip, heat.
Solution: Do not bring stainless steel into contact with Silver dips or heat.

Problem: Silver tarnishing

Cause: Sulphides from eggs and other foods or from fires of any sort, chlorine from
any source, excessive heat.
Solution: Remove the source of sulphides and chlorine and heat as far as possible,
burnish to restore original appearance.

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Machine Scaled
In hard water areas, if insufficient detergent is present hard water scale
(limestone) can form.

Consequences
Porous scale in the machine can harbour bacteria, hygiene at risk/
Wash results, especially cups, will be poor, customer dissatisfaction is likely.
Cups will have to be soaked in Tannin Remover, taking time and cost.
Heater elements will scale and become more inefficient, energy cost will rise –
a 3mm layer of scale can increase energy cost by £1.12 a day

Remedy

Put salt in the softener

Make sure detergent is available
descale machine with Limescale
Remover

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Pre-soaking
Some items such as cutlery can be difficult to wash first time. Food can easily
get lodged in the prongs of forks. Cutlery should be washed upright in mixed
cutlery baskets, but often is simply places in cup racks where it can get
shielded from the wash action

Consequences
There will be the possibility of customers getting dirty cutlery - a definite
customer rejection

Remedy
Pre soak in a solution of Pre Soak Powder

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Wash Jets Blocked
The machine cleans by continuously passing wash water through the jets and
onto the dirty plates. If the jets are blocked then no water can pass. The jets
are susceptible to debris getting caught.

Consequences
Poor cleaning, customers may get dirty plates. Plates will have to be rewashed,
taking time and cost.
Every rewashed rack can cost 60 pence

Remedy
Before every wash clean out all the wash jets. Poke out stuck debris and flush
with water. Remove the arms to do a thorough job.

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 Measures & Dilutions
1000ml = 1 litre
1000g = 1 Kilogram
1oz = 28g
1 gallon = 4.5 litres

0.5% = 5ml/litre = 1 :200

1.0% = 10ml/litre = 1:100
2.0% = 20ml/litre = 1:50
4.0% = 40ml/litre = 1:25
5.0% = 50ml/litre = 1:20
10.0% = 100ml/litre = 1:10
20.0% = 200ml/litre = 1:5

To convert product volume to weight.

Weight = Volume x Specific Gravity

Specific Gravity is specific for each product and is quoted in section 9 of

the safety data sheet.

For further information contact:

Zenith Hygiene
Zenith House, A1 (M) Business Centre
Dixons Hill Road
Welham Green
Herts. AL9 7JE
Tel: 01707 270260

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