By Geoff Wylie   

The main goal of cleaning is simple: remove dirt and leave the surface spotless.  Unfortunately, metals in hard water, like calcium and magnesium, can reduce cleaner effectiveness by interfering with cleaning agents in your formula (surfactants) and reacting with other ingredients to form insoluble salts that can cause streaks, spots or residues that leave a surface looking dirty even after it has been cleaned.

Chelates can prevent these issues from occurring by binding to metals so they can’t interfere with the cleaning process.  Chelate molecules grab onto metal ions and trap them so they don’t interfere with cleaning.   When the metals are constrained like this, they can’t cause problems in your cleaner or cleaning process.  Chelates also prevent metals like iron, copper, and manganese from causing stains, discoloration, or instability in the cleaner. Additionally, chelates stabilize bleaching agents like hydrogen peroxide and chlorine bleach.  Without chelates, these types of products break down faster, losing power and shortening shelf life. 

Chelates also help cleaners to be more effective in uncertain water conditions. In ready-to-use cleaners, even when made with de-ionized water or reverse osmosis water, metal contaminants from other raw materials in the cleaner or in the soil to be removed, can cause precipitates in the cleaner or streaks on the “cleaned” surface.  This problem can be amplified in concentrated products because end users mix the concentrate with their own water which can vary from well water to city water to even pond water which can introduce a number of contaminants depending on the water quality.  Chelates can help prevent metal contaminants from interfering with cleaning regardless of the water quality.

Traditional chelates will effectively bind one type of metal ion requiring the need for multiple chelates to cope with the various metal contaminants.  This can lead to increased cost and additional complexity in a cleaning formulation because more formula stabilizers (hydrotropes) may be needed. New multi-valent chelate technologies, like SB-MVC™, are able to neutralize multiple metal ions present reducing the need for multiple chelates.  These newer chelates are also stronger and more efficient than traditional chelates reducing the amount of chelate needed in a formula.  With less chelate needed, a formulator can reduce costs or create more space in the formula for cleaning agents.  This can facilitate more highly concentrated cleaners: hyper-concentres that can be diluted 500:1 and work well with less impact on the environment. 

Bottom Line: Chelates are like the secret helpers in your cleaner.  They grab onto problem metals, keep the formula stable, prevent streaks and smears, and make sure your cleaning product works the way it should – no matter what water you use.  Traditionally, formulators needed multiple chelates to bind a variety of metal contaminants – one for calcium and magnesium and another for iron.  Today’s new chelate technology can neutralize multiple metal contaminants with one product reducing your inventory and maximizing cost effectiveness in typical applications.

For assistance with chelates and cleaning agents in your formulations, contact us to set up a one-on-one conversation with one of our team members.  Click Here