Art and Other Sensitive Glass Cleaning

Q: I am trying to clean a glass hookah with Detonox detergent as you have recommended.  Is there anything I should know?  I’ve heard sometimes it can etch?

A: Thank you for checking, and the answer is yes.  Any glass-liquid-air mixture is susceptible to forming an etch at the meniscus where there is air in contact with the edge of the soak solution. An example is as with an incompletely filled glass container or when an air bubble is trapped in the glassware.  This is even true for “laboratory grade” borosilicate glass, if you soak long enough. And especially it can happen in days of soaking with lime soda glass, and other sensitive and art glass formats.

Our high emulsifying detergents like Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner, Liquinox® Critical Cleaning Liquid Detergent, and our lead product for difficult, oily, waxy, resins: Detonox® Ultimate Precision Cleaner, will all do great jobs cleaning organic and oily residues from your glassware.

However, care should be taken to keeping washing and soaking times limited.  Do not soak more than 8 hours at a time.  For extended soaking ensure the glass is completely submerged and all air bubbles have been released to avoid these meniscus edges as described.

You can also review how to properly clean glassware procedures…. or details on properly cleaning botanical and other difficult residues from glassware.

To request any Alconox, Inc. detergent for free, please complete the questionnaire at Get Sample. For more information about any one of our Alconox, Inc. detergents, consult the technical bulletin for each product. Or click here to access each of our detergent’s Safety Data Sheets.

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