Water Hardness and Alconox Texture

Q. We have had a customer call and say the product is not “sudsy & slimy”  like it usually is.

A. Variations in normal water hardness will not impact the detergency (its ability to clean) of Alconox® Powdered Precision Cleaner, but they can change the foam and feel of a solution. If the client has had any change in the hardness (amount of calcium and magnesium in the water) of their water used to make solutions, this can cause changes in the “slipperyness” and foaminess of the solution.  Harder water will make less foam because the calcium and magnesium ions in the water form insoluble dodecylbenzene sulfonate soaps that must be dispersed and emulsified by the cleaner, thereby depleting available foam making ingredients.

These soaps integrate into the surface film of the surfactant and interfere with the stability of soap bubbles and can change the tactile feel of the solution while causing foam to break down faster.  If the client is using water derived from surface water, there can be significant variations in water hardness related to droughts as water evaporates from surface reservoirs.  Or if the client switched from using deionized water to tap water the foam and feel would change. 

Of course if the client does not feel that a change in water hardness explains what they have observed, then we will be happy to replace and investigate.  We would like to get the goods returned to us for investigation.

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