Published: February 3, 2020
Q: How can we clean residual deodorant from our stainless steel tanks? It is proving very difficult. It is largely AlCl3.
A: Deodorant, designed to stay in place for obvious reasons, can be quite adherent on processing equipment. If it stays on skin for extended periods, which is designed to avoid residues, imagine what it does to stainless steel!
As deodorants are composed of largely inorganic residues, such as the aluminum chloride mentioned, they are best removed by acidic detergents. For manual cleaning use Citranox® Liquid Acid Cleaner and Detergent and for automated cleaning use Citrajet® Low Foaming Acid Cleaner.
These detergents will be highly effective at removing inorganic residues, including the AlCl3, and other inorganics. Warm temperatures and 1-2% concentration should be effective. These detergents are also compatible with other common cosmetic/biophrma process equipment surfaces including glass, HDPE (and other plastics) as well as other steel and aluminum surfaces.
As an aside, Citranox and Citrajet cleaners will also safely and effectively passivate stainless steel.
To request an 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.
Do you have a critical cleaning question for the experts at Alconox Inc.? Search TechNotes to see if it’s been answered before or Ask Alconox.
For fastest reply, please email cleaning@alconox.com
