Specific Formulations for Cold Water Cleaning?

Q: I’m looking for detergents similar to Liquinox and Citranox, that are specially formulated for cold water cleaning conditions. Can you recommend analogs to the two?

A: For most residues, the detergency of an aqueous detergent is enhanced and hastened by heat.  As described here: Going Green with Cold Cleaning.  Some residues can be a bit harder to clean with increased heat, and some residues simply require heat (heavy waxes, silicone, etc.).  The residues where heat can make things a bit harder are often found in the Cosmetic Industry, including TiO2 and ZnO.  But your typical organic or oily residues found in Biotech, Pharma, Medical Device, Laboratory, etc.…. heat is a great help. 

Our detergents are formulated to work through a wide range of temps.  As discussed in the Cold Cleaning article above, increased heat can greatly reduce cleaning time (every 10C halves cleaning duration) so something that “doesn’t work” may just need longer.  But when for efficiency or practicality, ambient or cold water cleaning is needed, it can be quite effective across a wide range of detergent chemistry + residue combinations. 

You can also compensate for heat by employing more mechanical energy, if applicable. Or going with a higher pH detergent and relying more on alkaline hydrolysis instead of emulsification.

We are always at the ready to discuss specific cleaning conditions to determine if cold water cleaning is a good fit.

To request these or any Alconox Inc. detergents 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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