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Abrasion — The wearing
away or cleaning by friction
Abrasive — A product that works by
abrasion or scouring action
Acid — A compound that ironises in water
to produce hydrogen irons — used in toilet cleaners, rust
removers and hard water stain removers
Acrylic Floor Finish — A water based
product that dries hard and glossy
Alcohols — Compounds that contain one or
more hydroxyl group. Alcohols used in cleaners are; ethyl,
methyl, propyl and butyl
Algaecide — Products that destroy algae
All Purpose Cleaner — A powder or liquid
detergent suitable for general house hold cleaning
Anhydrous Soap — Soap that contains no
water
Anionic Surfactant — Negatively charged
molecule widely used in high sudsing detergents
Antibacterial — Counteracting bacteria
Antimicrobial — An agent that destroys
bacteria, fungi, protozoa or any virus that is pathogenic
Antiredeposition Agent — Ingredient used
in detergents to help prevent soil from redepositing on
surfaces or fabrics
Bacteria — Microscopic single cell living
organisms responsible for illness in humans
Bactericide — A chemical agent that
destroys bacteria
Bacteriostat — A chemical agent that
prevents bacteria from growing but doesn’t kill it
Bleach — A product that is used for
cleaning. removing stains and whitening/brightening
fabrics
Blushing — Whitening effect that
sometimes occurs when a solvent finish dries
Brighteners — Optical or fluorescent
enhancers found in product cleaners
Buffing — Polishing with a pad, cloth or
brush
Builder — A Material that upgrades or
protects the cleaning efficiency of a surfactant
Build—Up — Heavy deposit of floor finish,
wax, grime or dirt
Burnish — To buff a protective floor
coating before it dries to give a hard finish
Cationic Surfactant — Disinfectants and
sanitisers such as alkyl dimenthyl benzyl ammonium
chloride known as quarternary ammonium compounds
Caustic — Having a burning, corroding or
dissolving chemical reaction
Chelating Agent — Additives in detergents
for inactivating the minerals in water that interfere with
cleaning
Cidal or ‘Cide’ — Agents with the ability
to kill micro—organisms
Chemical Cleaning — A method that uses
chemical cleaning agents to remove soil instead of
mechanical or abrasive agents
Chlorine Bleach — Strong oxidising agents
found in sodium hypochlorite. It removes stains, aids soil
removal, whitens disinfects and deodorises laundry
Clarity — The clearness of a liquid
Cleaning — Locating, identifying,
containing, removing and disposing of undesirable
substances from the environment
Cleanser — Powdered or liquid product
containing abrasives, surfactants and bleach
Concentrate — An undiluted form of a
dilutable cleaning product
Contaminate — To pollute, make unclean or
dirty
Corrosion Inhibitor — Protects the
wearing away of surfaces
Damp Mopping — Process of using a damp
cloth or mop lightly wrung in detergent and water to
remove lightly soiled surfaces
Decontaminate — To remove the
contamination
Defoamers — A substance used to reduce or
eliminate foam
Degreaser — A chemical product specially
formulated to remove grease and oil
Deodorant — Destroys, masks or eliminates
offensive odours
Detergent — Cleaning and washing agent
used for the removal of soils with a composition other
than soap
Dilute — To reduce the strength of a
concentrate by adding water
Dirt — Any foul or filthy substance
Dirt Retention — A high level of which is
when soil has been worked into a surface easily
Dirty — Unclean, undesirable or
unpleasant
Disinfectant — A product that destroys
harmful bacteria and viruses on surfaces
Drain Cleaner — Chemical product that
cleans solid grease and other materials embedded in drains
Dry — To remove moisture from a surface
Durability — The wearing quality of a
finish
Dust — Light particles suspended in air
Dusting Product — Product that dispenses
a fine mist or spray that picks up and retains light dust
and soil
Eliminate — To remove an undesirable
substance
Emulsification — Detergent action that
breaks up fats and oils into small droplets
Epoxy — A shortened name for a class of
synthetic resins
Finish — A protective coating used as a
top coat
Floor Machine — A Power driven machine
used to remove soil by scrubbing, buffing or burnishing
floor surfaces
Foaming Agent — A material that increases
the production of bubbles in liquid
Fungi — Advanced multicellular organisms
that are infectious and harmful, examples are mold and
mildew
Fungicide — Chemical agent that destroys
fungi
Furniture Cleaner/Polish — Liquid, paste
or aerosol product to remove dust and stains from
furniture
Germicide — Substance that kills germs
Gloss — A surface lustre
Grease — A sticky soil
Hand Cleanser — Cleaner that removes oil,
grease and other products from your hands
Housekeeping —
Hydrochloric Acid — Used in different
quantities to clean toilets
Hydrophobic Fibres — Fibres that do not
absorb water easily
Hydrophilic Fibres — Fibres that absorb
water easily
Inorganic Alkaline Detergent — Water
soluble detergent that contains no soap or synthetics
Low Sudsing — Name which describes a
product that cleans without foaming or any significant
amount of foam
Mechanical Cleaning — Process of removing
dirt or soil by manual scrubbing or use of abrasives
Mild Cleaner — A product that is non
damaging to the surface being cleaned
Neutral Cleaner — Non—alkaline, non—acid
cleaner
Non-Chlorine Bleach — A product used in
laundry for bleaching that contains peroxygen compounds
which releases active oxygen in the water
Nonionic Surfactant — Active agent found
to be especially effective in removing oily soil
Pathogens — Micro-organisms that cause
disease
Pesticide — Agent which destroys, repels
and prevents pests
Phosphorus Acid — Common acid used in
bowl cleaners and in light duty detergents
Pine Oil — Oil processed from gum trees,
used in hard surface cleaning and disinfecting.
Pine Oil Cleaner — A liquid cleaner
containing pine oil and detergents. Used to dissolve fatty
acids, paints and tars whilst disinfecting, sanitising and
deodorising
Polish — To shine, make smooth or glossy
Pre-Soak — A soaking operation before
washing to remove stains
Pre—Spot — Removal of obvious stains
before general cleaning
Redeposition — A condition of soil
settling back on a cleaned surface before the cleaning
product is removed
Rinsability — The ease of being rinsed or
completely washed away
Sanitiser — An agent which reduces but
doesn't completely destroy bacteria
Saponification — Process of converting
fat into soap or to remove grease and oil
Sealer — A coating designed to protect a
surface
Soap — A natural cleaning agent produced
by the reaction of a fat or oil to an alkali
Sodium Hypochlorite — Bleaching and
disinfecting agent
Soils — A group of substances that attach
themselves to surfaces creating a pollutant
Solvents — A liquid which dissolves
another substance, water being the most common
Spray Buff — A Floor cleaning procedure
that cleans, removes black marks and shines an area of
flooring
Squeegee — A tool with a rubber edge to
remove water from floors and windows
Steam cleaning —
Housekeeping —
Sterilisation — Process of killing all
forms of microbial life including fungi, viruses, spores
and vegetive bacteria
Stripper — A detergent that breaks down
wax or paint without damaging the underlying surface
Suds — A foam or lather generated on or
in a detergent solution
Surfactant — Surface-active ingredient
that increases foaming, dispersing, spreading, emulsifying
and wetting properties of a product
Suspension — Cleaning products that hold
insoluble dirt and grime and keep them from being
deposited back onto the surface
Synthetic (Soapless) Detergents — Made
from the by—products of refining crude oil, they lather
better and do not form a scum in hard water
Tack Rag — A damp cloth used to remove
dust and lint before coating
Tackiness — Being sticky or adhesive
Unclog — To remove an obstructing object
Viracide — A chemical agent that kills
viruses
Washing — Cleaning in an aqueous
environment
Wax — A natural protective coating for
hard surfaces
Wet Mopping — Process of applying a
liberal amount of cleaning solution
Wetting Agent — A Chemical which allows
water to spread more freely
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