Dishwashing liquid

General information

General purpose dish washing liquid, for household use, hand washing.

In addition to the specification, other items may be considered (with effects on cost). To be defined by the requester according to local regulation for positive and negative lists of ingredients, and to local cultural habits. These are:

• Perfume: usually a rather expensive ingredient. Watch for local taste and acceptance. Cheap perfumes may have the potential to become skin sensitizers that can initiate allergies. Perfumes are used to mask the chemical base odour of the product while giving a pleasant smell. Common washing liquid may contain up to approximately up to 1%.

• Colourants: are rather expensive ingredients. Should be selected according to local tastes and beliefs. They have to be water soluble dyes.

• Additives: some additives are added for marketing purpose and have little or no functional effect. They may be important for the image of quality and efficacy perceived by the user ("do good" ingredients). Other additives are there to improve product stability (viscosity, liquid clarity etc.)

• Preservatives: Watch micro-bacteriological quality specifications. Requires specialist input in formulating and testing. As a result of the high water content of the product it is necessary to include a preservative system in the formulation to protect it against contamination (and subsequent degradation) by microorganisms.

• Antioxidants: Usually not necessary.

Information on the main specification items:

• Anionic surfactant is the main washing ingredient. Its origin and specification should be available for scrutiny by a specialist. SLES (Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate) is commonly used and mostly available as a 70 % water thick viscous gel. The 100 % pure gel does not exist. Formulation specifies the grade as % of pure product in water. Other anionic surfactants are used, in particular ALS (Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate) and/or ALES (Ammonium Lauryl Ether Sulfate), Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate etc. Common washing liquid may contain up to approximately 10% to 15%.

• Non-ionic surfactant is also a washing agent (co-surfactant). It works on the elimination of fat and grease dirt that cannot be dissolved by the anionic surfactant. Common washing liquid may contain up to approximately % to %.

• Amphoteric surfactants are often used as substitute for nonionic surfactants in personal care and household cleaning products that are in regular contact with skin or hair (such as shampoos, dishwash liquids and household liquid cleaners) because they are milder to skin and hair than the other classes of surfactants (anionic, cationic and nonionic). Amphoteric surfactants have the characteristics of both anionic and cationic surfactants and are compatible with both types. They behave according to the type of surfactant present in the higher concentration (main surfactant). Two classes of ingredients are particularly in use: betaines and aminoxydes. They are also known as "Zwitterionics". They behave like anionics in high pH solutions (alcanine pH> 7) and like cationics in low pH solutions (acidic pH< 7).

• Sodium chloride is a cheap viscosity builder. Its concentration is usually adjusted at the production stage. The formulation percentage can only be indicative. Other viscosity builders are used (gelling agents, fatty alcohols, minerals such as Magnesium sulfate etc.)

• Lactic acid or other mild organic acids are pH regulators. They are added at the production stage to obtain the required pH (in general between 5.5 and 8.5). An acidic water solution reinforces the microbiological protection of the formulation (slows down micro-organisms growth). Lactic acid is therefore often used as an antibacterial agent in addition to its pH buffer activity.

• Alcohol (ethanol) is used to enhance clarity of the water solution in some products or/and to control viscosity in association with other components

Some specifications may vary to meet national regulations and local market conditions. For locally sourced items it should be a prerequisite to check the relevant national regulations or specifications. Any important variation from the EIC standard needs to be approved by a specialist.

Specifications

General purpose dish washing liquid, for household use, hand washing. The product must be safe under normal conditions of use.