Ascorbic acid, familiarly known as Vitamin C, is a vitamin that is needed for growth and to repair the body. Besides this, it is used in a wide range of industrial and manufacturing applications. It can be used as a developing agent and preservative in photo production, and in water purification, where it is used to help remove the taste of iodine in sterilized, potable water.

Borax is widely used as a household cleaner and as a booster for laundry detergents. It’s created by combining boron, sodium and oxygen. When using, it is important to avoid inhaling the powder by always keeping it at a safe distance from your mouth. Use gloves when using borax as a cleaning agent around the house. Borax is a powdery white substance, also known as sodium borate, sodium tetraborate, or disodium tetraborate. It has a formula Na₂[B₄O₅(OH)₄]·8H₂O.

Some household uses include:

Carpet cleaner: Boost the cleaning power of your carpet cleaner machine by adding a 1/2 cup of borax per gallon of water to the reservoir.

Make Laundry Detergent

Deters Pests

Preserves Flowers

Kills Weeds

Caustic Soda is often well-known for its ability to unblock drains. It is a white, crystalline, odourless solid. It is a highly caustic base and alkali that decomposes proteins at ambient temperatures and can cause severe chemical burns to exposed skin. It is mainly used in the manufacturing of pulp and paper, alumina, soap and detergents, petroleum products and chemical production. It has also been used in water treatment, metal processing, mining, glass making, and the production of food and textiles.

Let’s Talk Chemistry

Caustic Soda is otherwise known as Sodium Hydroxide. It has a chemical formula of NaOH. It is an alkali salt, otherwise known as Lye. It is corrosive when used on animal and plant tissues.

Coconut Diethanolamide is a diethanolamide that is made by reacting the mixture of fatty acids from coconut oils with diethanolamine. It is a viscous, non-ionic surfactant commonly used as a foaming agent in the manufacturing process of personal care products, such as shampoos, body washes, facial washes and detergents. It is also used in cosmetics as an emulsifying agent. In addition to this, it can be used as a lubricant agent, a thickening agent and a wetting agent. Cocodiethanolamide (CDE) has a chemical formula of CH3(CH2)nC(=O)N(CH2CH2OH)2, n ~ 8-18. It is also known as cocamide diethanolamine.

In its natural form, Citric Acid looks like small, clear crystals that resemble table salt. Although it is odourless, it has an acidic taste. It has a chemical formula of C₆H₈O₇. It is known for its ability to soften water by chelating the metals, therefore it is often used as a foaming agent in soaps, bath bombs, bath salts, washing powders and cleaning products. Citric acid is sometimes added to shampoos for its ability to wash out hair colouring. It has also been utilised in chemical peels as a means to adjust the pH levels in gels and creams. It is largely used in the pharmaceutical industry for the effervescent effect that is created when it is combined with carbonates in antacids.

Other uses include:

Used to stabilize or preserve medicines and used as a disinfectant.

Used in the manufacturing of detergents.

Also used in electroplating and leather tanning.

Used to descale and clean boilers and metals, as well as remove rust.

Used to kill algae in reservoirs.

Added to air-cured tobacco in cigarettes to balance the flavours; it also controls the rate at which the cigarette paper burns.

Used in the paint industry to retard the setting of pigments used in paints; it is also able to slow down the setting time of cement.

Dibutyl phthalate is used to help make plastics soft and flexible. It is used in shower curtains, raincoats, food wraps, bowls, and car interiors. It is an organic compound that is commonly used as a plasticizer, which is largely owing to its low toxicity. It enhances the utility of some major engineering plastics, such as PVC, which are used for carrying sewerage and other corrosive materials. It is a colourless, oily liquid that is insoluble in water. It has a chemical formula of C16H22O4.

Disodium phosphate is a chemical that is added to foods, cosmetics, and other products. It’s useful as a preservative and as a flavour enhancer. It is also used in food manufacturing processes as an emulsifier: it helps to bind fats and water together, specifically in dairy products. It is also utilised for its ability to prevent metals from rusting and extend the shelf life of food. This artificial type of salt is created from sodium and phosphorus. It is a white to off-white powder with the chemical formula Na2HPO4.

Empigen® OB is an aqueous solution of lauramine oxide. When used in detergents, it helps to create and stabilise copious amounts of foam; it also improves the emulsification and soil removal factor. When used in shampoos, it can improve the conditioning characteristics of the product. Empigen OB is resistant to oxidation and is commonly used as solubilising agents and viscosity modifier in household bleaches. It is a pale yellow liquid with a relatively odourless scent, its chemical formula is C14H31NO.

Formaldehyde solutions can be used as disinfectants and germicides as they kill viruses and bacteria. Formalin may be used in aquariums to kill parasites that live on fish (however, it must be very diluted to avoid killing the fish). Vaccines may have formalin in as a preservative and it is also used to preserve organs. Formalin is also found as a preservative in items such as paper products, cosmetics, plastics, and fertilizers. When diluted, formalin can be used to treat warts by applying small quantities to the skin. It is also used as an embalming agent to preserve human corpses – it kills bacteria by penetrating the tissue and helping the body keep its shape. It is a strong-smelling, colourless liquid.

Vegetable Glycerine is a slightly sweet, clear syrupy liquid that is derived from animal products, plants or petroleum. It is an odourless substance with a mild, sweet taste. It is a sugar alcohol derived from animal products, plants or petroleum. It is often found in nature but can be made synthetically as well. The chemical formula of glycerine is C3H8O3.

It can often be found in:

Glycerine is an important building block of paints and resins used for coating things like wires.

It’s also used as a softener in plastics and is used extensively in food wrappers because it’s non-toxic and can prevent shrinkage.

It is also used in paints, inks, and plastics.

It is sometimes added to bubble mixes to create thicker skin, slow down the evaporation process and makes them stronger.

It is used in soaps to keep the skin soft, supple and full of moisture.

It is commonly used in many vaping fluids for e-cigarettes.

Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride.
It is a colourless solution with a distinctively pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid and is a component of gastric acid in the digestive systems of most animal species, including humans. It is used in the production of chlorides, fertilizers, and dyes, in electroplating, and in the photographic, textile, and rubber industries. It is used in toilet bowl cleaners to remove dirt and grime, and it can be used for cleaning mortar spills off new bricks, removing rust from metals and other surfaces, and etching floors before sealing them. It has the formula HCI and it is important to remember that it is corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes.

Magnesium Chloride is often extracted from brine or seawater, some variants are even extracted from the Dead Sea in the Jordan Valley. It is often used for low-temperature de-icing of highways, sidewalks, and parking lots. This is done by breaking the bond of the ice to the pavement, allowing it to be cleared more efficiently. It is also commonly used as a dust suppressant on unpaved roads in the western parts of the United States during the spring and summer: it shows a unique ability to be able to hold the dust particles down. Magnesium is a mobile nutrient; therefore, it can be effectively used as a substitute for magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) to help correct magnesium deficiencies in plants via foliar feeding. The recommended dose of magnesium chloride is smaller than the recommended dose of magnesium sulfate. It is a colourless crystalline compound with the formula MgCl2.

Magnesium Oxide is a good refractory material. It has two useful attributes: high thermal conductivity and low electrical conductivity. It is often used to fill the spiral top heating elements on kitchen electric stoves. It is fire-resistant, termite resistant, moisture resistant, and mould and mildew resistant. It is used extensively in soil and groundwater remediation, wastewater treatments, drinking water treatments, air emissions treatments, and waste treatments. It is also used as a protective coating in plasma displays. Magnesium oxide, or magnesia, is a white hygroscopic solid mineral that occurs naturally as periclase. It has the chemical formula MgO.

Epsom salts, also known as magnesium sulfate, is a chemical compound made up of magnesium, sulfur, and oxygen. Its name was derived from the town of Epsom in Surrey, England, where it was originally discovered. It is often used in liquid soaps, detergents and rinsing agents to regulate the product’s viscosity. Magnesium Sulphate is an odourless salt that is white. It has a bitter and unpalatable taste and has the formula MgSO4.

Methanol is a chemical building block for hundreds of everyday products, including plastics, paints, car parts and construction materials. It is used as a ‘clean energy’ alternative to fuel cars, trucks, buses, ships, fuel cells, and boilers. It is also utilised for camping and boating stoves. It is a light, volatile, colourless, flammable liquid with a distinctive alcoholic odour that is similar to that of ethanol. Methanol is the simplest alcohol with the formula CH3OH.

Methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane or DCM, is a solvent used in a wide range of products, including paint strippers. It is also used for adhesives, such as acrylic cement, as well as for automotive care, lubrication, lithography, degreasing and general cleaning. It is a colourless liquid with a slightly sweet smell with the formula CH2Cl2.

Mono Ethylene Glycol is mainly used for two purposes: as a raw material in the manufacturing of polyester fibres and for antifreeze formulations. It is used as an antifreeze solution for automobiles and air-conditioning systems that place the chiller or air handlers outside, or for systems that must cool below the freezing temperature of the water. The mixture of ethylene glycol with water provides additional benefits to coolant and antifreeze solutions, such as preventing corrosion and acid degradation, as well as inhibiting the growth of most microbes and fungi. Mono Ethylene Glycol is an odourless, colourless, sweet-tasting, toxic, and viscous liquid with a formula of (CH2OH)2.

Nonylphenol ethoxylate (NP:6) is used as a nonionic surface-active in all cleaning jobs. It is a good emulsifier that is utilised in the manufacturing of detergents, paints, textiles, car care products, and industrial cleaners. It is a transparent, colourless liquid with a very distinctive odour. It is also a nonionic surfactant for use in degreasers, dry cleaning, agrochemicals, and adhesives.

The NP-9 surfactant can be used as an emulsifier, wetting agent, dispersant, synthetic latex stabilizer and detergent in formulating cleaning products. When used as a wetting (and de-wetting) agent, it decreases the surface tension of a liquid to assist in the penetration and spreading of another liquid or solid. It has been utilised as an emulsifier within food products as it can suspend one liquid into another. It has also been used in cleaners and detergents, as a foaming agent, and as a dispersant. It is a light yellow, viscous liquid with a phenolic smell.

It is widely used by resin manufacturers. Resins are made in shorter times using paraformaldehyde, rather than formalin, as it’s a dry commodity and less wastewater is produced. It is used in making Phenolic urea and Melamine resins. Paraformaldehyde is also used as an adhesion agent to harden glue. It is also used in industrial coatings and wood products. Oil well drilling chemicals and electrical component moulding materials also use this product. Other end-uses include graphic art and photographic chemicals, paper making, fluorescent tubes and ink chemicals, and slow-releasing fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides.

Polyethylene glycol, referred to as PEG, is used as an inactive ingredient in the pharmaceutical industry as a solvent, plasticizer, surfactant, ointment and suppository base, and tablet and capsule lubricant. It is a polyether compound derived from petroleum. PEG is non-toxic, odourless and colourless with a structure commonly expressed as H−(O−CH2−CH2)n−OH. PEG with different molecular weights is used in different applications and has different physical properties (for instance, viscosity). Despite this, their chemical properties are nearly identical. PEG 6000 is more effective than PEG 4000 for a protoplast transformation.

Additional uses include:

It is injected into industrial processes to reduce foaming in separation equipment.

It is used as a binder in the preparation of technical ceramics.

It is used as the main component in synthetic adhesives.

It is used as an ink solvent and lubricant for printer heads.

It can be used as a mould release agent in the production of articles prepared from latex rubber.

It can be used as an efficient plasticizer.

Phosphoric acid is a component that is used in fertilizers (80% of total use), dental cement, detergents, many household cleaning products, and water treatment products. It is a colourless, odourless, phosphorus-containing, inorganic acid with a formula of H3PO4.

Pine oil is an essential oil that is obtained through the steam distillation of the stumps, needles, twigs and cones of a variety of species of pine, particularly Pinus sylvestris. It is often used in aromatherapy, as well as in air fresheners for homes and offices. Industrially, pine oil is used as a frother in processes where minerals are extracted from ores. It is mainly applied in the production of household chemicals, such as detergents, industrial cleaners, and high-quality ink and paint solvents.

It has a strong odour and is miscible with alcohol. It also has a strong sterilizing effect and has been used to reduce inflammation. It has also been used as a skin microbial and as a phenolic disinfectant. It is generally effective against numerous bacterial strains and enveloped viruses. Pine oil contains alpha-Terpineol, as well as other cyclic terpene alcohols and terpene hydrocarbons. It is a colourless to pale yellow liquid.

Potassium Hydroxide is used in making soap, lithography, paint and varnish removers, and as an electrolyte in alkaline batteries and electroplating. Potassium hydroxide soaps have a softness and great solubility to them; therefore, they require less water to liquefy. It is an organic compound that is presented as white or slightly yellow odourless flakes. It is commonly called caustic potash and has a formula of KOH.

Potassium Permanganate is well-known for being an oxidizing agent. It can be found in survival kits, as it is utilized to sterilize water and start fires. It also has antiseptic properties and can be used to neutralize hydrogen sulfide when treating wastewater. It is commonly known as Condy’s Crystals, and it is often used to make furniture and props look old for film sets. It also serves as a disinfectant and a deodorant, and it can be used as a reagent for the synthesis of many different kinds of chemical compounds. As you can see, its uses are quite diverse: it may also be used in the food industry to preserve fruit, such as bananas, by absorbing the ethylene that causes them to ripen. When mixed with formaldehyde, it forms tear gas.

Propylene glycol is used as a solvent to make paint, cleaners, inks, nail polish and nail polish removers and household cleaning agents. It is also used to create artificial smoke or fog used in fire-fighting training and theatrical productions. It is known for its ability to absorb extra water, and it is therefore utilised as a means of maintaining moisture in certain medicines and cosmetics. Propylene glycol is a clear, colourless, slightly syrupy liquid with the formula C3H8O2.SLES

SLES is an all-time favourite for manufacturers of household products, as it is cheap and performs even the simplest of tasks well. It makes long-lasting bubbles, which makes it perfect for use in shampoos and dishwashing liquids. It can even be found in some eco brands as it results in a lower degree of skin irritation and eases one’s sensitivity to hard water. Sodium lauryl ether sulfate is also known as sodium Laureth sulfate or sodium alkylethersulfate. It is a clear viscous liquid with the formula CH3(CH2)10CH2(OCH2CH2)nOSO3Na.

Soda ash, also known as sodium carbonate, is an alkali chemical refined from the mineral trona or naturally occurring sodium carbonate-bearing brines. Soda ash has several diversified uses: it is used in the glass manufacturing industry in the production of containers, fibreglass insulation, or flat glass for housing, commercial buildings, and cars. Soda ash also is used to clean the air and soften water. As environmental concerns grow, demand increases for soda ash as it is used in the removal of sulfur dioxide and hydrochloric acid from stack gases. Household detergents and paper products are a few other common examples of readily identifiable products using soda ash. Soda Ash is a white, odourless, water-soluble salt with a formula of Na₂CO₃.

Sodium Bentonite is a swelling clay that can absorb large quantities of water, which increases its volume dramatically. This makes bentonite suitable for drilling mud and groundwater sealants. The property of swelling also makes sodium bentonite useful as a sealant, since it provides a self-sealing, low permeability barrier. It is a grey to white powder with the formula Al2H2Na2O13Si4.

Sodium sulphate (also known as sodium sulfate or sulfate of soda) is the inorganic compound that is used for paper and glassmaking. It is also used in detergents and is used to dry organic liquids. It is utilised as a filler in powdered home laundry detergents, and as a fining agent that removes small air bubbles from molten glass. It is a white powder with the formula Na2SO4.

Sodium triphosphate, also known as sodium tripolyphosphate or tripolyphosphate, is an inorganic compound with the formula Na₅P₃O₁₀. It is a white powder or comes in granular form. STPP is used in many cleaning products to improve the ability of detergents to penetrate fibres and other materials. It also aids in foaming, and its pH buffering ability makes it useful as a water softener. Many household cleaning products, such as kitchen and bathroom cleaners, contain STPP.

Sulphonic Acid (LABSA) is a man-made chemical that is commonly used to manufacture detergents and ion-exchange resins. Aromatic sulfonic acid is used in automotive or floor coatings to cure them for a more durable finish, thereby protecting them against wear and tear. Sulfonic acids are also a catalyst for ion exchange, or “water softening,” which creates soft water that requires less soap for the same amount of cleaning. Detergents and soaps often use sulfonic acid to break down the surface tension between water and grease, dirt, and other grime for a more effective clean. It’s a powerful cleanser that can remove stains from clothing and other fabrics, yet it is also one of the cheapest surfactants in the washing industry. Sulphonic acid is an organic acid containing the group —H2O3S . It is usually colourless and non-oxidizing.

Sulphuric Acid, also known as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen and hydrogen. It is used in the production of fertilizers, chemicals, dyes, glass, paper, soaps, textiles, fungicides, and insecticides. It is also used in the mining, wood-pulp, metal, and plating industries, in sewage treatment, and leather processing. It is widely used in the manufacturing of chemicals, including hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfate salts, synthetic detergents, dyes, pigments, explosives, and drugs. It is a colourless, odourless and viscous liquid that is miscible with water. It has the formula H2SO4.

Trisodium phosphate is often used as a cleaner as it can remove heavy stains, including mould, mildew, grease, and soot. It is inexpensive, has a long shelf life and contains no additives, fragrances, bleaches or ammonia. It is often utilised by contractors and painters to ensure that surfaces are clean, dust-free, and able to take the paint. It is a white granular crystal, an inorganic compound with the formula Na₃PO₄.