Hypochlorite toilet bowl cleaners

The largest use of calcium hypochlorite is for water treatment. It is also used for I I and household disinfectants, cleaners, and mildewcides. Most of the household uses have been limited to in-tank toilet bowl cleaners. In areas where chlorine cannot be shipped or is otherwise unavailable, calcium hypochlorite is used to bleach textiles in commercial laundries and textile mills. It is usually first converted to sodium hypochlorite by mixing it with an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate and removing the precipitated calcium carbonate. Or, it can be dissolved in the presence of sufficient sodium tripolyphosphate to prevent the precipitation of calcium salts. However, calcium hypochlorite is not usually used to bleach laundry and textiles because of problems with insoluble inorganic calcium salts and precipitation of soaps and anionic detergents as their calcium salts. 

Oxidation of Chlorides. Hypochlorite can also be formed by the in situ oxidation of chloride ions by potassium peroxymonosulfate [25482-78-4] (36). Ketones like acetone cataly2e the reaction (37). The triple salt of potassium peroxymonosulfate is a stable powder that has been combiaed with chloride salts and sold as toilet bowl cleaners. Bromides can be used ia place of chlorides to form hypobromites, and such combiaations are used to disiafect spas and hot tubs. 

Dibasic magnesium hypochlorite can be used as a toilet bowl cleaner (227—229), in laundry and textile bleaches (230,231), and in scouring cleansers (232,233). 

The main component of bleach is sodium hypochlorite, NaOCl, which consists of sodium ions, Na1, and hypochlorite ions, OC1. What products are formed when this compound is reacted with the hydrochloric acid, HCl, of toilet bowl cleaner ... 

Importantly, stability and performance at acidic and alkaline pH extremes are a signature characteristic of these surfactants. Thus, for example, commercial amphoterics such as dihydroxyethyl alkyl glycinate are considered to be excellent thickeners for strongly alkaline oven as well as acid toilet bowl cleaners. Amine oxides enjoy similar properties. Resistance to both acids and bases make them suitable for use in products such as hypochlorite and phosphoric acid hard surface cleaners, hair dyes, corrosion inhibitors, and printing inks [4]. 

The main industrial product is the most stable dihydrate form Ca(0Cl)2 2H20 [775854-3], which contains up to 16% water and 65% available chlorine. It also contains sodium chloride and small amounts of calcium hydroxide, calcium chloride, calcium chlorate, and calcium carbonate. The main use of calcium hypochlorite in the cleaning industry is not in laundry but in toilet bowl cleaners, which were introduced in the United States during the late 1970s [6]. It is also sometimes used for bleaching in commercial laundries, in areas where chlorine is not available [7]. 

Even more sophisticated formulas with hypochlorite, surfactant, and abrasive materials have now been defined for specialized applications like toilet bowl cleaners. In this area, the patent literature discloses a hard-surface abrasive scouring cleanser comprising sodium hypochlorite up to 15%, abrasive like silica sand or calcite up to 70%, smfactants like anionic (soap, sulfate, sulfonate) or nonionic (amine oxide) or their mixtures up to... 

In-bowl cleaners are used with mechanical cleaning by the consumer. These products are usually liquids, usually thickened in the range of 200-700 cP. The idea is that the product is dispensed up under the rim of the toilet and then runs down the bowl wall until it encounters the water. The package for the product often has a specially shaped bottle that enables placonent of the product under the rim (Figure 5.2). The product should be thick enough to cling to the vertical wall and yet not be so thick that the product does not spread well. It should also have a foam profile that collapses quickly so that the product rinses away well. As in the case of many bathroom cleaners, these also come in two types, the acid and the hypochlorite. 

Likewise, thickened aqueous hypochlorite compositions rely on these surfactants to accomplish the same purpose at alkaline pH levels of 11 or higher [47]. Desired viscosity for such formulas may range from 150 to 3000 cP. This would not only permit easy dispensing, but provides good coating action necessary for cleaning toilet bowls, bathroom tiles, and shower walls [48]. Effective viscosity control is also necessary to suspend abrasives found in scouring cleansers. Finally, the choice of the particular amphoteric surfactant is an important factor in the preparation of low solvent hard surface cleaners [49-50]. 

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