REGULAR
talking about the difference between 50:1 and 25:1 dilutions but too much chemical in a cleaning solution can lead to many problems.
Commercial grade cleaning products are specifically designed for economy in use. End users must follow the recommended dilution rates from the manufacturer. Over-concentration and/or over-dosing of chemical will often cause smearing on surfaces or leave them tacky to touch because the surface is covered in chemical residue. Over-dosing can also cause irreparable damage to the surfaces being cleaned.
We have on a few occasions had complaints that our products ‘didn’t work’ and that hot water cleaned the floors better, only to find that there was so much chemical residue on the floor surface that the hot water was actually diluting the chemical left on the floor to make it a more effective cleaning solution!
The Arpax system from RP Adam and its range of concentrates is one of the best performing ranges of chemical concentrates on the market, comprising 13 products to cover most if not all catering and building services cleaning applications. The bottle, sink and bucket dispensers have a manual lever which, when pushed to dose the chemical concentrate, will activate a delay mechanism that locks the dispenser for 30 seconds, thus preventing the user from over-dosing.
There is still a minor risk if the intrepid user is determined and prepared to wait to dose again, but when you are filling a 500ml bottle, 30 seconds is a long time to wait, and patience or time is not something cleaners usually have in abundance.
Some chemical companies out there allow sites to over-ride the delay mechanism by leaving an over-riding key in or attached to the dispenser, thus enabling users to effectively put as much in the bottle as they wish. It has never made sense to us and makes a mockery of having a controlled dilution system in the first place. There can only be two reasons that this is allowed to happen:
1. The chemical company is not confident that the concentration
www.tomorrowscleaning.com Or
2. The chemical company does not want the site to control their dilution (despite spending money on installing dispensers) and indeed want them to use as much as possible to maximise sales. It amazes us just how often we come across this when we gain new business. It’s a waste of time, waste of money and quite frankly incompetent.
WATER POWER: VENTURI OR CHEMICAL/WATER
MIXING STATIONS The subject of dosing has been around for a very long time. Indeed we can go back to the late 18th century to find an Italian physicist and historian of science called Giovanni Battista Venturi who discovered the ‘Venturi’ effect, and as a result he is the eponym for the Venturi tube, flow meter and pump which are found in many chemical and water mixing systems available today.
In simple terms, Venturi-Based Dilution (VBD) systems draw chemical concentrate from the container by vacuum at a pre-set dose into the water stream to provide a ready-to-go chemical solution from its tap. They need to be plumbed into a water supply and require sufficient water pressure to ensure that the chemical can be drawn from the container and mixed with the water to provide the correct solution.
These types of VBD systems are usually installed in high-traffic businesses that consume large quantities of cleaning chemicals and have sufficient space to install the equipment, such as large commercial kitchens, hotels, airports, shopping centres and holiday resorts. VBD systems are also particularly suited to users filling larger cleaning vessels like buckets, sinks or floor scrubbing machines. The effect is a bit like filling your car up with petrol.
While many chemical suppliers provide so-called ‘concentrates’ with dosing systems, it is clear that, on closer
of their product is strong enough to produce an adequate cleaning solution at the dispenser dilution rate, thereby encouraging users to use more concentrate.
inspection, many of these chemicals are what we would describe as ‘normal-strength’ or ‘me-too’ products, providing only one part of the benefit equation – control – and ignoring the key aspect that higher concentration = massive waste reduction.
The Arpax SC system utilises five authentic ‘super concentrated’ detergents and disinfectants under the Arpax SC banner. Each 2x2l pack will yield a minimum of 400 litres of ready to use cleaning and disinfection solution. The 2l concentrates are dispensed through a bottle and/or bucket fill water and chemical VBD system which we call ECOPAX. There are two products for housekeeping and building services and three for catering areas.
That’s 400 litres – or 800x500ml bottles of ready to use solution – with 100% guarantee of performance, and control of waste and costs. Why? As the product dilution is controlled and pre-mixed and it is impossible to put one litre of solution into a 500ml spray bottle, then the user cannot in any way double dose or alter the pre-set dilution of the chemical solution.
Although the super concentrates are ‘hazardous’, all ready to use solutions are classified as non-hazardous in use and each 2l container is fitted with SafeLink™ to provide an ultra-safe system for dosing chemical concentrates safely.
The safety mechanism in the neck of the 2l flask forms a leak-proof connection between the chemical flask and the Ecopax dosing equipment, eliminating the chance of hazardous chemicals coming into contact with the user. The super concentrates are also locked inside a bespoke Ecopax 2l cabinet so the end user cannot access it without a key.
Venturi dosing units offer a far wider spectrum of dilution rates than traditional manual dispenser systems, and can be used to dose at extremely high dilutions in conjunction with high quality concentrates.
Read more of Max’s musings at the Arpal Group blog here.
www.rpadam.co.uk www.arpalgulf.com
Tomorrow’s Cleaning May 2016 | 27
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