Oxygen Cleaners: Riding High

Patrick Stewart has a bold prediction. As president of EnvirOx, a Danville, Ill.-based manufacturer, he predicts that within a decade most of the cleaning in America will be done with environmentally friendly products. And many of those products will include hydrogen peroxide, or H2O2.

“I’m not saying all products are going to be hydrogen peroxide, but they are going to be environmentally friendly, and peroxide products are going to be a big part of that because they work better,” Stewart says.

If the recent trend of oxygenated cleaners is any indication of the future, then Stewart could be right.

Oxygen cleaners are formulated with hydrogen peroxide and a solvent, either natural, such as citrus or d’limonene, or another degreasing surfactant. When the cleaner comes in contact with soil, the hydrogen peroxide releases oxygen, which intensifies the cleaning ability of the degreasing agent.

“[Oxygen cleaners] break down the stain like a hammer and chisel,” says John Vlahakis, president of Earth Friendly Products, Winnetka, Ill. “It breaks up the molecules more finitely than a traditional cleaner.”

The products are effective and efficient, manufacturers say. They are also environmentally preferable because when hydrogen peroxide decomposes to its base components of water and oxygen, it no longer negatively affects the environment.

That combination of strong cleaning power and low environmental impact may explain why this newer product category has been such a success with consumers while it continues to be a growing category in the jan/san market.

Power Player
Oxygen cleaners come in pre-diluted, ready-to-use formulas that can be used as a multipurpose, multisurface cleaner, degreaser and stain remover. There are also concentrates, which can be diluted at different strengths for light- to heavy-duty applications.

“You can replace five to 15 products with our H2Orange2,” Stewart says. “Of course, one product can’t do all the functions in a facility. So we have a few other hydrogen-peroxide based products that do ancillary tasks — a polymer-modified product that works for carpet care and another for heavy degreasing tasks.”

Cleaners boosted by hydrogen peroxide are best for protein-based stains (pet stains or blood, for example) on carpet, grout and laundry. The oxygen present in the products also makes them excellent deodorizers.

“That’s a freebie that happens with these products,” Stewart says. “They destroy the odors, they don’t just cover them up.”

The products are less effective on petroleum-based stains, such as oil and gum. Oxygen cleaners also might not work on hard floors. Depending on the pH level, the cleaner may be harsh enough to attack the surface’s sealant.

Consumer Choice
Cleaners that use hydrogen peroxide have been around for a few years. They owe their increasing popularity not to the jan/san industry, but to everyday consumers — and to Orange Glo International. The company makes OxiClean, which manufacturers agree was the hydrogen-peroxide pioneer in the consumer marketplace.

“Oxygen cleaners have been around for a very long time; it’s not a new technology,” says Vlahakis. “But an entrepreneur decided to market it to consumers, and now huge companies are involved. They’ve created a new product category that didn’t exist before.”

Chemical manufacturers have taken notice. Nearly all of them, big or small, now offer oxygen cleaners. Most of the major manufacturers are making consumer-specific products, and even some commercial-product manufacturers are trying to earn a spot in the consumer marketplace.

EnvirOx recently launched a household initiative called “Our House.” The program is a person-to-person selling system, similar to Tupperware or Mary Kay. Consumers can sell Envirox’s oxygen cleaners, and other environmentally preferable products, directly to other consumers.

The company’s mission is to help this nation’s cleaning be as “green” as possible. Stewart sees oxygen cleaners, still a niche product, as a move in the right direction.

“Once it starts to build, in five or 10 years you’ll have a big shift,” Stewart says. “We believe that is what will happen in the consumer market. In Europe there is no chlorine used for laundry bleaching. We think that will happen here in five to 10 years.”

And, what’s good for the consumer, is good for the commercial market. Consumer demand will help drive growth on the commercial side.

Slower to Respond
Although oxygen cleaners have been a big hit among consumers for a few years, they haven’t taken off in the commercial cleaning arena quite as quickly.

They aren’t as “stable” as traditional cleaners, Stewart says. “That’s why they haven’t had a big success in the commercial market. It’s designed for different purposes.”

The stability of hydrogen peroxide refers to its ability to remain as H2O2 and not decompose to its basic elements, water and oxygen. Stability is particularly important in the disinfectants in this category, which depend on the peroxide for disinfection. Stability is also important for other oxygen cleaners; however, if a cleaning product is too stable, then it will prevent decomposition of H2O2, which is necessary for many cleaning operations.

“Hydrogen peroxide has always been a great oxidizer of organic soils, it was just hard to stabilize,” says Steve Hipp, president of Athea Laboratories Inc., Milwaukee. “We have now found ways to stabilize hydrogen peroxide.”

Athea has developed an advanced form of hydrogen peroxide, with a higher alkaline-based pH level, which remains stable longer. A more stable form of hydrogen peroxide means products remain active in solution longer so they clean better than products that lose power more quickly.

Athea hopes this new technology will open the door for oxygen cleaners into the commercial marketplace. The timing is right given the success of hydrogen-peroxide based products among consumers. After all, a janitor is also a consumer who must purchase products for his or her own home.

“If a janitor or housekeeper has already used the product on the consumer side, then when it comes to the commercial side, they are already interested because they are familiar with it,” Vlahakis says.

Lack of familiarity is not the only roadblock for oxygen cleaners. Price is also an obstacle. They use a newer technology and are still relatively niche products, making the price point higher than their traditional counterparts.

“Money is a big issue,” Vlahakis says. “I can’t tell you how many times our customer tells us, ‘I want the cheapest thing you’ve got. Give me something that does a [halfway decent] job and let me move on.’ Honestly, our customer base hasn’t said, ‘Give us something that’s oxygen based.’”

Green Clean
When hydrogen peroxide was first used in cleaning products in the late 1990s, the products sold well because they worked well. Around the turn of the last century, however, something changed. Concern for the environment grew, particularly in commercial markets, thanks to tighter government regulations, and the focus changed to recognizing not only how well a cleaning product worked, but also its environmental impact.

“The success has been the environmental friendliness of these products,” Hipp says. “These are great cleaners, and the green factor has really helped with their acceptance. The I&I market sees the need for green products, and these meet that need.”

Oxygen cleaners are just one step toward a greener world. And, although the products are popular, they are only a small piece of the chemical pie.

“I don’t believe we’ve even gotten started with a major conversion of volume,” Stewart says. “We are probably 10 percent of the way there. In five years, I think we’re going to be 75 percent of the way there.”

Distributors can use this greener future as a selling strategy.

“If you have a product that works better, or in a meaningful way is less damaging to the environment or a customer’s facility, that gives you a difference to sell with rather than price,” Stewart says.