[Dave Roberts]

Sometimes I say , look , its safe to drink , then drink a bit, if kids are around I then pretend to die.

      

[Dave Roberts]

I tend to show them the bottle, explaining that it's plant and food grade, with no harsh chemicals, and child & pet friendly.   That tends to reassure then enough, especially when you're letting them clearly read the labels etc......... shows you have nothing to hide.

PS.... this only works if you use eco-friendly products like M-Power.   Wouldn't recommend it for the Power Burst users.   

[jasonl]

So , can anyone answer the original question?  What is it we are spraying?

[elliott cleaning]

Jason
In most cases - 90% water

[jasonl]

Paul, I am ot going to tell the customer that!  ...And 10% what?

[garyj]

Can you remember back in the good ole days that Sherlock ( The Best Carpet Cleaner In The World ) Ron King often used to say he used washing powder as it was essentially the same stuff. Has anyone actually ever bothered to try Persil, Daz or Bold as a test? You have to admit it sounds a good idea, and think of the millions that is spent developing these cleaners.

Oddly enough asked yesterday what I was spraying, I said it was a plant extract, it was actually Hydra Force. I don't have a clue what it is either, so now that we know it's 90% water what is the other 10%  

[Shaun_Ashmore]

hydrofluoric acid

Shaun

[garyj]

2 buckets of 'H' and one bucket of 'O' and a sprinkling of fairy dust then.

[jasonl]

This really is like the emporers new clothes!  I just want to know ,in simple terms what is in the CHEMICALS I am spraying .

[Dave Roberts]

It seems you have your answer Jason ................. no-one knows!

[Stu.Clem]

Loads of different chemicals contain loads of different compounds n elements.  I tend to mostly spray "£50 a gallon eco freindly  detergent free plant based fully bio degradeable woolsafe near neutral ph carpet and upholstery cleaning fluid which the general public cannot buy as it is only available to professional carpet cleaners"  and I already  know that no-one likes a foookin crook but!
this is all they need to know unless you frequently use Enzall  UPR "hi PH /enzyme/deadly chemical jollop" in which case you can pre qualify the good custy that dependant on result required they may need to vacate your "workspace" whilst you do your thing.
 Sorry this dont answer your Q in the way you prob want but it ALWAYS works for me. Think you need to speak to one of the "Boltons"?? for a definitive answer - no disrespect intended whatsoever, just applying my realistic interpretation of an everyday dilemma....

Stu

[Jim_77]

Jason I think I get what you're asking.

I call anything I'm spraying a "cleaning solution".  If asked further, I'll explain (depending on what I'm using) it's either a detergent or a non-toxic product and give them a bit of spiel about the benefits of hugging trees.

Nobody's ever had an orgasm when they find out my carpet cleaning product isn't going to kill the fishy wishys in the wivvers :

As said above, the only concern people have ever shown is for their babies or cats being on the carpet.

P.S. M-Power & Nemesis are a "colloid", and it is totally true about them being used for oil clean ups (and the exxon clean-up killing more wildlife than the spill).  Colloidal suspensions have been in use for many many years in chemistry.  But Colloids go further back still... millions of years, to the evolution of mammals -- milk is a colloid

I hate the word "Microsplitter" because it's a bullpoo word, made up  by somebody somewhere as a marketing tool as much as anything :  The nearest scientific catch-all term might be "a mixture of sodium derivatives" but that's not quite as catchy, is it

[wynne jones]

I did a bit of research on the net a while back to find actual research on colloids used in oil spilss as I too was spouting this  carpet cleaning urban myth to the greenies.

The only thing I could find was a study suggesting it created more of a problem as the dispersent broke up the oil molecules which then sank and casues devastation to the benthic layer (pooty sand to you)

Doesn't mean its no good for carpet cleaning though.