The Clorox Company

James R Latham

James D Mitchell

Daniel T Carty

Robert J Iliff

Clement K Choy

David A Peterson

Stephen Bradford Kong

Michael H Robbins

Vincent E Alvarez

Jana W Chu

Donald K Swatling

Frank M Knafelc

Thomas Gerret Dewees

Thomas M Lipton

Denise A Garner

R Gregory Taylor

David G Cohen

Kelley A Henderson

An improved cleaning composition is provided for shower and tub surfaces which is of the &ldquo;shower rinsing&rdquo; type, requiring no scrubbing, wiping, or immediate rinsing. The composition comprises: (a) a glycoside surfactant, the total amount of said surfactant being present in a cleaning effective amount; (b) a chelating agent, said chelating agent present in an amount effective to enhance bathroom soil removal in said composition; and (c) the remainder, water. A solvent such as isopropyl alcohol may also be added. The employment of a glycoside surfactant, especially one having an HLB value of greater than 13, remarkably improves the performance of such a shower rinsing composition both with respect to surface appearance streaking and filming and also bathroom soil and soap scum removing ability.

Shower rinsing composition

An improved cleaning composition is provided for shower and tub surfaces which is of the 'shower rinsing' type, requiring no scrubbing, wiping, or immediate rinsing. The composition comprises: (a) a glycoside surfactant, the total amount of said surfactant being present in a cleaning effective amount; (b) a chelating agent, said chelating agent present in an amount effective to enhance bathroom soil removal in said composition; and (c) the remainder, water. A solvent such as isopropyl alcohol may also be added. The employment of a glycoside surfactant, especially one having an HLB value of greater than 13, remarkably improves the performance of such a shower rinsing composition both with respect to surface appearance streaking and filming and also bathroom soil and soap scum removing ability.

The invention provides an improved surface safe, aqueous, liquid hard surface cleaner which contains a nonionic surfactant, or combination of nonionic and anionic surfactants, a water soluble abrasive, namely, borax pentahydrate, in an amount which takes at least a portion of the abrasive out of solution, and water.

Water soluble abrasive composition containing borax pentahydrate

The invention provides a cleaning agent and method for removing stains from fabrics comprising a combination of dense gas, a source of hydrogen peroxide and an organic bleach activator therefor.

Cleaning through perhydrolysis conducted in dense fluid medium

A dry cleaning system particularly suited for employing supercritical CO.sub.2 as the cleaning fluid consisting of a sealable cleaning vessel containing a rotatable drum adapted for holding soiled substrate, a cleaning fluid storage vessel, and a gas vaporizer vessel for recycling used cleaning fluid is provided. The drum is magnetically coupled to a motor so that it can be rotated during the cleaning process. The system is adapted for automation which permits increased energy efficiency as the heating and cooling effect associated with CO.sub.2 gas condensation and expansion can be channeled to heat and cool various parts of the system.

Liquid/supercritical carbon dioxide/dry cleaning system

The invention provides a cleaning method in which a solvent such as densified carbon dioxide can be used for rapid and efficient cleaning, but with decreased damage to solid components such as buttons. The method comprises contacting a substrate to be cleaned with a first fluid, removing the first fluid from contact with the substrate while replacing with a second fluid, and recovering the substrate substantially free of the first and second fluids and from the contaminant. The first fluid is a densified gas while the second fluid is a compressed gas. A preferred embodiment of the method includes the use of a pretreatment designed for compatibility with the densified first fluid.

Liquid/supercritical cleaning with decreased polymer damage

The invention provides a method and composition for the removal of nonpolar stains from a fabric comprising:

Method and composition using densified carbon dioxide and cleaning

A dry cleaning system particularly suited for employing supercritical CO.sub.2 as the cleaning fluid consisting of a sealable cleaning vessel containing a rotatable drum adapted for holding soiled substrate, a cleaning fluid storage vessel, and a gas vaporizer vessel for recycling used cleaning fluid is provided. The drum is magnetically coupled to a motor so that it an be rotated during the cleaning process. The system is adapted for automation which permits increased energy efficiency as the heating and cooling effect associated with CO.sub.2 gas condensation and expansion can be channeled to heat and cool various parts of the system.

Growing community of inventors

Livermore, CA, United States of America

James R Latham