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Does this require a preservative?
The preservative I’ve always been using in this scrubby soap solution has been UNavailable to me for about 3 months now. The retailer has NO estimated time of re-stocking 😭. It’s Suttocide A (INCI: Sodium Hydroxymethylglycinate)
I recently made some of this soap solution without the preservative, to see if it’ll become contaminated. I’ll let it sit around to see what’s what over time.
No, I do NOT have this micro-tested. I use this at home to clean hard surfaces or my gooey hands.
Its pH is 9 (I only have pH strips, but this result makes sense since there’s soap in it)
Here’s the LOI, roughly, WITHOUT the preservative:
Water (tap water, snow melt source, NOT well water) 80.4%
Soap 4%
Borax 10.4%
Washing soda 1.6%
Limonene 1.6%
Citrus essential oil of various sorts 1.6%(preservative is normally 0.3%)
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11 Replies
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10% borax? That likely kills everything (even more than it should). I hope you don’t use that brew on skin… Borax for private use has been banned in the EU for a reason
. Sure, in certain countries like Brazil they still use it big times and give a sh@ç% that they pollute the Amazon.There are alternatives, you know? They may not be as versatile and cheap but they’re better for health and environment. -
This is for hard surface cleaning, like my kitchen sink. When I use it to clean stuff off my hands (Douglas Fir resin for example), it’s used like a soap, as in: wash my hands, rinse, dry with a towel.
I need the borax to make this form a gel. I’m IGNORANT of other things I might use instead to make this 4% soap solution form a gel.
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I haven’t tried it but at pH 9 - HEC, HPMC, Methyl Ethyl Hydroxyethyl Cellulose, Dehydroxanthan Gum should be able to gel.
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Thanks for the suggestion Pattsi. I guess I should have written that I can only get ingredients from re-sellers of cosmetic ingredients, so ingredient options are severely limited for me.
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@Margaret, good thing your supplier ran out of Suttocide because that preservative is useless above pH 6.0, and your borax soap formula is definitely above pH 9.0, so you have been preservative-free all along. Success!
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Here’s the info. I’ve clumsily copied from the Ashland site itself, the makers of Suttocide A. Maybe you’re thinking of ANOTHER preservative?:
Suttocide A preservative is a fast-acting, broad-spectrum preservative with a long history of use for efficacy.
Features and Benefits
- broad-spectrum preservation
- long history of use for efficacy
- fast-acting
- effective pH 3.5-12.0
Applications
Hair Care Leave-On ++ Hair Care Rinse-Off ++ Skin Care Leave-On ++ Skin Care Rinse-Off ++ Wet Wipes ++ Use Levels: 0.5-1.0%
Max. Temperature During Production: below 60°C
Additional Information:
pH 3.5 - 12 Regulatory Compliance* Brazil, Canada, China, EU, Mexico -
I’m no sure you need a preservtive for this hard surface cleaning product. recall preservatives are intended to protect consumers in-use and that is of diominished concern with hard surface cleaning products.
But be aware - preservatives used in household/industrial products must be registered as pesticides and in context of product application. Suttocide A is an excellent preservative, and you must use the version registered with EPA for your application. Do not use the cosmetic grade. See: https://www3.epa.gov/pesticides/chem_search/ppls/057978-00004-20031106.pdf
I’m not aware that it’s “useless above pH 6.” Matt can you elaborate? As marketed, its pH is 10-12.
https://www.ingredientstodiefor.com/item.php?item_id=262 -
@PhilGeis. Your comment above, about my cleaner (for hard surfaces, it’s not for bathing) NOT requiring preservative(s) has made me extremely relieved. Thanks SO much!!!
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Doe you think your ingredeints are clean? Is there heat in your process? Just get a content test of a representative packaged product.
The general objetive of cleaning products is to deliver it of apprpriate quality rather than ensuring consumers don;t screw it up.
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Suttocide A is by itself alkaline, around pH 9-11. Unlike at acidic pH, under alkaline conditions its decomposition to formaldehyde may not be complete. I couldn’t find any actual % but from what I’ve found it does decompose enough to do the job.
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Chlorphenesin CAS: 104-29-0 Maximum dosage: 0.3%
P-hydroxyacetophenone CAS: 99-93-4 Recommended dosage: 0.5 - 1%This is the preservative formula we tested：
0.224% 1,2-hexanediol,0.056% ethylhexylglycerol,
0.056% caprylohydroxamic acid,
0.084% glyceryl caprylate,total addition of 0.42%
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