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PH Scale explanation.

Discussion in 'General Carpet Cleaning & Upholstery Discussion' started by Torrey W, Apr 28, 2012.

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    In chemistry, pH (Potential Hydrogen) is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at 25*°C (77*°F). Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline. pH measurements are important in medicine, biology, chemistry, agriculture, forestry, food science, environmental science, oceanography, civil engineering and many other applications.

    Here are a few pictures to help visualize the scale and where things we deal with fall into it.

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    Pure (de-ionized) water is neutral, and can be considered either a very weak acid or a very weak base, giving it a pH of 7 (at 25*°C (77*°F)), or 0.0000001 M H+.

    The pH has no upper or lower limit and can be lower than 0 or higher than 14, although with water, it is limited by the acidity and basicity of water. For an aqueous solution to have a higher pH, a base must be dissolved in it, which binds away many of these rare hydrogen ions.

    Most of the Earth's freshwater bodies surface are slightly acidic due to the abundance and absorption of carbon dioxide; in fact, for millennia in the past, most fresh water bodies have had a slightly acidic pH.

    Side note I found interesting:

    Runoff from mines or mine tailings can produce some of the most acidic pHs ever reported; with negative pHs measured and reported in the literature as low as pH −3.6.
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    It is interesting to note that the pH scale is a logarithmic scale. This means that a change of one pH unit indicates a ten fold increase in the concentration of hydrogen ions. For instance, a solution that has a pH of 2 has ten times as many free H+ ions as a solution with a pH of 3!

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    How can the pH of a substance be known?

    For accurate pH value readings, we can test a spot in question with Hydrion paper or pH strips. The spot to be tested is moistened with distilled water (neutral, which is pH 7) and blotted with the test paper to give a reading.
    Once the pH has been determined, a cleaning product can be chosen which is best suited to neutralize the offending spot.

    You can buy tools for this here.
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    Some history:

    In a publication of 1909 (see reference below), the Danish scientist Soren P.L. Sörenson discussed the inadequacy of measuring acidity by the total amount (normality) of acid additions to a particular solution. The added amount of acid would not necessarily be a true measure of its dissociation, depending on chemical interactions with other chemical species. Sörenson proposed that the actual degree of acidity should be rationally measured by hydrogen ion concentration and proposed the pH scale for expressing the hydrogen ion concentration as detailed in the quote below:

    "I will explain here that I use the name "hydrogen ion exponent" and the designation PH for the numerical value of the exponents of this power."

    Sörenson reportedly was involved in work testing the acidity of beer and the pH symbol rooted in the French "pouvoir hydrogene" (power of hydrogen).

    The pH variable is obviously a very important variable in aqueous corrosion studies and often monitored as a process variable, together with corrosion sensor signals.
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    Wow are you getting ready to take my place? Very nice info. Now you can jump into the whole acid rinse argument.
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    this is also especially important when dyeing carpets and when using live enzymes( they can only survive in a neutral environment)
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    Torrey, it's good info, but every single one of these posts don't follow your normal speech patterns. Where'd you get this info from?
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    Ha, yes, I am forwarding the very information that I researched back in the day for my own benefit. I wanted to type it out perfectly verbadom so I don't convolute the technical aspects. (believe it or not that sentence was all me:) )

    I love to research any subject that comes up on here, you should see the truckload of info I printed off on UV light and florescent light.

    Now I'm researching the differant types of Incorporations available to me and which is best for the CC side of the business now that it's passing a certain level of income.
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    Two things:

    First, what the hell are the yellow/orange glasses for with UV light? Never been able to figure that out.

    Second, TALK TO YOUR ACCOUNTANT AND LAWYER! Get them in the same room, and discuss the corp thing. I've a bud from school who is a business lawyer, and he tells me horrible stories about people who made the wrong choice initially, and how much it can cost them to re-structure in order to sell, etc...
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    I'll go get the accurate info out on the glasses.

    But as for the incorporating, yes, I would never make a decision on that without my CPA.

    However to soley rely on their opinion can be a bit too little. I have a friend that has an electrical business that two CPA's told him to go S Corp, and now he's getting audited and finding out it was not exactly the best, gonna owe some money, they didn't really investigate his entire business and based their decisions purely on what they thought was normal for electricians, not taking into consideration he's also a distributor of lighting which changes everything.

    So I'm gonna know my stuff when I go in and have my meeting in a couple weeks and we can accurately communicate and convey the right message about what I'm doing and planning on accomplishing with my business in the long run.
    Trust me, I'm the last person that's gonna just renegade into that..
    I'll start a thread on this subject later.
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    Here's the product description:
    These glasses are intended for use with UV light sources and greatly improve the contrast of items which luminesce when viewed with UV light, such as forensic or cleaning applications. I would not recommend them if you just want to protect your eyes from UV radiation in sunlight, because of the extreme yellow tint, but they work amazingly well for their intended purpose.

    My opinion is, they do kinda help contrast the urine stains when it floresce's under my light, however once you have a decent light it really doesnt matter, I never use mine, it's just kinda dumb IMO for as little to no real help they provide.

    The biggest impact they have are a "wow effect" to a customer who's never seen it done before.
    The UV light has added hundreds, actually thousands into my pocket over time by really impressing upon the customer how really bad their precious little Fluffy has been!
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    We had a big floodlamp style UV light at the company. What do you use? I need a decent one, for several different things.
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    If you really want to see people scramble, by the way, walk around in an office with a blacklight and tell people you're doing a company laptop inspection...
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    Actually I would like to eventually Learn more about carpet and rug inspection and composition, and maybe transition to that line of work one day. My rather big plan is to get off the truck and just do Estimates and Sales for cleaning and new flooring sales, and taking care of any warrantee issues.

    I have a few questions I was planning on asking you in that area later when we can get together soon for that bike ride.
    Just got the Bianchi out and Tuned up ready for the monon!

    PS: if you have a few minutes, it would be great if you could explain the reasons and application for acid rinses!
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    Torrey , What do you think would happen if the oceans "sea water" becomes acidic to the ph 5 or 4 range?
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    Well I would imagine the sea life would all die. Sea water is suppose to be slightly on the base side. However I have read that ever since the industrial revolution that the C02 emissions have caused the acidic levels to rise by 30%, many scientists are worried about the trend and fear we will loose a lot of the living organisms and sea life.

    I would have to imagine if the ph levels went to the acid side and as far as even 5, that it would be absolute desolation!
    Think about all the shells and sea life that depend on calcium based stuff like that. It would dissolve it all I think..

    Is there a particular reason why you ask?

    Do you have a idea of what would happen?
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    That would be super-dooper bad. We're talking 100 to 1000 times more acidity than what ecosystems are used to. You said it. Desolation. Then humans start dying from lack of food. Next thing you know, we're fighting over world resources like the Flyover States that grow all that food, and nukes start getting tossed around.

    When the smoke clears...

    [video=youtube;3hQC3nkftrk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hQC3nkftrk[/video]
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    Ah yes nothing like starting a little controversy on a Sunday morning with acid rinses. When I started in cleaning most of the detergents were all a pH of about 12. Most carpet had a jute backing. Truckmounts were not the fine tuned machines they are today. They were great at putting down solution but not as great at picking it up.

    So take a nice high pH, overwetting and a cellulosic backing (jute) and you have the perfect formular for true browning. Following cleaning we had to spray a browning formula (acid) to neutralize all that alkalinity we left in the carpet. Detergents were not called rinses at this time. Some of the acid formulas were so strongly acidic that we etched glass in china cabinets or sliding glass doors.

    Jump to 1986 and the introduction of Dupont StainMaster and we were told that we couldn't use anything over a pH of 10 and certainly no silicone protectors. This was our first introduction to acid dye resisters (dye blockers). Also at this time because of the increase in carpet sales they couldn't import enough jute for carpet backing and switched to olefin backing. This eliminated true browning.

    About 1990 Joe Domin of Prochem introduced the use of acid rinses and they really eliminated the need for browning formulas. The thought was that most of the soiling (food, drink, bodily fluids) were acidic and were neutralized by an akaline prespray. But then we would neutralize the alkaline prespray with the acid rinse. The idea was that nylon was dyed with acid dyes and was best left in its natural acid state. Wool also is best left in its natural acid state.

    Jump to today and their is more change in chemistry, some that is just marketing and others that really are changes. I believe that you have three choices of rinsing: an alkaline detergent, an acid rinse, or water. If the carpet is heavily soiled I go for an alkaline prespray followed by an alkaline detergent. A lightly to moderately soiled carpet would take an alkaline prespray followed by an acid rinse. I do not believe in water rinsing as it has no surfactancy and does not due a sufficient job of neutralizing an alkaline prespray.

    You also have choices of presprays: restaurant products, olefin products, natural fiber, and general (under 10) presprays. As a professional you decide on each carpet what is best for that individual carpet and select the appropriate chemistry.

    This morning was my last bike ride for a week as I will be in Atlanta tonight for the Jon-Don customer appreciation day then Florida for Connections.

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