The Science of Soap
Some of what I’ve learned in cleaning houses has been intuitive. There are certain things I know to be true based off of touch or simple ‘a feeling’. When I would compare different methods and trial + error my approach to cleaning, some methods would seem far superior to others. Whether that be a product or tool to remove dirt + debris more effectively, or something that created more ease in the scrubbing process.
Going off of things just based off of ‘a feeling’ doesn’t always make a method true. Science is what differentiates something from being accurate vs. something being false or pseudo.
I created this short on Instagram a few years back, called The Science of Soap. As I began to dive into my research on this topic, I was (and still am) fascinated.
Back when I was training my cleaning team at The Tidy People, I would come across a challenge in getting my team on board with a method. There’s this deep cleaning method that I teach and follow to clean kitchens that uses soap, water, and a terry cloth towel to wipe down a kitchen. This has been the MOST effective way to clean a kitchen that I’ve found, in my 16 years as a professional cleaner.
Knowing (intuitively) that this was the best method through trial and error, I trained my team to clean all kitchens this way, exclusively. Turns out, some of my team started using our all purpose spray vs. the dish soap method. As soon as this started occurring, we started getting feedback from clients that their kitchen didn’t look or feel as clean.
Side note: spray and wiping with an all purpose spray and a towel is a great method for every day kitchen cleanup, in between deep cleaning.
Naturally, I was very excited to learn the science behind soap and why this method is so effective. I think it’s important to learn the WHY behind why we do what we do. Read on to learn about the science of soap.
What is soap at its base?
First of all, the base of ALL soap and liquid cleaners (think dish soap, all purpose spray, floor cleaners, etc.) is two ingredients: fat and potassium hydroxide (or potash). When these two elements are mixed together, they create a reaction. Water is then added post-reaction, which then causes an effect called “saponification”.
What is surfactant and what is a micelle?
Soap has surfactant in it, that helps get to the deepest level of a surface to lift and remove dirt/debris. The surfactant creates what is called a “micelle”. The micelle attracts and traps soil inside of it and repels the soil off of the surface and into the soap. When you rinse away the soap, you also rinse away all the oils, microbes, and dirt from the surfaces you just cleaned.
Surfactant is comprised of two ends: one end wants to be in water and the other does not.
The water “fearing” end (hydrophobic) loves oil, grease, and bacteria…but it stays away from water.
The water “loving” end (hydrophilic) attracts water.
These two opposing forces stay away from each other. The cells get organized in the shape of a sphere: the water loving end is on the outside and the water fearing end is on the inside. Essentially, soap + water repels soil off of any surface when applied with friction.
What does “activation” mean when it comes to the use of soap?
In order for the soap to do its job, it needs this combo:
✨ soap
💦 water
🧼 agitation
🚿 rinsing/removal
Soap is actually very similar in structure to dirt+debris+bacteria. What makes debris stick to any surface (such as sticky kitchen cabinets with food fingerprints) is the micelle settling onto a surface.
Soap and water and the whole hydrophobic/hydrophilic process only works if there’s an agitator tool that creates enough friction to mix with the soap, water, and dirt/debris. Examples of an agitator tool would be:
Terry cloth cleaning towels: the loops in this fabric have tiny micro scrubbers built into them which helps with friction. For application, you’ll want to apply soap and “activate” it with water (by running it under the faucet for a few seconds) and agitation (scrubbing).
Washing machine: a washing machine does the work of cleaning your clothes when you add laundry soap to the machine. The water line and the built in agitator does the work.
What happens after I scrub dirt+debris?
Think of a bunch of little micelles floating around inside of your towel and on the surface that you’ve scrubbed. It’s loose, unstuck, and ready to be removed in this final step. Eventually the micelle will settle back down and “sit on the surface” if you don’t lift and remove it.
Since we’re talking in terms of scrubbing kitchen surfaces with a terry cloth towel, soap, and water, the rinsing process looks a little different than say, the rinse cycle on your washer and dryer or rinsing your shower after scrubbing it.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a drain catch on the floor of my kitchen (ha, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a thing in a kitchen either), so I can’t just hose it down. In order to effectively remove the soap, dirt, and debris try this:
(1) Scrub a section with your towel mixed with dish soap + water.
(2) Immediately polish the section with a dry towel within 1-2 minutes. This will polish and buffer the surface fully clean as it will remove the soap, water, dirt, and debris (allll the micelles go bye-bye).
(3) Rinse+refresh the scrubbing towel as you go. Going based off of feel, you’ll notice an oily sensation on the towel if it needs to rinsed and refreshed. Depending on how much soap is left in the towel, you might just rinse OR you might add more soap. Effectively, when you rinse the towel, you’re rinsing the micelles from the dirt + debris that landed on your towel, down the drain.
(4) Replace your dry polishing towel if it gets too wet or too soiled. You’ll notice that the towel will leave behind partial residue if it’s time for a dry towel replacement. Ultimately, the towels will get laundered and all remaining micelles that are trapped in towels will get rinsed and will go down the drain in the washing machine.
The dish soap method is the MOST effective way to clean a kitchen: it will give you a kitchen ‘reset’ to fully remove dirt+debris. Personally, I use this method every time I clean my kitchen, on cleaning day.
In regards to other places and spaces in the house: do a once a year deep scrub of walls and baseboards.
