Page 62 - GPHS Environmental Public Health Standards (Foundation of Public Health) v1

Contaminants & pH Levels

The pH levels of cleaning agents play a critical role in their effectiveness and the type of contaminants they can remove.
Cleaning agents work by breaking down and eliminating contaminants from surfaces.

There are two main types of contaminants that can be found on surfaces:

Organic Contaminants
Inorganic Contaminants

➢ Organic contaminants can
include food residue, oils, ➢ Inorganic contaminants include

greases, and living organisms mineral deposits, hard water,
like mold or microbial growth and rust.
that causes biofilms.

➢ To effectively remove such ➢ Usually, inorganic materials are
contaminants, it is recommended most effectively broken down

to use cleaning agents with an and removed using acidic pH
alkaline pH level ranging from to neutral-based cleaning
neutral to high. agents.

When cleaning surfaces with a combination of organic and inorganic contaminants,

always choose the safest pH level.