Tools and directories

The words, in the order you meet them

Updated October 2026

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The formula The process The failures The rules References

Terms as you meet them rather than alphabetically.

The formula

Surfactant. The molecule that lifts soil off a surface and holds it in suspension. Anionic, nonionic, cationic and amphoteric are the four families; anionic and cationic neutralize each other.

Builder and chelator. Materials that deal with water hardness so the surfactant can work.

Solubilizer. What holds fragrance oil in a water-based product.

Active content. The concentration of a raw material as supplied, which is not the concentration in your product.

Ready-to-use and concentrate. The same cleaner with and without the water.

The process

Order of addition. Part of the formula, not a detail.

Batch release. Checking against a specification before filling.

Challenge test. Deliberately inoculating a formula to see whether the preservative controls it. The only real proof a preservative system works.

Freeze-thaw. Cycling a sample cold and warm to see what drops out.

Compatibility testing. Filled, capped bottles kept and weighed for months.

The failures

Paneling. A bottle collapsing inward.

Crazing. Fine cracks from solvent stress.

Salt peak. The point where adding salt stops thickening a surfactant system and starts thinning it. Formulate on the low side of it.

Fish-eyes. Gelled lumps of undispersed thickener.

The rules

FIFRA. A product claiming to kill or control microorganisms is a pesticide requiring EPA registration. The claim triggers it, not the chemistry.

FHSA, 16 CFR 1500. Cautionary labeling for household products with hazardous substances: signal word, hazard, precautions, first aid, keep out of reach of children.

PPPA, 16 CFR 1700.14. Child-resistant packaging thresholds. Sodium or potassium hydroxide at 2 percent in liquid is the one that catches cleaners.

SB 258. California's Cleaning Product Right to Know Act: ingredient disclosure online from 2020 and on the label from 2021.

Green Guides, 16 CFR 260. Environmental marketing claims, and the reason "non-toxic" is a claim rather than a description.

References

US Environmental Protection Agency. Determining If a Cleaning Product Is a Pesticide Under FIFRA. A cleaner that claims to clean and degrease is not a pesticide; the same product claiming to kill germs is. The claim triggers it, not the chemistry. epa.gov

Federal Hazardous Substances Act and 16 CFR Part 1500, which require cautionary labeling on household products containing hazardous substances: the signal word, the hazard, precautionary measures, first aid and the instruction to keep out of reach of children. ecfr.gov

Poison Prevention Packaging Act, 16 CFR 1700.14, Substances requiring special packaging. Thresholds relevant to household cleaners include sodium and/or potassium hydroxide at 2 percent or more in liquid (10 percent dry), methyl alcohol at 4 percent, sulfuric acid at 10 percent, turpentine at 10 percent, and nonemulsion liquid furniture polish with 10 percent or more petroleum distillates below 100 SUS. ecfr.gov

California Cleaning Product Right to Know Act of 2017 (SB 258). Designated products — air care, automotive, general cleaning, and polish or floor maintenance products — must disclose ingredient information on the product website from January 1, 2020 and on the label from January 1, 2021. leginfo.ca.gov

US Federal Trade Commission. Green Guides, 16 CFR Part 260, on environmental marketing claims including "non-toxic", "natural", "biodegradable" and unqualified general environmental benefit claims. ftc.gov

Written from the federal regulation and agency guidance named on each page, not from a laboratory or a legal practice. Whether a particular product and a particular label make a cleaner or a pesticide is a determination about your product, and this is not that determination.