Citrus the TRUE APC and Degreaser?

T

tbgallant

New member
Hey guys,



Looking to get a truely ALL purpose cleaner that I can dilute as needed. I've heard good things about citrus cleaners (and they have a good smell) so I'm considering ZEP heavy duty citrus degreaser you can get at Home Depot (well you can here in Canada :ca).



15964.021709008593_4.jpg




ZEP - Zep Citrus Cleaner 3.78L - CACIT128 - Home Depot Canada



I want to use this on the interior plastics/vinyl as well as wheel wells and even the engine compartment at a stronger mixture.



I'm looking for something other than Simple Green / Purple Power because it seems to me that these are too harsh and I have to be concerned with them sitting on plastic / aluminum too long/etc.



Are citrus cleaners normally safe to be left on plastic and aluminum without damage?



Anybody else use ZEP products (they also have an actual APC but it seems to me this Citrus product would also work well as a degreaser).



Thanks



Tim
 
I am interested in what people think too of Zeps. I had very similar questions to tbgallant.



After reading the "wasted money. rant" thread, I decided to look for a Citrus Cleaner, diluted to various strengths for a variety of cleaning, from wheels, tires, engine, to the interior. But coming across Zeps, I see that they have a APC too.



Do people have an opinion on either of these?



Thanks
 
tbgallant said:
Hey guys,



Looking to get a truely ALL purpose cleaner that I can dilute as needed. I've heard good things about citrus cleaners (and they have a good smell) so I'm considering ZEP heavy duty citrus degreaser you can get at Home Depot (well you can here in Canada :ca).



15964.021709008593_4.jpg




ZEP - Zep Citrus Cleaner 3.78L - CACIT128 - Home Depot Canada



I want to use this on the interior plastics/vinyl as well as wheel wells and even the engine compartment at a stronger mixture.



I'm looking for something other than Simple Green / Purple Power because it seems to me that these are too harsh and I have to be concerned with them sitting on plastic / aluminum too long/etc.



Are citrus cleaners normally safe to be left on plastic and aluminum without damage?



Anybody else use ZEP products (they also have an actual APC but it seems to me this Citrus product would also work well as a degreaser).



Thanks



Tim
Click to expand...



Fwiw. You can buy Simple Green Pro HD at Home Depot. It was developed for the aircraft industry, and completely safe for aluminum and whatever else you use it on.
 
Flat out you can't let any cleaner... citrus or not. sit on the plastic and dwell for a long period of time. They will all eventually cause damage if left unattended... I find it funny you think Simple green and Purple power are too agressive.. I consider both of these to be on the very mild side really. Most citrus base cleaners that use real citrus are very effective and *safer* than the other chemicals out there but always use your cleaners with caution... Don't spray down the plastic and go and make a sandwhich or anything.
 
The safest degreasers right now use a salt base technology. They are pretty well safe on everything plus they are green seal certified. Most D'limonene products won.t make green seal certification unless they have very small amounts...like less then 1% volume.

Sodium tetraborate pentahydrate & Alcohol ethoxylate are the bases & they have no known serious health hazards. They also cleans very well. We sell degreasers made from this base to food plants & the mining industry.
 
I really wouldnt want a salt based cleaner to be used on my car. Just thinking of the long term effects with rust developing if the degreaser doesnt rinse off clean.
 
It,s not table salt. It is a salt based derivative that has very little if any similariy to your basic table salt...as a matter of fact it ain,t even close. The chemical composition & ph ain,t even on the same planet.
 
Poordude said:
The safest degreasers right now use a salt base technology. They are pretty well safe on everything plus they are green seal certified. Most D'limonene products won.t make green seal certification unless they have very small amounts...like less then 1% volume.

Sodium tetraborate pentahydrate & Alcohol ethoxylate are the bases & they have no known serious health hazards. They also cleans very well. We sell degreasers made from this base to food plants & the mining industry.
Click to expand...





Got a link?
 
I can,t give a link to our company or products as I got a 1 month time out for doing it when I first joined this site.
 
tbgallant said:
Hey guys,



Looking to get a truely ALL purpose cleaner that I can dilute as needed. I've heard good things about citrus cleaners (and they have a good smell) so I'm considering ZEP heavy duty citrus degreaser you can get at Home Depot (well you can here in Canada :ca).



15964.021709008593_4.jpg




ZEP - Zep Citrus Cleaner 3.78L - CACIT128 - Home Depot Canada



I want to use this on the interior plastics/vinyl as well as wheel wells and even the engine compartment at a stronger mixture.



I'm looking for something other than Simple Green / Purple Power because it seems to me that these are too harsh and I have to be concerned with them sitting on plastic / aluminum too long/etc.



Are citrus cleaners normally safe to be left on plastic and aluminum without damage?



Anybody else use ZEP products (they also have an actual APC but it seems to me this Citrus product would also work well as a degreaser).



Thanks



Tim
Click to expand...





I have been using ZEP products such as this one, and the High Traffic Cleaner for a long time with no problems. I dilute the CD 50/50 for wheels, and wheel wells. I don't let it sit on there, I spray it all over the wheels/wells and start scrubbing with brushes to clean. Then I rinse.

For interiors I dilute it 10:1 and works great for plastics. Spray it on, scrub and wipe off. Then apply a damp MF before your interior dressing and you are good to go. Great products if you ask me.
 
Just out of curiousity, wouldn't D-LIMONENE, be what makes a cleaner a "citrus" cleaner. Since d-Limonene is extracted from citrus fruit rinds, I just assume that is the "citrus" part of of the cleaner.



Here are some snippets from a web page after googling d-Limonene.



"d-Limonene is the major component of the oil extracted from citrus rind"



"As a straight solvent, d-Limonene can replace a wide variety of products, including mineral spirits, methyl ethyl ketone, acetone, toluene, glycol ethers, and of course fluorinated and chlorinated organic solvents"



I am not suggesting that because its natural, that it cannot be an irritent.



I am interested in the "salt based" cleaner. Is there a generic name for this process that I can find out more information from? Googling "salt based cleaner" brought up using salt to clean.
 
The 2 main ingrediants are



Sodium bicarbonate

Called Washing Soda, Soda crystals or Sal Soda[2] in the detergent section of stores, it effectively removes oil, grease, and alcohol stains.

The other main ingrediant is

sodium tetraborate pentahydrate or a form of Borax.

The last main ingredian we use is

Sodium gluconate
 
So i picked up a gallon of ZEP heavy duty degreaser since it was available local rather than paying to ship Megs apc and wait for it to come. It says on the back that it shouldn't be used on glass, plastics and automotive paint. Has anyone used this heavily diluted for wheels and plastics? Is a 10:1 ratio a safe mix to give it a test and see how it works on wheels and plastics?
 
I am in the jan san business and can tell you that delimonine is a great cleaner. It is part of many natural non acid drain cleaners and even some carpet spotters and APC. I would never use it on paint. I would imagine that even a weak mixture would remove multiple layers of the most durable LSP. If you place our weak products into a foam cup, it will desolve the cup into goo in seconds. I would not want that on my car EVER.



We had a customer mix some APC 10:1 and extract a carpet that was glued down. It desolved the adhesive and the carpet got really lumpy because it desolved the glue!



All APC is not created equal. It clearly says not to use o Automotive paint. I think you are asking for trouble.
 
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