pH Blance ScalespH Balance Makes All The Difference

You can pick up almost any bottle in your home and find the term “pH balanced” on its label. You may have a general idea that this is a good thing. You may even know that it has something to do with a relationship between acidity and alkalinity. But are you aware of how pH affects bacteria? Ever wonder why it’s so important that nearly every cleaning product would bother putting this on a label? Hopefully, we can unravel some of the pH balance mystery for you.

The Ancient Bacteria

Bacteria comes in many shapes and sizes. It can cause an array of symptoms and can range from lethal to completely ineffectual. You can breathe it in, or come in contact with it through daily activities such as picking up a piece of fruit at the grocery store. What can make bacteria difficult to fight is that it is an organism. Which means over time it adapts and changes to its environment. This creates different types of bacteria. Bacteria falls within 3 basic levels. They are highly acidic, neutral, or alkaline. The different bacteria can thrive only within those types of environments. They have adapted to these environments and any sudden change to the environment will kill that type of bacteria.

The Shield of pH Balancing

Luckily, we have an immune system that holds a steady vigil day and night. To help our immune system along we maintain proper hygiene. To do this we maintain proper pH balance. Whether we realize it or not we do this by staying healthy and eating a proper balanced diet. We also maintain our environment to keep it tidy, and try to keep our food as pure and clean as possible. This is where cleaning products come into play. When you read the label it usually states its intended cleaning purpose and that it is pH balanced. This means that it is pH balanced for that purpose. Think of a line, similar to the number line you may have had in grade school. On the far left you have the acidic environment, like that which is found in your stomach. The acidic bacteria can live in that environment. The center point of that line would be considered neutral. Bacteria adapted to a neutral environment can live there. The far right of the line is the alkaline side. You get the idea. The pH scale follows a number set from 0 to 14. Zero is highly acidic and 14 is highly alkaline. In order for a cleaner to kill all the bacteria it can (99.9%), it has to exceed the highest alkaline point. Humans can’t touch something highly acidic! That would be dangerous. So, the safest alternative is to make something that is pH balanced in the other direction. This will disrupt the environment of all (99.9%) the bacteria enough to kill it. The idea is to balance the pH in such a way that it isn’t dangerous to humans or animals, but be sufficient to kill the bacteria. It’s a delicate balance. You don’t want to hurt the Earth in the process or create a product that would harm others either. This is why what we turned to, as well as the organic community, is the Earth. It doesn’t take a harsh chemical to achieve this balance. It simply takes a little pH know-how.

Applications & Resources on pH Balance

 

iGOZEN is a philosophy and a way of life. There is balance to everything we do and it creates a peace in our lives that we hope transfers into our products. We think it’s important to be educated about what you are bringing into your home. Try one of our chemical-free Food Washes or our Everyday Cleaners and feel confident and balanced.