How do you remove residue left on walls from cleaning products?
by
Pam
I purchased a U V blacklight to locate the smelly little mistake my cat made. However the walls, cabinets and light switches glowed. I did some research and found it was a result of residue left by cleaning products. I grabbed the vinegar and scrubbed and the residue continued to glow. What will remove it?
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i would use gloves and try peroxide or use rubbing alcohol or denatured alcohol.
Lots of rinsing/scrubbing with brush & hot water,hydrogen peroxide,Isopropyl /rubbing alcohol,80 proof or higher high vodka ,bleach. cleaning products have phosphrous that is what glows also in the cat pee so just rinsing repeatedly to dilute/remove both.
Nothing will remove it. Nothing to worry about.
Tons of things glow under black light, including a lot of common detergents, cleansers, minerals, dyes, sunscreen, toothpaste, and pigments. Although some body fluids (including, yes, urine) do fluoresce, your association of fluorescent potential with "germiness" basically has no scientific basis.
Florescent dyes are used in cleaners and laundry products to enhance colors. This is what makes whites "whiter than white", for example. A friend of mine once kept a bottle of carpet cleaner sitting out, just because it looked so cool in the black light (it did). Well, and conversely, it has to be pointed out that the absence of fluorescence is no guarantee of cleanliness or sanitation.
The fact that you're scrubbing your walls down probably just makes it worse, since you're putting glowing chemicals right back on the wall.
Many many things fluoresce, both natural and artificial. Not something to worry about. Your walls especially would appear bright because of the pigments in the (I'm guessing white) paint. Many white paints are designed to emit blue light in the presence of UV and near-UV in order to appear whiter in the yellowish light of ordinary tungsten bulbs
Laundry detergent has a TON of fluorescent dye in it to make colors seem like they're fading more slowly. Reminds me of my time in the dorms when someone brought a black light in their room and switched it on for the first time, revealing an awe-inspiring, previously invisible mural of the caterpillar scene from Alice in Wonderland that had been drawn in Tide. We spent the rest of the semester creating secret messages and hidden pictures on the walls for future generations of freshmen.
I have a feeling that some rogue marketing campaign is afoot to lead people into false expectations of what those lights are for.
It's CSI's fault. On that show, nothing except blood and semen glows... and even then only when they need to find it.