WO2008125143A1

WO2008125143A1 - Floor cleaning composition with reduced foaming properties

Info

Publication number: WO2008125143A1
Application number: PCT/EP2007/053642
Authority: WO
Inventors: Verena Pirchner; Katja Teusch; Christian Liko; Matthias Menzel
Original assignee: Ecolab Inc.
Priority date: 2007-04-13
Filing date: 2007-04-13
Publication date: 2008-10-23
Also published as: MX2009010849A; CN101663383B; JP2010523773A; CN101663383A; JP5243522B2; BRPI0721554B1; BRPI0721554A2

Abstract

The invention relates to a floor cleaning concentrate composition comprising a) a first non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (I), R1-(OC2H4)k-OH (I) wherein R1 represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 1 to 10 atoms and k is 1 to 10, b) a second non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (II), R2-(OC2H4)m-(OC4H8)n-OH (II) wherein R2 represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 5 to 20 carbon atoms, and n is 1 to 15, and m is 1 to 15, c) an anionic surfactant, d) a defoamer comprising crosslinked or partly crosslinked polysiloxane having a three dimensional structure. The invention further relates to a use solution and to a method of cleaning a surface.

Description

Floor cleaning composition with reduced foaming properties

The invention relates to a floor cleaning concentrate composition, to a use solution comprising the floor cleaning concentrate composition and to a method of cleaning the floor.

The composition according to the invention is especially suitable for the machine cleaning of hard surfaces, preferably floors.

Most of the floor cleaning especially in institutional buildings is carried out by using auto- matic cleaning machines. With these automatic cleaning machines it is possible to clean large areas of floors in institutional buildings in a short time and very economically. Commercial cleaning machines are scrubbing suction machines. They comprise one or several rotating discs which scrub the floor. Also brush rolling machines are known. By the help of these cleaning machines the cleaning solution is brought on the floor. The floor is me- chanically cleaned by scrubbing and after that the cleaning agent is sucked off from the floor back in the machine.

The cleaning of floors is a complicated task because dependent on kind of building and the use of the building, several different kinds of dirts and soils can be present on the floor. Furthermore the kind of the floor and the surface of the floor can be quite different for example natural stones, linoleum, PVC, tiles etc. Also the surface of the floor can be quite different for example it can be a very rough surface or a smooth surface. A good cleaning agent has to give a good cleaning result on all these different surfaces and with the different soils. Thus, a good cleaning agent has to meet several complex require- ments.

To meet this requirement the cleaning agent should have further characteristics. The cleaning agent must have good wetting properties on the surface and a fast reaction time. The wetting ability is important because otherwise the cleaning agent is not equally dis- tributed over the floor and can not effectively operate.

A further important requirement for a cleaning agent for floors is that the agent must have a good foaming behaviour. If during the work of the automatic cleaning machines the cleaning agent foams too much the cleaning machines are blocked and cleaning is inter- rupted. A further requirement of the cleaning agent for floors is that it must have a good cleaning and emulsifying ability so that the cleaning result is satisfying.

A cleaning agent for floors has to show a good residue behaviour. That means that after the drying of the cleaned floor there should be no visible spots or rings on the floor which disturb a shiny look of the cleaned floor.

In the state of the art several floor cleaning agents are already described. US 5,858,956 describes an all purpose liquid cleaning composition, comprising anionic surfactants, eth- oxylated non-ionic surfactant and an ethoxylated/butoxylated non-ionic surfactant. As defoaming agents fatty acids or fatty acid soaps are used. However, this composition has the disadvantage that it still has a high foaming behaviour so that it can not be used in automatic cleaning machines for floors.

US 6,323,170 describes a floor cleaner providing improved burnish response. The floor cleaner comprises amine oxides as non-ionic surfactants and a linear polydimethylsilox- ane as a defoamer. The cleaning agent described in the reference has the disadvantage that it contains amine oxides which are critical because they cause environmental problems in the waste water and furthermore tend to irritate linoleum floors due to high pH value.

EP 0 916 717 A1 describes an aqueous floor cleaner including a non-ionic surfactant from the group of C18-C22 fatty alcohol which are ethoxylated and propoxylated. The cleaning composition does not contain anionic surfactants due to their high foaming tendency. The disadvantage of such a composition is that only with non-ionic surfactants it is very difficult to get satisfying cleaning results especially if soils are present on the floor which are more difficult to remove. Furthermore non-ionic surfactants alone do not work well on rougher surface structures of specific floors, for example natural stone floors or ceramic floors which are unpolished or unsealed.

Therefore the technical object of the invention is to provide a novel cleaning composition for floors which shows a good foaming behaviour, a good wetting property, a good cleaning result and good environmental behaviour and which can be used in automatic cleaning machines for floors.

This technical object is solved by a floor cleaning concentrate composition comprising a) a first non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (I),

R¹-(OC₂H₄)_k-OH (I)

wherein R¹ represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 1 to 10, preferably 4 to 8 carbon atoms and k is 1 to 10 preferably 4 to 9, most preferred 6 to 8, b) a second non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (II),

R²-(OC₂H₄)_m-(OC₄H₈)_n-OH (II)

wherein R² represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 5 to 20, preferably 8 to 14, carbon atoms, and n is 1 to 15, preferably 5 to 10, most preferred 7 to 10, and m is 1 to 15 preferably 5 to 10, most preferred 7 to 10, c) an anionic surfactant, d) a defoamer comprising crosslinked or partly crosslinked polysiloxane having a three dimensional structure.

In a preferred embodiment the floor cleaning concentrate comprises based on the total concentrate 1 to 10 wt-%, preferably 2 to 6 wt-% of the first non-ionic surfactant, 0,5 to 15, preferably 3 to 8 wt-% of the second non-ionic surfactant, 1 to 10 wt-%, preferably 2 to 7 wt-% of the anionic surfactant, 0,01 to 1 ,5 wt-%, preferably 0,1 to 0,5 wt-% of the defoamer.

It was surprisingly found that a combination of the specific surfactant system comprising two non-ionic surfactants and an anionic surfactant together with the specific polysiloxane defoamer results in a floor cleaning concentrate which fulfils all necessary requirements for a floor cleaning composition and which can be used in automatic cleaning machines.

The composition of the invention shows a good wetting property, good emulsifying properties and cleaning results, a good foaming behaviour and after cleaning no visible residues on the cleaned floor. It is furthermore suitable for the cleaning of all kinds of floor materials even the cleaning of sensible materials like linoleum or certain natural stones is possible without irritation of the floor material.

It was also found that all kinds of soil, particulate soil, grease soil, dust etc. are cleaned in a satisfying way if the composition according to the invention is used.

The use of silicone oils as foaming regulators in floor cleaning composition is in principle known. Typical foam regulators which are used in cleaning compositions for floors can be for example mixtures of silicone oil and silica wherein the silica particles can preferably be silanized. The silicone oil which is used normally is a linear polysiloxane compound. Other foam inhibitors which are also used in the state of the art are paraffines, hydrocarbons, saturated fatty acids or soaps, alkali metal salts of phosphoric acid mono esters or dialkyl esters.

Also defoamers are known which are organo modified polyethersiloxanes which have or- ganofunctional groups in their side chains. Such compounds are for example available from GE Silicones, for example Y-14765. It was surprisingly found that these kinds of usual polysiloxane defoamers do not give the necessary defoaming property in a cleaning compositions for floors so that a compositions can be used with automatic cleaning machines without problems and interruptions.

In contrast thereto it was found that crosslinked or partly crosslinked polysiloxanes having a threedimensional structure fulfil these defoaming requirements. Such threedimensional polysiloxanes are normally in form of a emulsion which contains the crosslinked siloxane droplets which are preferably modified by organofunctional groups. In addition the polysiloxane compound comprise polyoxyalkylene compounds. Such partly crosslinked polysiloxanes having a threedimensional structure are for example available from Mϋnzing Chemie under the trade name FOAM BAN ^R. Preferably FOAM BAN HV820G and/or FOAM BAN CL-100E are used in the composition according to the invention.

It is furthermore preferred as the composition according to the invention does not contain other polysiloxane compounds or silicone oils except the crosslinked or partly crosslinked polysiloxanes having a threedimensional structure. In a preferred embodiment a polysi- loxane compound is used in form of a dispersion or an emulsion. In a further preferred embodiment the polysiloxane has organofunctional groups. These organofunctional groups an be hydrocarbon groups with 1 to 20 carbon atoms. Preferably these organofunctional groups are elected from the groups consisting of CrC₂o alkyl groups, CrC₂O alkenyl groups, CrC₂O alkoxy groups, C₄-C₂O aryl or C₄-C₂₀ aralkyl groups. Furthermore the hydrocarbon groups can be substituted.

Examples of the hydrocarbon groups are methyl, ethyl, vinyl, propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, n- pentyl, cyclopentyl, n-hexyl, neohexyl, n-heptyl, norbornyl, 2-ethylhexyl, n-octyl, isooctyl, dodecyl, tetradecyl, hexadecyl and octadecyl groups. The substituents of these groups can be, for example, trifluorpropyl group, cyanoethyl group, glycidyloxypropyl group, polyalkylene glycol propyl group, amino propyl group or aminoethylaminopropyl groups. Also possible are unsaturated groups, like, for example vinyl, methacryloyloxypropyl or allyl groups or aromatic groups such as phenyl, 2-phenyl-ethyl or 2-phenyl-propyl groups.

In a further embodiment the defoaming composition can further comprise filler particles. The filler particles are selected from the group consisting of silica, titanium dioxide, zirconium dioxide, AI₂O₃ or mixtures thereof

The composition according to the invention is preferably essentially free of other polysi- loxane oils and polysiloxane resins which do not have a three-dimensional structure and are not membrane-compatible. The composition according to the invention is most preferred essentially free of linear polydimethyl siloxanes (silicon oils).

The expression "essentially free" means that the composition includes the compound in an amount which is lower than 0.001 wt.-%, preferably lower than 0.0001 wt.-%, and most preferred 0 wt-% based on the whole composition. Most preferred the expression "essentially free" means that the related compound is not at all present in the composition.

In the defoamer composition according to the invention cross-linked or partly cross-linked polysiloxanes are used having a three-dimensional structure.

These polysiloxanes are cross-linked or partly cross-linked which means that they contain groups of chain- or ring-forming molecules which are connected by tri- or tetra-functional siloxane units to a three-dimensional network. In contrast thereto the expression "cross- linked or partly cross-linked polysiloxane having a three-dimensional structure" does not comprise linear polysiloxanes like polydimethylsiloxane, branched polysiloxanes which only have a two-dimensional structure and cyclic polysiloxanes which also only have a two-dimensional structure.

Furthermore, the cross-linked polysiloxanes having a three-dimensional structure accord- ing to the invention are preferably fluids and therefore are delimited from silicone resins which are heavily cross-linked polymer networks and are solid at room temperature.

Therefore, it is preferred that the cross-linked or partly cross-linked polysiloxanes having a three-dimensional structure which are used in the defoamer, are fluids at room tempera- ture (20⁰C).

In a preferred embodiment the floor cleaning concentrate composition comprises 0,01 to 2,5 wt-%, preferably 0,1 to 1 wt-% of C8-C₂₂ , preferably Ce-Ci₄, fatty acid or fatty acid soap. Example for such fatty acids are stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, coconut oil fatty acid, soybean oil fatty acid and the like.

The composition according to the invention further comprises an anionic surfactant. As anionic surfactants preferably anionic surfactants selected from the group consisting of C₈-Ci₈-alkyl sulfates, C₈-Ci₈-alkyl ether sulfates, C₈-Ci₈-alkylsulfonates, C₈-Ci₈-alpha- olefinsulfonates, sulfonated C₈-Ci₈-fatty acids, C₈-Ci₈-alkylbenzenesulfonates, sulfosuc- cinic mono- and di-CrCi₂-alkyl esters, C₈-Ci₈-alkyl polyglycol ether carboxylates, C₈-Ci_8- N-acyl taurides, C₈-Ci₈ — N-sarcosinates, C₈-Ci₈-alkyl isethionates and mixtures thereof.

It is furthermore preferred that the composition according to the invention comprises fur- ther surfactants. This can be a third non-ionic surfactant which is represented by the general formula (III)

R³^OC₂H₄)_O-(OC₃H₆)_P-OH (III)

wherein R³ represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 5 to 20, preferably 8 to 14, carbon atoms, and o is 1 to 15, preferably 5 to 10, most preferred 7 to 10, and p is 1 to 15, preferably 5 to 10, most preferred 7 to 10.

Also other surfactants, for example cationic, non-ionic, amphoteric surfactants, protein hydrolysates, silicone compounds, phosphoric esters and salts thereof can be present. The third non-ionic surfactant according to general formula (III) is present in the composi- tion in an amount of 1 to 10 wt-%. preferably 2 to 6 wt-% based on the total concentrate composition.

Alkylpolyglucosides conventionally obtainable on an industrial scale by condensation of fatty alcohols with glucose or polyglucose and commercially available in various variants can be employed as additional non-ionic surfactants in the agents according to the invention. Examples of alkylpolyglucosides particularly well suited for the use according to the invention are the products Glukopon^® 600 from Henkel and Triton^R BG10 from Rohm & Haas.

In addition, other alkoxylated alkylalcohols not falling under compounds defined in formula I and Il can be included as non-ionic surfactants in the agents according to the invention.

Further surfactant compounds preferably included in the agents according to the invention are those from the class of phosphoric esters, preferably including at least one salt of a phosphoric partial ester, and in a particularly preferred fashion at least one alkali salt of a phosphoric partial ester of alkoxylated alkylphenol is present.

The above phosphoric esters are surfactant substances preferably derived from long- chain aliphatic or arylaliphatic alcohols. Salts of phosphoric partial esters and, especially in the present case, those of alkoxylated alkylphenols were found particularly suitable. Preferably, sodium and potassium salts are used as alkali salts, among which the potassium salts are particularly preferred. Surface-active phosphoric partial esters preferred according to the invention are commercially available. One example of this type of active substance particularly useful according to the invention is the product Triton^® H 66 (Rohm & Haas).

The agent according to the invention preferably includes polyethylene glycol and/or polypropylene glycol as additional component, said polyethylene glycol and/or polypropylene glycol preferably having a molecular weight ranging from 100 to 2000. It was found particularly advantageous when the above-mentioned polyethylene glycol and/or polypropylene glycol makes up 0.01 to 5 wt.-%, more preferably 0.05 to 1 wt.-%, based on the total agent.

A further object of the present invention is a use solution comprising 0,001 to 10 wt-%, preferably 0,01 to 5 wt-%, most preferably 0,1 to 5 wt-% of the composition according to the invention in water. This use solution is directly applied for manual cleaning of floors or for machine cleaning with an automatic floor cleaner. It can also be applied for industrial cleaning of surfaces and industrial parts.

A further object of the present invention is a method of cleaning a floor comprising the steps of: providing the composition according to the invention and applying the composition as a diluted use solution, the use solution comprising the 0.001 to 10 wt-%, preferably 0,01 to 5 wt-%, most preferably 0,1 to 5 wt-% of the composition according to the invention. In a preferred embodiment the method of cleaning a floor is carried out as a manual or a machine cleaning.

The present composition may comprise further additives which are commonly used in floor cleaning compositions like for example complexing agents, organic solvents, additives for further alkalinity, stabilizers, releasing agents, perfumes, disinfectants, corrosion inhibitors, dyes.

The invention will be further described in the following examples which are only meant to exemplify the present invention without restricting its scope.

Examples

1. Foam behaviour for auto scrubber cleaner

50 ml of the product to be tested is filled into a 250 ml measuring cylinder and closed with a stopper. The measuring cylinder is placed in a rotating device. The rotating device is started and the cylinder is rotated around its axis for 200 times. After that the rotating generator stops automatically. Immediately after stopping and again after 1 and 5 minutes the amount of produced foam is read off from the ml-scale on the cylinder. The initially filled in product of 50 ml is subtracted from the total foam volume.

At least 4 cylinders per product are used for the tests. The amount of foam produced within each cylinder is noted and compared with the average of each product. Additionally it has to be compared how quick the foam breaks down.

The less foam builds up and the quicker the foam breaks down the better is the defoaming ability of the cleaner which is an important characteristic of an auto scrubber cleaner for automatic cleaning.

The following table 1 shows the ingredients of the various compositions which were tested in the following examples. All concentrations in the table given in weight percent. Example 1 is a composition according to the invention. Comparative example 2 is also a composition according to the invention, however without the defoamer. Comparative examples 3, 4 and 5 are maintenance cleaners according to the state of the art. Comparative examples 3 and 5 are used for manual cleaning and comparative example 4 is used for automatic cleaning. Table 2 shows the results of the foam test.

Tab. 1

Aqueous comparative cleaning agents including various ingredients [wt-%]

Tab. 2

Foam behavior [ml]

It can be seen that the foam behaviour of the composition according to the invention in example 1 is very good compared to the foam behaviour of the compositions according to the state of the art. Furthermore it is an advantage that the foam breaks down after a very short time compared to the compositions according to the invention. After 1 minute and 5 minutes it can be seen that there is no foam present for the concentrate according to the invention. In contrast the maintenance cleaner according to the state of the art in comparative examples 3 and 5 show a high foam height even after 1 minute and 5 minutes. Similar results were obtained if FOAM BAN CL-100E is used as defoamer instead of FOAM BAN HV820G.

Therefore it can be seen that the concentrate according to the invention shown in example 1 has a better foam behaviour compared to the products of the state of the art. As a result it is better suitable for automatic cleaning.

2. Emulsifying ability

The emulsifying ability of the compositions is determined by using waste oil according the shake method. 200 ml of the diluted product to be tested is placed in a 250 ml cylinder and 2 g of filtered waste oil are added. The cylinder is closed with a stopper. The cylinder is turned 10 times in a 180° within 20 seconds. After that the measuring cylinder is put down and the oil carrying ability is determined dependent from the time. The evaluation is carried out visually immediately after putting the cylinder down. Furthermore an evaluation is carried out after 30, 60 and 120 seconds. The result is structured in the following scheme:

1 = very good emulsifying ability, oil particles are evenly spread in the solution. 2= good emulsifying ability, parts of the oil particles settle on the surface. 3= average emulsifying ability, the major part of the oil particles settles on the surface, with a small amount remaining in the solution. 4= poor emulsifying ability, all the particles settle on the surface.

Additionally samples with a grade 1 are observed for further 2 minutes and the time is measured until the emulsifying power is weakened. The following table 3 shows the results with a concentration of 0,5 wt-% in water.

Tab. 3

Emulsifying ability:

Table 3 shows the emulsifying ability of example 1 and comparative examples 3, 4 and 5. It can be seen from the table that the emulsifying ability for example 1 is very high even after 120 seconds. The emulsifying ability of the comparative compositions is worse with the exception of comparative example 5. However, comparative example 5 has bad results in the foam behaviour. Similar results were obtained if FOAM BAN CL-100E is used as defoamer instead of FOAM BAN HV820G. 3. Wetting test

A beaker is filled with 800 grams of the diluted product to be tested. The beaker has a volume of 1 litre and has a high form. The cotton pad is placed in a metal rack and put into the beaker so that the rack's arms remain on the edge of the beaker. At the time the cotton pad touches the solution the stop watch is started to measure the time until the cotton pad starts falling onto the ground of the beaker. The time is measured and the test is repeated at least 5 times. The quicker the cotton pad falls down the better is the wetting ability of the composition.

The results of the wetting tests are shown in table 4:

Tab. 4

Wetting perfomance [min:sec]

Table 4 shows the results of the wetting test in different concentrations of 0,5, 1 and 2 wt- % concentration of the composition in water. Example 1 according to the invention has a very good wetting performance even at a low concentration of 0,5 wt-%. The cotton pad starts falling after 23 seconds to the ground. In comparison the product of the invention especially comparative examples 3 and 4 need much more time and therefore have a lower wetting performance. The comparative example 5 describing a maintenance cleaner of the state of the art also has good wetting performance. However, the foam behaviour of this cleaner is very bad. Similar results were obtained if FOAM BAN CL-100E is used as defoamer instead of FOAM BAN HV820G.

4. Cleaning ability using wet abrasion scrub tester (Gardner)

The cleaning solution to be tested is poured on an artificially soiled white PVC test strip. A sponge is moved 10 times forwards and backwards. Afterwards, the test strip's whiteness is analyzed by a chromatometer.

Equipment:

1. Gardner wet abrasion scrub tester apparatus model 494 (DIN-ASTM-515); Sup- plier: Erichsen GmbH&Co. KG

2. Minolta Chroma Meter CR-200; supplier: Minolta

3. Sponge press

4. White PVC-film Benova 4812080, 1 ,3 m / 50 m / 0,12mm; Supplier: Benecke- Kaliko AG 5. Hard paperboard strips as substrate (dimensions: 40 x 554 x 1 mm); Supplier: Kappa Verpackungswerk Neuss

6. Pressure-sensitive adhesive J 6251 from Henkel (diluted 1 :1 with ethyl acetate)

7. Template made of hard PVC

8. Polyester sponges 9. Flat paint brush with flat bristles, about 55 mm wide, used to apply test soil

10. Watch glass, for measuring the test soil

1 1. Standard test soil IPP 83/21 , Supplier: wfk Krefeld

12. Carpet knife

13. Laboratory scale, range: 2000 g, measuring accuracy 0.01 g

Preparation of test strips:

1. Use the template made of hard PVC to cut the white PVC-film.

2. Glue 7 paperboard stripes in a line closely next to each other on the rough (!) side of the PVC-film, so a resultant area of 280 x 554 cm is achieved. There should be no blisters or folders between the paperboard strips and the PVC-foil.

3. Let strips dry overnight. Additional preparation for maintenance method:

The object of maintenance products is to form a soil repellent film on the surface to make subsequent cleaning easier. For this purpose the prepared strip must be: 5 a. Wiped 10 times with maintenance solution in usage concentration - allow to dry for at least 30 minutes - or b. Wiped twice with undiluted maintenance product - allow to dry for 2-3 hours.

io Applying the test soil:

1. Place the PVC template on top of the PVC foil which is glued on the paper- board strips.

2. Weigh 2 g of test soil on a watch glass.

3. Apply the test soil with the flat brush on the white PVC foil within the tem- i5 plate. Take in turns horizontal and vertical strokes. Repeat this 7 times in each direction. The last coat must be at right angles to the scouring movement.

4. Allow the soil to dry for one hour.

20 Determination of cleaning performance (RV-value):

Soak the required amount of polyester sponges in tap water overnight. One sponge per strip is needed.

25 1. Cut the PVC film together with the paperboard strips along the brink (soil on top) with a carpet knife.

2. Place on strip on the guide rail on top of the Wet Abrasion Scrub Tester (Gardner).

3. Take one sponge out of the bucket and allow water to drip off.

4. Compress the sponge for 10 seconds in the sponge press. 30 Place the sponge in the holder of the Gardner apparatus.

Important: The sponge should lie on the surface with a weight of 400 g.

5. With a measuring spoon, pour cleaning product on top of the soiled strip and the sponge. For both the concentrated and the diluted product use a total volume of 25 ml.

35 6. Move the guide rails under the sponge holder and place the sponge on top of the soiled strip. 7. Set the cycle counter on 10 and switch on Gardner apparatus.

8. After the wipe cycle has been completed, take out the sponge and throw away (do not re-use).

9. Take off the test strip and rinse under running deionized water. Let water run through out the whole test to make sure the same water pressure is hitting the test strips.

10. Hang test strips up for drying.

1 1. Clean 6 soiled test strip per test solution.

12. For comparison clean 6 strips with tab water only.

Measuring the degree of whiteness (% RV):

1. Calibrate the instrument with the provided white tile.

2. Measure the reflection of all 6 strips at 7 different spots per strip. The average of the result gives the percentage of the cleanability. 3. Single large deviating results are rejected from the calculation.

Evaluation of the results:

For the test product and a possible comparative dilution, the average is calculated for all measurements:

N = number of measurements (6 x 7 = 42) X = degree of whiteness per measure spot

Xarithm = Average cleaning performance

Standard deviation:

1 ^N . .

Control: The measurements are influenced by the quality of water and the environmental conditions in the lab, like temperature and humidity. Therefore, only the results achieved at one and the same day are comparable.

Table 5 shows the results:

Tab. 5

Cleaning performance (Gardner)

STDEV = standard deviation o In the test a product concentration of 0,5 wt-%, 1 wt-% and 2 wt-% was tested in water. The mean cleaning performance was measured in percent and also the standard deviation was calculated. From table 5 can be seen that the composition in example 1 according to the invention has the highest cleaning performance compared to the other maintenance cleaners of comparative examples 3, 4 and 5 of the state of the art. The table also s specifies the cleaning performance of water for comparison reasons.

Figure 1 shows the cleaning performance of the 4 products with the standard deviations. From the table as well as from Fig. 1 can be seen that the composition according to the invention has the highest cleaning performance. Similar results were obtained if FOAM 0 BAN CL-100E is used as defoamer instead of FOAM BAN HV820G.

Claims

1. Floor cleaning concentrate composition comprising a) a first non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (I),

R¹-(OC₂H₄)_k-OH (I)

wherein R¹ represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 1 to 10 atoms and k is 1 to 10, b) a second non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (II),

R²-(OC₂H₄)_m-(OC₄H₈)_n-OH (II)

wherein R² represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 5 to 20 carbon atoms, and n is 1 to 15, and m is 1 to 15, c) an anionic surfactant, d) a defoamer comprising crosslinked or partly crosslinked polysiloxane having a three dimensional structure.

2. Floor cleaning concentrate composition according to claim 1 , comprising based on the total concentrate

1 to 10 wt-% of the first non-ionic surfactant, 0,5 to 15 wt-% of the second non-ionic surfactant, 1 to 10 wt-% of the anionic surfactant,

0,01 to 1 ,5 wt-% of the defoamer,

3. Floor cleaning concentrate composition according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the concentrate further comprises 0,01 to 2,5 wt-% of a C8 to C22 fatty acid or fatty acid soap.

4. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the defoamer is an emulsion.

5. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the defoamer com- prises a polysiloxane having organofunctional groups.

6. Composition according to claim 5, characterized in that the organofunctional groups are hydrocarbon groups with 1 to 20 carbon atoms.

7. Composition according to claim 4, characterized in that the hydrocarbon group is se- 5 lected from the groups consisting of C1 to C20 alkyl group, C1 to C20 alkenyl group,

C1 to C20 alkoxy goup, C4 to C20 aryl or aralkyl group.

8. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that the composition is essentially free of other polysiloxane oils and polysiloxane resins which do not have a io three dimensional structure.

9. Composition according to claim 8, characterized in that the composition is essentially free of linear polydimethysiloxane.

is

10. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that the anionic surfactant is selected from the group consisting of C₈-Ci₈-alkyl sulfates, C₈-Ci₈-alkyl ether sulfates, C₈-Ci₈-alkylsulfonates, Cβ-Ciβ-alpha-olefinsulfonates, sulfonated C₈-Ci₈-fatty acids, Cβ-Ciβ-alkylbenzenesulfonates, sulfosuccinic mono- and di-CrCi₂-alkyl esters, C₈-Ci₈-alkyl polyglycol ether carboxylates, C₈-Ci₈ — N-acyl taurides, C₈-Ci₈ — N-

20 sarcosinates, C₈-Ci₈-alkyl isethionates and mixtures thereof.

1 1. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that it comprises in addition a third non-ionic surfactant represented by the general formula (III),

25 R³^OC₂H₄)_O-(OC₃H₆)_P-OH (III)

wherein R³ represents an unbranched or branched alkyl or alkenyl group having 5 to 20 carbon atoms, and o is 1 to 15 and p is 1 to 15.

30 12. Composition according to claim 11 , characterized in that the third non-ionic surfactant is present in an amount of 1 to 10 wt-% based on the total concentrate.

13. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 12, characterized in that it comprises polyethylene glycol and/or polypropylene glycol as additional component.

35

14. Composition according to claim 13, characterized in that the polyethylene glycol and/or polypropylene glycol has a molecular weight of 100 to 2000.

15. Composition according to any of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that the composition is essentially free of amine oxides.

16. Use solution comprising 0,001 to 10 wt-% of the composition according to claims 1 to 15.

17. Method of cleaning surfaces comprising the steps of: providing the composition according to any of claims 1 to 15 and applying the composition as a diluted use solution using according to claim 16 on the floor.

18. Method according to claim 17, wherein the cleaning is a manual or machine cleaning.

19. Method according to claim 17 or 18, wherein the cleaning is an industrial cleaning.

20. Method according to claim 17 to 19, wherein the surface to be cleaned is a floor or industrial parts.