Buffered PH, what does it mean?

[gimmeagig]

I have been using a new prespray (Attack)which has a ph of 11. As a rinse I've been using a product that has a 5.5 buffered ph.
The company that makes Attack also makes a prespray which is 2.5 ph.
I'm wondering if it is important to now switch rinses because of the high ph in my prespray.
Can somebody please help me understand what the difference between buffered ph and regular ph is?
Thanks.

 

[Shawn Forsythe]

Buffering or "buffered" is a resistance to pH change of a substance, in the presence of another substance that would otherwise tend to do so.

So, a buffered rinse would tend to "overpower" a non-buffered prespray, of similar concentration to that of the pH of the rinse. In doing so, in your example, the resultant pH of the carpet would tend near to the 5.5 pH of your rinse.

The importance of a buffered rinse is not absolute, since rinsing usually employs many times the volume, but at a much lower dilution. But as a general rule, it is better to have a buffered rinse agent, and a not too highly buffered prespray, should the pH of the rinse be the preferred end state.

 

[The Great Oz]

What Shawn said...

A chemical that has a buffering agent is one that will resist changing pH when it comes in contact with other chemistry. Soils that are typically acidic can be more easily broken down using an alkaline pre-spray.

Buffered products are handy if you need a high pH to help melt grease in a really tough plastic carpet and you don't want the acidic soils to reduce the product's effectiveness. The high pH during the dwell time before you rinse won't hurt this type of carpet.

Buffered high pH pre-sprays can be bad if you use them on wool carpet or fabric that is sensitive to high pH products, so if you need to use a high pH product in those situations you might want to use one that was not buffered. It will do the job and be less likely to cause dye or fiber damage. A good low pH rinse would be a good idea in these cases as well, and a buffered low pH product would be less likely to rise in pH when it comes in contact with a high pH residue.

 

[J Scott W]

Another factor that tends to influence pH, that is the soils in the carpet and the reaction between your prespray and oil, grease and other soils. In other words, as your prespray works, there is a tendency for the pH to be reduced. Buffering also helps to stabilize against this. Thus buffers may allow your pH to stay active longer.

If there is a lot of soil, that can be a good thing. When it is time to rinse, a buffered high pH prespray may not be so good because the pH is not brought down to neutral as easily.

 

[gimmeagig]

Thanks for the info, guys.
My question had more to do with what buffering means in a rinse than a buffered pre spray.Here is what I'm using now and what I have been cleaning with. I just want to make sure that I don't mismatch anything.
My prespray is not buffered ( Esteem Attack ph 11) but the rinse I've been using is (Chemeister Action Extraction ph buffered 5.5) I used it with Chemeister Grease eraser (ph10) and was very happy with that combination. But I tried Attack for a week and found that it is much better and now I'm just wondering if I could stick with the Action Extraction rinse that i have been using or if it would be better to also switch over to the Esteam Fibre Rinse which is non buffered 2.5 ph.
The two Chemeister products were designed to work together and work very well that way. Would I get the optimal results using the two Esteam products together as well?

 

[J Scott W]

When using a prespray with a high pH, a buffered rinse would be preferred. It is better able to do the job of returning the pH of the fiber to a normal level.

 

[jcooper]

makes a prespray which is 2.5 ph.

Isn't that the ph for a urine prespray?

 

[rhyde]

Don't listen to these guys !

A Buffered pH cleaners is one with little tiny towels that buff every fiber nice and clean eat shit!