The short answer is never and never. Water doesn’t clean and chemicals disperse but don’t clean. If you want to clean, use a Non-Active Biocatalysts such as Eco-Clean.
Light dust and soil on a hard floor surface can be removed very effectively with water only. Heavier soils, sticky syrupy soils, petroleum based soils, kitchen areas and restrooms typically require more than water and there are specially designed chemicals for these. Nevertheless, neither of these surfaces cleaned with just water or chemicals will be as clean as if cleaned with a Non-Active Biocatalyst; this can be easily confirmed with a Luminometer.
“We’ve conducted numerous tests comparing natural tap water, modified tap water and cleaning chemicals. In some instances, all three performed similarly on light inoganic soils. However, the testing showed a significant difference when cleaning organic soils such as fats, oils and greases. A solution with cleaning chemicals significantly out-performed all of the tap water options. Based on these results, we recommend using a type of neutral cleaning chemical”. – Paul Lewandowski, Equipment Product Manager, Betco Chemical Corporation, Toledo, Ohio
“I recommend using tap water to clean floors that have only trace amounts of soil on them. If you are dealing with a certain type of soil load or difficult soils (grease, oil, food and ice melt) I recommend using the appropriate chemical to clean the floor according to manufacturer recommendations. On certain soils and floor types you may need surfactants or alkaline-based chemicals, diluted according to chemical instructions, to properly clean the floor”. – Eric Hickman, Product Manager, Powr-Flite, Fort Worth, Texas
“It is rarely appropriate to use plain water to clean floors because science has shown that the use of proper diluted chemicals are effective at breaking the sticky bonds that hold oily soils to floors”. – Richard “Bo” Bodo, Director of Business Development, Windsor Industries, Englewood, Colorado.
To maintain floors without leaving organic and inorganic residues, use a Non-Active Biocatalyst such as Eco-Clean.
Additional advantages obtained with non-active biocatalysts are an important reduction of slip and fall occurrences, as well as a reduction in insect infestation as a consequence of a better sanitation level .