You might have heard about orange oil in a lot of different contexts. As an essential oil, if you search the internet for more information about it you’re likely to see many different benefits attributed to it. While we can’t vouch for all of these, we can confirm that it’s incredibly useful for cleaning. So what exactly does the orange oil in cleaning products do?
Water, Surfactants, and Solvents
Orange oil is a powerful and natural solvent. During the cleaning process. solvents and surfactants (almost always some sort of detergent in modern cleaning technologies) are mixed with water. The surfactants surround and lift dirt, allowing the water to suspend the dirt and carry it away. Water is a natural solvent, but other solvents are added to help break up the dirt more quickly. This is where orange oil comes in.
Cold-Compressed Orange Oil
Orange oil is found in tiny glands in the peel of an orange. During the cold-compressing process, the peels are crushed (usually against some sort of teethed roller) so these glands are punctured and the oil is released. The process happens quickly so that the beneficial qualities of the oil are not lost1. There’s also an added environmental benefit to the way that orange oil is harvested. The peels that are used are by-products from juicing, which means that no part of the orange goes to waste.
- Arce, A. Soto, A. (2008). Citrus Essential Oils: Extraction and Deterpenation. Global Science Books. Retrieved from www.globalsciencebooks.info/Online/GSBOnline/images/0812/TFSB_2(SI1)/TFSB_2(SI1)1-9o.pdf
Products like our H2Orange2 Hyper Concentrate 112, part of our Absolute Cleaning System, use the power of orange oil. For more information, and to request your free trial, find out more here.