The Problem with Acid:
The pH scale measures two extremes: acid and alkaline. They are equal in both their opposition and in their relevance to the cleaning industry. Recent environmental concerns, however, and subsequent discussions, have assigned very different values to these two extremes. While alkaline is generally ignored, playing the role of the less controversial and apathetic anti-hero, acid is the vile drooling villain most often blamed for the darkness now fallen over our once Green kingdom.
Perhaps the problem with acid is rooted in the term itself. The American counterculture of the 1960’s associated the term “acid” with the trippy, altered state of consciousness experienced while using LSD.[1] Acid, as a term, was no longer used to express hydrogen ion concentrations found within natural or manufactured compounds;[2] it became less a term and more a label. It seems, in fact, from the moment when Albert Hofmann accidentally ingested lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) in 1943, acid has become a social label with generally negative connotations. Suddenly, the world was introduced to terms like dropping acid, acid rock, and acid washed jeans. More recently, and as it aligns with environmental concerns, acid rain has entered our global vernacular. Continue reading →