Facility cleaning rarely involves one surface or one type of soil. Floors collect general traffic dirt, shared areas encounter food and drink spills and high-use spaces need regular cleaning by different staff.
Specialist tasks still require specialist products. Using a versatile cleaner for routine tasks, however, can simplify product selection, training and cleaning. Long-term customers of Agar’s pH-7 liquid detergent tend to describe its appeal directly: ‘It works, it works well and it can be used almost everywhere in our routine cleaning program.’
One product for many everyday tasks
pH-7 is a concentrated neutral detergent for cleaning floors and hard surfaces. Its neutral formulation makes pH-7 valuable across facilities with different flooring materials. It is recommended for alkali-sensitive floors such as marble and terrazzo, but also performs effectively on ceramic and porcelain tiles, and it is suitable for floors protected with Agar floor sealers and other floor materials.
It can be applied with a mop or used in automatic floor-scrubbing machines, including newer robotic scrubbers. It leaves a fresh citrus scent, and rinsing is only required after scrubbing very heavily soiled surfaces.
Practical at site level
Versatility is most useful when staff can identify and use the product correctly. pH-7 is part of Agar’s professional colour-coded cleaning system, with its category colour and number (No.1 – All Purpose & Floor Cleaners) shown on the product label, matching dispenser bottle and product chart
This makes the system easier to explain in training while helping staff identify what to use, where to use it and how to dilute it. For facilities with multiple cleaners, shifts or service areas, this clarity supports a more consistent routine.
pH-7 is diluted at one in 80 for light-duty cleaning and one in 40 for heavier cleaning. At the lighter concentration, a five-litre bottle of pH-7 makes up to 400 litres of solution (approximately 40 mop buckets). The concentration can be adjusted according to the amount and persistence of soil, providing flexibility for mopping, automatic scrubbing and more demanding cleans.
Credibility behind the certification
pH-7 is certified as environmentally preferable by Good Environmental Choice Australia (GECA). Its formulation contains biodegradable ingredients, has no added phosphates and is boosted by d-Limonene, a solvent extracted from citrus peels.
A GECA certification provides greater assurance than a self-declared green claim. GECA is Australia’s only not-for-profit, multi-sector life cycle ecolabelling program, with standards based on internationally recognised ISO 14024 principles.
Products are independently assessed across their life cycle against criteria covering environmental impacts, human health, social responsibility and fitness for purpose. To carry the GECA ecolabel, a product must meet every requirement in the relevant standard. For facility and procurement teams, pH-7’s certification provides credible third-party evidence behind its environmental credentials while confirming that it performs as promised.
From policy to everyday cleaning
Sustainability requirements only create change when selected products work for the surfaces, soils and people involved in the daily cleaning routine. pH-7 brings these considerations together: independently certified environmental credentials, broad routine-cleaning capability and a clear system for on-site use.
For facility managers looking to introduce environmentally preferable cleaning without making everyday processes unnecessarily complicated, pH-7 provides a practical place to begin.
Learn more at agar.com.au/product/ph-7 or contact Agar on 1800 301 302 for product guidance.
Images: Supplied
This article first appeared in the September 2026 edition of FM magazine. To download the entire edition for free, click here.
