Alkaline soak cleaners

Identity and boundaries

COLCLEAN SOAK 71 is a granular cleaner for ferrous work. Its SDS gives pH 12.0–14.0 for a 1% solution, with no stated percentage basis or temperature. That pH describes the test solution and cannot supply titratable alkalinity. SOAK 71 SDS, section 9 Columbia Chemical lists metalworking lubricants and handling soils among the intended targets. COLCLEAN SOAK 71 technical data

Hubbard-Hall’s Cleaner 200 PWA bulletin has separate immersion and electrocleaning sections for powder 2001001. The treatment role depends on the process. Cleaner 200 PWA bulletin

This reference describes supplied formulations and measurement terminology. It contains no bath preparation, operating window, replenishment, or analytical recipe. The broader relationship to coating and pretreatment is covered in Surface-finishing processes.

Ingredient functions

These are functional categories, not a complete formula. One ingredient can serve several functions. The American Cleaning Institute's glossary defines builders, chelating agents, and corrosion inhibitors by their roles rather than by a single chemistry. ACI functional-class glossary

The builder, chelant, and inhibitor definitions above come from the ACI glossary. The wetting-system description is specific to SOAK 71 technical data. Neither source supplies a general metal-cleaner recipe.

Exact-product evidence

The following examples distinguish product forms and disclosure limits. They do not rank cleaning performance.

The PRESTO KLEEN SDS also lists pH 13.3 without solution concentration or temperature, and relative density 2.3-2.5 without a method or reference temperature. Neither number establishes powder bulk density or bath density. The sheet defines NA as not available, rather than zero. Its jurisdictional framing includes US OSHA, Canadian WHMIS, and Australian workplace requirements. These historical disclosures are not proof of current supply. PRESTO KLEEN HP SDS, sections 2, 9, and 16

Synthesis. Upper and lower disclosure bounds cannot all be selected independently to construct a formula. Proprietary ingredients remain unidentified. Subtracting listed percentages from 100 does not identify water, surfactant, inhibitor, or another omitted ingredient.

pH, alkalinity, and quantity bases

Hach defines alkalinity as acid-neutralizing capacity, including contributions from titratable bases. Its water-analysis reference distinguishes phenolphthalein alkalinity from total alkalinity and notes that phosphate, silicate, borate, and other buffering substances can contribute. These are method-dependent quantities, distinct from the sample's initial pH. Hach DOC316.52.93085, edition 3, November 2015, sections 1-2

Hach also uses free alkalinity as a name for phenolphthalein alkalinity in its water terminology. Synthesis. A proprietary cleaner's free, total, or titratable alkalinity requires its own analytical definition and reporting basis. A product-specific concentration factor is not a universal conversion between pH, sodium hydroxide content, and cleaner concentration. Matching pH values do not establish equal alkalinity reserve, corrosivity, or cleaning performance. Hach alkalinity terminology

The table is dimensional synthesis, not a conversion or dosing method. Solids content, active content, and moisture are separate measurements with their own definitions. The inspected disclosures do not establish those values for all the examples.

Conflicts and limits of disclosure

SOAK 71's SDS section 3 lists sodium hydroxide below 40% and sodium metasilicate below 20%, without an explicit percentage denominator. Section 9 describes a brown granular solid with pH 12.0-14.0 for a 1% solution. The solution's percentage basis and test temperature are absent. Relative density is unavailable. Its supplied-mixture classification lists Skin Corr. 1A and STOT SE 3. Section 10 nevertheless calls the product an acidic solution. This conflicts with sections 3 and 9 and remains unresolved. The sheet gives CLP and OSHA classification context and revision-history entries dated May 5, 2015 and August 3, 2017, rather than a verified recent revision date. SOAK 71 SDS, sections 3, 9-10, and 16

Synthesis. The TDS's phosphate disclosure and SDS's shorter ingredient list show why an SDS is not a complete formulation. Sodium metasilicate disclosure also prevents a silicate-free interpretation. Silicone, silicate, and elemental silicon are different identities. None of the inspected evidence establishes a class-wide silicone-free or silicon-free claim.

POWER SOAK 2298's bulletin makes broad compatibility and residue claims without matched test data in the inspected document. It also names 2268 once in its alkalinity description despite the 2298 header. Those claims and that identifier mismatch do not establish universal metal safety, residue absence, environmental acceptance, or a quantified cleaning result. POWER SOAK 2298 bulletin

Applicability and source coverage

Synthesis. Emulsifying behavior does not prove oil separation. A supplied-product hazard classification does not measure exposure from a used bath or establish waste acceptance. Ingredient disclosure, pH, and an intended-use statement cannot establish adhesion, corrosion resistance, removal completeness, or next-process qualification for an unspecified part.

Reviewed October 29, 2026 PDT. Coverage includes the full SOAK 71 TDS and SDS, POWER SOAK 2298 bulletin, Cleaner 200 PWA bulletin, PRESTO KLEEN HP SDS and product-index status, ACI's relevant functional definitions, and Hach's measurement definitions. Hach's water-analysis material supplies terminology, not validation of a metal-cleaner bath method. No customer capability, complete proprietary formulation, current regional replacement SDS, or matched coating-performance dataset is established here.