Lotus effect vs surfactant - which cleans better?

JBurd

New member
I have a nerdy question...I came across the wikipedia article about the Lotus Effect. The surface of the lotus leaf has a wax on it that repels water so well the water beads up to the point where only 0.6% of the water is touching the surface! These water droplets then roll around and literally pick UP dirt and carry it off the surface. They call it self-cleaning. Similarly, new windows (i believe) are purposefully made hydrophobic so they too will be self cleaning.

If this works so well in nature (and window manufacturing) why does the cleaning industry take the complete opposite approach and add wetting agents (ie surfactants) in order to break the water tension and spread it around more to achieve the same result (ie cleaning)??? Anybody who has used a water fed pole (with which the pure water has no surfactants) can attest to how much more difficult it is to rinse off hydrophobic glass.
 
Self cleaning glass is a failed notion. On windows where hard water stains have been an issue (because of sprinklers and the like) we use a sealer which helps to reduce mineral bonding in a similar fashion as the Lotus Effect. It doesn't prevent the windows from getting dirty however. Surfactants are vital to dirt suspension so it can be removed easily from the glass. Clarity on the surface isn't really an issue in nature so it's hard to compare the two in this case. Also windows aren't intentionally manufactured to be hydrophobic. It is sometimes an unavoidable consequence. In fact a window has a far better chance of being closer to self cleaning if it sheets water rather than letting it bead up since the beads will take longer to dry on the surface resulting in a greater chance in exterior debris depositing in the water left on the surface. Think about the sheeting agents used in dish washers to prevent spotting.
 
Self cleaning glass is the biggest scam in the window business. We had an issue with the anderson brand that had hard water stains on them. We tried to get the stains off and ruined the glass in the process. The manufacture has came up with every excuse to our customer (also theirs) of why the hard water stayed on the windows even thou they are self cleaning. So caution to all window cleaners check first and do not use any chemicals and our pads on the self cleaning glass. They also do not have a sticker or a tag saying they are self cleaning. Note: your customers also do not know sometimes that they are self cleaning also. Double edge sword!!!!
 
Self cleaning glass is the biggest scam in the window business. We had an issue with the anderson brand that had hard water stains on them. We tried to get the stains off and ruined the glass in the process. The manufacture has came up with every excuse to our customer (also theirs) of why the hard water stayed on the windows even thou they are self cleaning. So caution to all window cleaners check first and do not use any chemicals and our pads on the self cleaning glass. They also do not have a sticker or a tag saying they are self cleaning. Note: your customers also do not know sometimes that they are self cleaning also. Double edge sword!!!!

Good to know!

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