A variety of maintenance chemicals contain these compounds. For instance, hydrochloric, phosphoric and citric are acids used to make mineral stain removers, toilet bowl cleaners, metal cleaners and rust removers. Alkali maintenance chemicals like degreasers, oven cleaners and drain openers contain bases such as sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, sodium metasilicate, trisodium phosphate and ammonium hydroxide. Special salts like sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium EDTA and ammonium ethoxysulfate are formulated into carpet shampoos, hand soaps and carwash detergents to provide more efficient cleaning. Acids, bases and salts contain ions of the element hydrogen.
Ions are atoms or molecules that have lost or gained electrons.
It is the presence of the hydrogen ions in solutions that allows us to measure the pH of a solution. The quantity of hydrogen or hydroxyl ions in a solution determines whether the solution is acid or alkaline. This scale has become known as the pH scale. The positively charged ions are called hydrogen ions and the negatively charged ions are called hydroxide ions . Scientists measured the concentrations of hydrogen ions in pure water, acidic water and alkaline water.