Patent ID: 7037884

Claim:
An alkaline cleaner composition consisting essentially of: about 0.1–20 wt-% of an alkyl ethoxy carboxylate of the formula: R—O—(CH 2 CH 2 O) n (CH 2 ) m —CO 2 X wherein R is a C 8 –C 22 alkyl group, n is an integer of 1–20, m is an integer of 1–3, and X is hydrogen, sodium, potassium, lithium, ammonium, or an amine cation; the amine being monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, or triethanolamine; about 1–20 wt-% of a chelating agent, the chelating agent being nitrilotriacetic acid, ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid, N-hydroxyethyl-ethylenediamine triacetic acid, diethylene-triamine pentaacetic acid, or combination thereof; the chelating agent being effective to prevent metal ions such as calcium and magnesium from interfering with the functioning of the detersive component of the composition; and 8 – 30 active wt-% of a source of alkalinity.