Sodium hypochlorite in cleaning products: Effects on surfactant/oil/water formulations calculated from the hydrophilic–lipophilic difference model

Abstract In this short communication, the role of sodium hypochlorite as a salt in a surfactant‐oil–water system is explored through calculations of the hydrophilic–lipophilic difference model. The effect of hypochlorite salt on hydrophilic–lipophilic difference (HLD) is mathematically calculated for anionic (sodium linear alkylbenzene sulfonate, sodium lauryl sulfate, and sodium cocoate) and a zwitterionic surfactant (cocoamidopropyl betaine) having different surfactant parameters (sometimes referred to as characteristic curvatures). Model systems typical of hypochlorite cleaning products showed negative HLD values for lipid soils, but near zero for essential oil components and other low‐equivalent alkane carbon number oils.