Microbes are colonizing the supermarket cleaning aisle

Cleaning products featuring live bacteria are making their way into home care

Home care, though, is a new place for microbes to bloom. A wave of products hitting the market say they will deliver a deeper clean and a healthier domestic microbiome—if consumers can be persuaded to intentionally seed their homes with beneficial bacteria.

These aren’t just any old bugs. According to John Harp, deployment team lead for microbial cleaners at the microbe and enzyme makerNovozymes, the species being rolled out in cleaning products are Bacillus and Lactobacillus bacteria isolated from natural environments including soil, waterways, and animal microbiomes.

A good microbial janitor has two main characteristics, Harp says. First, it needs to excrete enzymes in large quantities. The enzymes do the heavy cleaning, catalytically breaking down recalcitrant soil materials such as grease, starch, and protein into small chunks that the bacteria can absorb and eat.

More at source: Chemical & Engineering News

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