So, micro-organism are single cell organisms which produce enzymes to degrade their food and human beings are multi-cell organism producing enzymes to break down their food. Anything that is organic can be degraded by enzymes.

Micro-organism are particularly useful for sub-surface cleaning jobs such as drains, pipe-work, in WCs and urinals etc, as well as in greasetraps, septic and interceptor tanks. Sophisticated micro-organisms stick to the linings of these surfaces releasing enzymes to continually digest wastes, fats, greases and scale.

Enzymes, and by this I mean extracted from the micro-organism, stabilized within the cleaning products targeted at a specific dire problem, denatured (i.e dead) once they’ve done their job, are used for cleaning on the surface – any surface almost anywhere.

Enzymes will partially degrade or breakdown the effluent into an easily degradable form, digestible nutrients and other useful enzymes. What is left is water soluble and can be safely returned to the environment.

Traditional, conventional cleaners only “slice off” the surface layer of dirt. However, without extensive mechanical effort or repeated applications they do not penetrate into cracks, crevices, surface scratches or carpet pile roots. These are the very areas where bacteria and parasites can form and multiply.

Bio-active cleaners are designed to penetrate more deeply and clean more thoroughly. Kept moist, the enzymes and microbes will go on working until all organic waste (the food source for bacteria and potential pathogens) is consumed. As a result bacteria counts are kept lower for longer and surfaces are clean enough to accept final surface sanitizing without additional preparation.

Enzymes whilst cleaning more hygienically than traditional chemicals are also very gentle with no damage or erosion to surface materials.

Enzymes work as quickly as chemical cleaners but in addition they don’t stop working until they have consumed all traces of targeted waste. In other words, give an enzyme good working conditions such as moisture and lots of food/nutrients and you’ve got a happy, very hard working, long lasting bio-worker on your team.

Enzymes can be used on porous surfaces, like concrete, some tiles or wood; hard surfaces like painted walls, metals, parquet flooring, sealed floors, porcelain or melamine for example. Soft surfaces like carpets and upholstery are also ideal surface to clean using enzymes.

Enzymes can be used on deep or maintenance cleans and will produce a more powerful, rapid, effective, and deeper sanitizing clean than most other legal contemporary cleaners. It also goes without saying that micro-organisms are now quite widely accepted as cleaners in urinals, WC’s, sewers, pipeworks, washrooms, greasetraps, septics and interceptor tanks.

There are many contract cleaners, carpet cleaners, drain maintenance operatives, car valeters, vets and domestic users of enzymes and micro-organisms and the list grows.

All we are doing with enzymatic cleaning is concentrating , millions of times, the power of nature targeted at a particular dirt or pollution problem. There are billions of enzymes available to digest dirt in a single, level teaspoon of product to which you would add several liters of your water – further diluting them.

Cleaning with enzymes and micro-organisms is totally environmentally responsible and truly “green” cleaning. This can only be a better solution to cleaning problems as the degraded dirt and residual enzymes in the water can be flushed to drain and will help water treatment plants further down the sewer line.

With microbes and enzymes you can obtain a cleaner discharge and out-flow waste is purer (BOD – Biological Oxygen Demand and COD – Chemical Oxygen Demand is substantially reduced). As a result discharge costs are lowered and drainage systems are better maintained.

A good thought to remember is that the waste water that goes down the drain is going to be recycled and drunk tomorrow – it follows that you want it as clean as possible with no harmful products in it.

There are some well know names manufacturing sub-surface micro-organisms, e.g drain cleaning and greasetrap maintenance but none are yet marketing true enzymatic surface cleaning products. However, it would also be a very short-sighted major chemical manufacturer that has not got his biocleaning enzyme armoury ready for a future launch.
enzymes.

Historically, we have been using bacteria and other enzyme-producing microorganisms to our advantage for many years. Within the food industry, we have created wines that are made by the enzymatic actions of microbes on grapes, and in grounds care we mulch our grass and leaves by allowing the microbes to break them down to a usable fertilizer.

In the environment, we use the action of microbes to degrade our sewage, and even in environmental pollution, like oil spills, microbes are used as a partial measure to break down the oil that pollutes water.

Enzymes are termed "biological catalysts" because they are chemicals (mainly protein) that bind with another chemical (referred to as the substrate) that is then broken down. Because of their enzymes, bacterial organisms vary in their abilities to withstand environmental conditions and break down compounds.

Some of these organisms can withstand temperatures of 212 degrees Fahrenheit or minus 200 F. Some live in extremely acidic or alkaline conditions, and some are able to use oil (hydrocarbons) or lipids (fat) for food. These survival characteristics are governed by the bacteria's ability to make and use various enzymes.

Factors that are important for enzyme action alone, or for bacterial action via enzymes, are temperature, pH (degree of acidity or alkalinity) and solubilization of the substrates. Most bacteria are active in an environment of 90 to 100 F with a neutral pH.

Pure enzymes vary in pH requirements and stability (see table). When pure enzymes are added to a building environment such as a drain, the enzyme is usually short-lived due to the fragile nature of the enzyme under those conditions. The solubility of the substrate can be improved by the presence of surfactants (detergent-like substances) added to the enzyme cleaning solution.

A lipid is a complicated structure that usually contains fatty acids that are bound to a basic glycerol structure. The lipase enzyme attacks the lipid, releasing the fatty acids. These fatty acids can then be broken down to smaller compounds by enzymes from other bacteria or from the same bacterium.

This same bacterium, or other bacteria, may produce protease enzymes (that break down protein from the meat that is present in the grease) and amylase enzymes (that break down starch from the flour that is present). The grease, which is a combination of lipids, proteins and starch, is broken down to more soluble compounds that flow more readily.

Pure enzyme solutions are made by extracting enzymes from animal tissues, the broth in which microorganisms grow or from lysed microbial cells. The stabilization of enzymes is sometimes difficult because they have to be packaged at the correct pH level with a chelating agent, which protects the enzymes from binding to certain metals and becoming inactive.

Some enzymes are offered in commercial products to help clear drains or partially break down proteins. The disadvantage in using enzyme solutions alone is that pure enzymes will disintegrate in a short period of time, while bacteria are capable of colonizing and will reproduce to produce more enzymes.