Harpic is the

brand name A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

of a toilet cleaner launched in

the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

in 1932 by

Reckitt and Sons Reckitt and Sons was a leading British manufacturer of household products, notably starch, black lead, laundry blue, and household polish, and based in Kingston upon Hull. Isaac Reckitt began business in Hull in 1840, and his business becam ...

(now

Reckitt Reckitt Benckiser Group plc, trading as Reckitt, is a British multinational consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, England. It is a producer of health, hygiene and nutrition products. The company was formed in March 1999 by the mer ...

). It is currently available in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

South Asia South Asia is the southern subregion of Asia, which is defined in both geographical Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth descr ...

, the Asia-Pacific,

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, and the

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. Along with th ...

. The toilet cleaning products marketed under the brand name include liquids, tablets, wipes, brush systems, and

toilet bowl A toilet is a piece of sanitary hardware that collects human urine and feces, and sometimes toilet paper, usually for disposal. Flush toilets use water, while dry or non-flush toilets do not. They can be designed for a sitting position popul ...

and cistern blocks. It contains

hydrochloric acid Hydrochloric acid, also known as muriatic acid, is an aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride. It is a colorless solution with a distinctive pungent smell. It is classified as a strong acid Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbol ...

(10%) as the active ingredient, along with butyl oleylamine and other ingredients, in an aqueous solution.

History

The original toilet cleaner was invented by Harry Pickup (hence the origin of the name Harpic), who was based in Roscoe Street,

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. He also invented Oxypic, which was a

sealant Sealant is a substance used to block the passage of fluids through openings in materials, a type of mechanical seal. In building construction ''sealant'' is sometimes synonymous with '' caulking'' and also serve the purposes of blocking dust, so ...

used in

cast iron Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impur ...

heating systems, and patented the Lock & Lift circular manhole covers, which were used initially by the British Military. The company also produced the steel components used on the Mulberry harbours during the D-day landings.

Advertising

UK advertisements from the 1930s onwards used the slogan ''Cleans Round The Bend'' (for that reason, the name is occasionally used as slang for ''crazy'' – George Macdonald Fraser uses that sense in his autobiographical "Quartered Safe Out Here" when talking about an idiosyncratic British officer commanding an irregular unit. The 2008 Harpic advertisement, ''Send for the Experts'', featured Tom Reynolds.

Products

, the Harpic product range was: * Harpic Bathroom Cleaner * Harpic Power Plus * Harpic Max Rim Block * Harpic Hygienic * Harpic All in 1 * Harpic Active Fresh Toilet Cleaner * Harpic 100% Limescale Remover Toilet Cleaner * Harpic Flushmatic * Harpic 10X Max Clean (in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

and other regions)

References

External links

Reckitt Benckiser Product Information Website
Ingredients: Hydrochloric acid, Hydroxyethyl oleylamine, Cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, Ammonium chloride, Methyl salicylate, Butylated hydroxytoluene, Acid Blue 25, Acid red 88, Deionized Water Cleaning product brands Cleaning product components Cleaning products Reckitt brands British inventions Companies based in Scarborough, North Yorkshire {{Product-stub