Bar Keepers Friend is an American brand of

mass-produced Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. ...

cleaning agent Cleaning agents or hard-surface cleaners are substances (usually liquids, powders, sprays, or granules) used to remove dirt, including dust, stains, foul odors, and clutter on surfaces. Purposes of cleaning agents include health, beauty, removing ...

s. The original canned scouring powder product has been manufactured and sold since 1882. It was invented by a chemist in

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, where it continues to be manufactured by SerVaas Laboratories. The canned product's primary active ingredient is

oxalic acid Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula , also written as or or . It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name i ...

. Bar Keepers Friend has various cleaning uses.

Overview

Bar Keepers Friend was originally manufactured in 1882 as a cleaning agent in powdered form. This formulation is still manufactured today. It was invented by chemist George William Hoffman in

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. The product was originally sold to bars in Indianapolis and Hoffman asserted in a patent application that the name had been used since January, 1887. The formula contains

as a primary ingredient. The Bar Keepers Friend logo represents the swinging doors of a saloon. According to the president of SerVaas Laboratories, Paul SerVaas, although some people complained during

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic b ...

, "the name was never changed. It's been Bar Keepers Friend since 1882". In the 1950s the product became the base of a line of cleaning products made by Indianapolis-based SerVaas Laboratories, which started producing and carrying products under the Bar Keepers Friend brand name. Additional products manufactured and marketed under the Bar Keepers Friend brand name include liquid, cream and spray cleaners. SerVaas Laboratories had 40 employees in May 2011 and 54 in April 2016.

Production

Bar Keepers Friend products are

in a manufacturing environment that has significant

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, mainly by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machine ...

in the process. The powdered and canned (original) product is formulated in separate two-

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

batches during the production process. In September 2016, the canned powdered product was manufactured at a rate of approximately 60,000 cans per day, which are packaged in 12, 15 and 21 ounce cans. Bar keepers friend miller bar keepers friend

Bar keepers friend miller bar keepers friend

Active ingredients

According to the 2015

material safety data sheet A safety data sheet (SDS), material safety data sheet (MSDS), or product safety data sheet (PSDS) is a document that lists information relating to occupational safety and health for the use of various substances and products. SDSs are a wide ...

(MSDS), the ingredients are

feldspar Feldspar ( ; sometimes spelled felspar) is a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagiocl ...

, linear sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (DDBSA) and

. The 2020 MSDS now gives the abrasive as glass oxide CAS 65997–17–3, although this could still cover natural feldspars. Prolonged use and extended skin contact may cause irritation, peeling and

contact dermatitis Contact dermatitis is a type of acute or chronic inflammation of the skin caused by exposure to chemical or physical agents. Symptoms of contact dermatitis can include itchy or dry skin, a red rash, bumps, blisters, or swelling. These rashes ...

, which is avoided by wearing gloves. The product can also be an eye irritant. Old bkf boxes 1

Performance and uses

In 1994, ''

Consumer Reports Consumer Reports (CR), formerly Consumers Union (CU), is an American nonprofit consumer organization dedicated to independent product testing, investigative journalism, consumer-oriented research, public education, and consumer advocacy. Founded ...

'' found Bar Keepers Friend to perform on a par with Mr. Clean for removing baked-on soil, tea stains and other pot stains, and that it was better at removing rust. While recommending Bar Keepers Friend for a variety of household cleaning uses, author Heather Solos warned that it should not be used to clean silverware, pewter or real marble. The product serves to make stainless steel resistant to

oxidation Redox ( , , reduction–oxidation or oxidation–reduction) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of the reactants change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is ...

via the process of passivation and can remove rust on stainless steel. The product can also remove small scratches from stainless steel, silver and plates. Uses of Bar Keepers Friend that are not noted on its label include removing

hard water Hard water is water that has a high mineral content (in contrast with "soft water"). Hard water is formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone, chalk or gypsum, which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, bic ...

stains from glass and windows and removing the brown or yellow stains caused by sunscreen containing

avobenzone Avobenzone (trade names Parsol 1789, Milestab 1789, Eusolex 9020, Escalol 517, Neo Heliopan 357 and others, International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients, INCI Butyl Methoxydibenzoylmethane) is an organic molecule and an oil-soluble ingredie ...

. The product can also clean

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

wood and bleaches it.

References

External links

* * {{Cite web , url= https://www.brandlandusa.com/2008/12/06/bar-keepers-friend-one-of-many-great-hoosier-brands/ , title=Bar Keepers Friend, One of Many Great Hoosier Brands , publisher=BrandlandUSA , date=December 6, 2008 , access-date=July 6, 2012 , author=Pollard, Garland 1882 introductions Cleaning product brands