Calgon is an American brand of bath and beauty products, owned by PDC Brands.
Early history
The original product consisted of powdered sodium hexametaphosphate (amorphous sodium polyphosphate), which in water would complex with ambient
calcium
Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar t ...
cation
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
s, preventing formation of unwanted salts and interference by those cations with the actions of
soap
Soap is a salt of a fatty acid used in a variety of cleansing and lubricating products. In a domestic setting, soaps are surfactants usually used for washing, bathing, and other types of housekeeping. In industrial settings, soaps are used ...
or other
detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with cleansing properties when in dilute solutions. There are a large variety of detergents, a common family being the alkylbenzene sulfonates, which are soap-like compounds that are m ...
s. Its name was a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsWalker, Andrea K. (June 22, 2010) "Calgon, take me away...again" ''The Baltimore Sun''. Originally promoted for general use in bathing and cleaning, it gave rise to derivative products which have diverged from the original composition. Today, Calgon water softener contains the active ingredient
sodium citrate Sodium citrate may refer to any of the sodium salts of citric acid (though most commonly the third):
* Monosodium citrate
* Disodium citrate
* Trisodium citrate
The three forms of salt are collectively known by the E number E331.
Applications
...
and the now discontinued powder used
zeolite
Zeolites are microporous, crystalline aluminosilicate materials commonly used as commercial adsorbents and catalysts. They mainly consist of silicon, aluminium, oxygen, and have the general formula ･y where is either a metal ion or H+. These ...
and
polycarboxylate
Polycarboxylates are linear polymers with a high molecular mass (Mr ≤ 100 000) and with many carboxylate groups. They are polymers of acrylic acid or copolymers of acrylic acid and maleic acid. The polymer is used as the sodium salt (see: sodium ...
, all of which are less problematic in wastewater treatment than phosphates.
Companies
The brands have their origin in Calgon, Inc. of
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsyl ...
, which first put Calgon water softener on the market in 1933. In 1965, Calgon was broken into:
* Calgon bath and beauty products, sold to Coty, Inc., and then acquired by Ascendia Brands on 9 February 2007. Ilex Capital of
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east ...
purchased the product line and the rights to the name for $4.2 million in 2008. The brand's operations became part of Ilex Consumer Products Group LLC. In 2013, private equity firm Yellow Wood acquired Ilex Consumer Products Group; Calgon is now part of their portfolio company, PDC Brands.
*
Calgon Carbon
Calgon Carbon Corporation is a Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania based company that manufactures and markets products that remove contaminants and odors from liquids and gases, both for industrial, municipal, and consumer markets. Calgon Carbon's product l ...
Corporation, acquired by its management in a leveraged buyout in 1985 and taken public in 1987
* Calgon Water Management, sold to English China Clays in June 1993 for $307.5 million
* Calgon Vestal Laboratories, sold to
Bristol-Myers Squibb
The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the l ...
in November 1994 for $261.5 million and then to the Steris Corporation in 1996
In popular culture
* The Calgon "Ancient Chinese Secret" commercial was referenced in the 1993 movie '' Wayne's World 2''.
* Indie band Clem Snide has a song titled "Ancient Chinese Secret Blues". The final lyrics of the song are "Calgon, take me away".
* The '' Futurama'' episode " A Leela of Her Own" (Season 3, Episode 16) contains a parody of the Calgon "Ancient Chinese Secret" commercial.
* Horrorcore rapper King Gordy heavily referenced this slogan in the song "Mrs. Calgon" on his 2011 album '' King Gordy Sings the Blues''.