Creating custom cleaning products can be an extremely beneficial endeavor for companies, businesses, and even individuals looking to formulate specialized cleaning solutions. Custom formulas allow you to tailor the product precisely to your needs and specifications. Whether you’re looking to create a powerful degreaser, an eco-friendly all-purpose cleaner, or a solution designed for a very particular use case, custom formulations give you complete control.

The process of creating a custom cleaning product does require some work, but the advantages make it worthwhile. You can craft the ideal mixture of active ingredients, solvents, pH, fragrance, and more. Having a unique formula also allows you to differentiate your product in the marketplace. In addition, you may be able to reduce costs by avoiding pre-made components found in off-the-shelf cleaners.

The steps involved in formulating a custom cleaning product include researching ingredients, partnering with a lab for development, testing for safety and efficacy, completing regulatory requirements, and scaling up manufacturing. While it is not a trivial process, custom formulas provide the flexibility and optimization needed for specialized cleaning needs. With some strategic planning and effort, you can create the perfect custom cleaner.

Understand Your Goals

When creating a custom cleaning product, the first step is to clearly define your goals and reasons for wanting a specialized formula. Take time to:

• Assess your current products and any pain points or limitations you want to address. Look at what’s currently working and what could be improved. Examine where there are gaps that a new product could fill.
• Consider your target customers and their specific needs. Get very clear on who will be using your custom formula and what their requirements are. Think about their demographics, preferences, values, and frustrations.
• Define the specific problems you want to solve. Outline the desired benefits and outcomes. Do you want to reduce harsh chemicals, make cleaning easier, tackle specific stains, reduce costs, etc? Get very focused on the issues a new product could resolve.

Having crystal clear goals will ensure your custom formula addresses your customers’ needs and delivers on your intended benefits. It provides critical direction for the formulation process and keeps the end user experience top of mind.

Research Ingredients and Formulations

When starting the process of creating a custom cleaning product, one of the most important steps is researching potential active and inactive ingredients to include in your formulation. The ingredients you choose will determine the product’s efficacy for your desired cleaning tasks.

Begin by making a list of the specific cleaning jobs you want your product to perform. Do you need it to cut through grease, eliminate odors, disinfect surfaces, or have antibacterial properties? Once you have a clear set of goals, you can start investigating ingredients known to achieve those effects.

Some key active ingredients to research for common cleaning goals include:

• Surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate to cut grease
• Bleach or hydrogen peroxide for disinfecting and whitening
• Essential oils like lemon, eucalyptus or tea tree for deodorizing
• Quaternary ammonium compounds for antibacterial properties

When researching these active ingredients, carefully review any safety data sheets to ensure the ingredients meet health and environmental safety standards at the concentrations you plan to use.

It’s also important to research potential inactive ingredients like scents, dyes, thickening agents, and preservatives. These supplemental ingredients support the cleaning agents and improve the product’s usability. Review options that coordinate well with your active ingredients.

Looking at existing commercial and DIY cleaning products with similar goals can provide inspiration on proven ingredient combinations and formulations to consider. Examine product labels for their active and inactive ingredients to get ideas.

Thorough research at this stage will provide the foundation you need to design an effective, customized formula tailored to your cleaning needs.

Partner with a Reputable Lab

When creating a custom cleaning product formula, it’s crucial to partner with a reputable lab that specializes in household products. This will ensure your formula is developed properly and meets all safety and efficacy requirements.

When researching labs, look for ones experienced in developing household cleaners, polishes, detergents, and disinfectants. They should have expertise in creating formulas for different applications like bathroom, kitchen, floors, etc.

Make sure to ask the lab detailed questions about their formulation process. What methods and technology do they use? Do they have chemists and scientists on staff to oversee development? How do they determine ingredient compatibility and percentages?

Also inquire about their testing capabilities. Can they perform efficacy testing to validate how well your formula cleans? What safety tests can they conduct to ensure your product won’t harm users? Typical tests include skin irritation, eye corrosion, oral toxicity, and more.

Finally, request references from past clients, particularly those in the household cleaning product industry. Reach out to the references and ask how satisfied they were with the lab’s work and professionalism.

Choosing the right lab partner ensures your custom formula gets created properly on the first try, avoiding costly rework and formulation errors. Invest time upfront to find an experienced lab you can trust.

Develop Product Specifications

When developing your custom cleaning product, you’ll need to create detailed specifications that the manufacturer can use to formulate it properly. This involves determining the product performance requirements, certifications, and target pricing.

Provide Product Performance Requirements

Outline exactly how you need the product to perform. Be as specific as possible about factors like:

• Intended use cases (floor cleaner, bathroom cleaner, etc)
• Types of dirt, stains or grime to be removed
• Surfaces it will be used on (tile, wood, granite, etc)
• Desired smell/fragrance
• Viscosity or consistency
• Shelf life
• Packaging requirements

Providing precise performance requirements will help the lab create something that meets your needs.

List Required Certifications

Determine what certifications or approvals are necessary for your product. Common options include:

• Eco-friendly certifications like Green Seal or EPA Safer Choice
• Organic certifications
• Kosher or halal compliance
• Approvals for use in food processing facilities

Requiring specific certifications can help attract certain customers and meet regulatory requirements. Discuss options with the lab.

Share Target Pricing

Have an ideal price point or range in mind. Factors like special ingredients, certifications, custom packaging, and order quantities can impact costs. Being open about budget constraints helps the lab suggest viable formulations. Compromise may be needed to create an affordable product that still meets performance needs.

Create the Formula

When creating your custom cleaning formula, you’ll need to work closely with the lab to select the right ingredients that align with your goals, optimize the percentages to balance cost and performance, and test samples to fine-tune the formula.

First, provide the lab with clear specifications for the type of product you want to create. Do you need an all-purpose cleaner, glass cleaner, floor cleaner, etc? Specify the desired features like eco-friendly, antibacterial, streak-free, etc.

Next, the lab can suggest active and inactive ingredients to build the formula around. For example, for a bathroom cleaner, they may suggest combining surfactants like sodium lauryl sulfate for cleaning power, fragrances for scent, preservatives for longevity, and dyes for color. Discuss options to select ingredients that fit your budget and meet safety regulations.

When the lab provides an initial formula, ask for samples to test. Evaluate aspects like cleaning performance, scent strength, product thickness, and ease of rinsing. Provide feedback to the lab so they can tweak percentages of each ingredient to optimize the formula. You may need to go through several rounds of sampling and adjustments before settling on the final blend.

Aim to use the minimal amount of ingredients needed to achieve your goals. Striking the right balance of cost and performance takes experimentation. Be prepared to refine the formula over time as you scale up production. With patience and persistence, you’ll dial in a custom cleaning product tailored to your business needs.

Perform Safety Testing

Ensuring your custom cleaning product is safe should be a top priority before bringing it to market. Thorough safety testing is critical.

You’ll want to test for potential eye and skin irritation. Use in vitro testing on cell cultures as an initial screen. Follow up with in vivo testing on animals if necessary to fully evaluate irritation levels. Start with low concentrations and work upwards. Document any reactions seen during testing.

Inhalation risks should also be assessed. Evaluate any potential airborne exposure during production and use of the product. Consider enclosed manufacturing conditions and child-resistant packaging to limit risks. Analyze the product’s vapor pressure and likelihood to generate mists or dusts.

Review the safety data sheet for each ingredient in your formula. Make sure all ingredients and usage levels are within established safety limits. Watch out for any synergistic effects between ingredients that may increase hazards. Consider reducing or eliminating problematic ingredients that lack adequate safety data.

Document all safety testing procedures and results. This provides due diligence if any issues emerge down the line. Thorough safety testing takes time and resources, but is essential to ensure your custom cleaning product meets consumer safety expectations.

Verify Efficacy

Testing the efficacy of your custom cleaning product is a crucial step before bringing it to market. You’ll want to verify that your formula performs as intended under real-world conditions.

Start by clearly defining what “efficacy” means for your specific product. If it’s a bathroom cleaner, parameters could include ability to cut through soap scum, remove hard water stains, disinfect surfaces, etc.

With your efficacy criteria established, run trials in actual user environments. For a household cleaner, recruit a diverse panel of consumers to test it in their homes. Have them use your product to clean surfaces like bathroom tiles, kitchen counters, floors, appliances. Gather feedback on how well it performed for different types of messes and soils.

Compare results to your product specifications. If certain stains or soils are proving difficult to remove, you may need to rebalance the formula. Work with your lab partner to tweak the recipe – adjust surfactant levels, switch to more powerful solvents or builders, add enhancers like lemon fragrance. Retest any formula changes with consumers.

Iteration is key to achieving your efficacy goals. Be prepared to fine-tune the formula through multiple rounds of consumer testing. With persistence and the right lab partner, you’ll dial in a custom cleaner that delivers on your product promises.

Complete Regulatory Steps

Before selling your custom cleaning product, you’ll need to complete some important regulatory steps. This ensures your product meets safety standards and legal requirements.

Register with the EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates cleaning products through the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Any substance intended to clean or disinfect requires EPA registration before it can be sold.

The EPA registration process involves submitting a detailed application and paying fees. You’ll need to provide efficacy data showing your product works as intended, as well as toxicity studies proving it’s safe when used according to label directions. The EPA reviews applications to ensure the product will not cause “unreasonable adverse effects.”

Obtain Necessary Certifications

Your custom cleaner may need certification from other organizations too. For example, the NSF International tests and certifies products to verify they meet public health and safety standards. Earning the NSF Certified for Safer Choice label can boost consumer confidence.

Green seal certification is another option to confirm environmentally responsible practices. Review requirements to determine which certifications make sense for your specific product.

Comply with State Requirements

In addition to federal EPA registration, be aware that states can impose their own restrictions on cleaning products. For instance, certain ingredients may be limited in some states like California. Always check state-specific regulations and secure necessary licenses or permits before selling your product in a given area.

With the proper regulatory approvals, testing, and certifications, you can launch your custom cleaning product knowing it meets high standards for quality and safety. Taking these essential steps shows commitment to responsible manufacturing.

Scale Up Manufacturing

Once you have finalized your formula and confirmed its safety and efficacy through testing, it’s time to scale up production for broader distribution. This involves some key steps:

• Order Raw Materials in Bulk – Instead of buying ingredient samples, you’ll need to purchase raw materials like surfactants, preservatives, and fragrances in bulk quantities, likely in drums or totes. Work closely with your suppliers to make sure you can get the quantities you need.
• Contract a Co-Packer for Large Production Runs – Producing small batches for testing is very different from mass production. You’ll need to partner with a contract manufacturing facility (co-packer) that can handle large production runs of your formula according to your specifications. Make sure to properly vet potential partners.
• Implement Quality Control Measures – Maintaining consistent quality at scale is critical. Work with your co-packer to institute rigorous quality control testing and processes. For example, routinely check samples from production runs to ensure your specifications are being met for appearance, fragrance, viscosity, pH, and more.

Taking the right steps to scale up manufacturing will get your custom cleaning product out to consumers. With smart planning and partnerships, you can achieve efficient, high-volume production without sacrificing quality.