Cleaning solution

Description

[0001] The present invention provides a cleaning solution which comprises rosewater, camomile and mint. It is particularly suitable for use as a cleaning solution when applied to vehicle surfaces and most particularly vehicle windscreens, for example by addition to the windscreen cleaning water reservoir.

[0002] Several screen and vehicle wash solutions are available but usually suffer from the disadvantage that they do not thoroughly dissolve spots and residues created by the crash of insects against moving vehicles. A particular problem with screen washes, in particular, is that the liquid remains on the windscreen for only a short time and the windscreen wiper blades tend to smear the insect residue and other grease and dirt.

[0003] GB-A-2014602 (Hoechst AG) discloses a composition suitable for use in cleaning panes of glass. The composition is a solid and hard cleaning composition which in contact with water will reach the windscreen in satisfactory and fairly constant concentration and produce a good cleaning effect thereon. The composition consists substantially of a homogenous surfactant and binder containing blend. The blend is typically of a water soluble alkali phosphate, an anion active and/or non-ionic surfactant, an alkali metal silicate and an orthophosphoric acid ester and a solvent.

[0004] GB-A-1032794 (Ford Motor Company Limited) relates to a screenwash to remove oil and other traffic film from a windscreen without smearing and without corroding paint, rubber and synthetic plastic components of the vehicle. It relates particularly to a concentrated aqueous solution comprising an anionic detergent, a non-ionic detergent, a thickening agent and a corrosion inhibitor in anti-freeze solution. Preferably the aqueous anti-freeze solution contains minor parts of glycerine and industrial methylated spirits. The components of the composition are preferably the sodium salt of an alkylated naphthalene sulphonic acid, an alkyl phenol condensed with ethylene oxide, a thickening agent based on alkali metal polyacrylate and benzotriazole.

[0005] Rosewater is the water distilled from roses or the water obtained by soaking rose petals in water for several days. It is often used on the skin as a perfume or to flavour food. Rosewater is used as a fragrant ingredient in soap products in which it is claimed to "tone and refresh" the skin (e.g. Crabtree and Evelyn ™ Rosewater Products).

[0006] EP-A-0332382 discloses a preparation comprising rosewater and a number of other components for use on hair or body which will restore natural oils to the hair and body and when applied to the hair or scalp will stimulate hair growth.

[0007] Rosehip is known for use in herbal infusion teas.

[0008] Camomile (or chamomile) is the name used for various related plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), especially the perennial "Roman camomile" (Chamaemelum Nobile - formerly Anthemis nobilis) and the annual "wild camomile" (Matricaria Chamomilla). Oil from the Roman camomile is often used to make tea and the oil from wild camomile was most often used medicinally, particularly as a tonic and as antispasmodic and anti-inflammatory agents, although it is now commonly used as a hair rinse.

[0009] US-A-6153196 (Wella AG) relates to the use of flowerwax, preferably of the jasmine, minosa, narcissus, bitter orange or wild camomile, in liquid hair treatment agents.

[0010] EP-A-496230 (Asta Medica AG) discloses a process for the preparation of a polar camomile extract with antimicrobial activity.

[0011] EP-A-330240 (Robugen GmbH Pharmazeutische Fabrik) discloses a camomile drug from true camomile (Matricaria Chamomill L) with a defined content of chamazulene, bisabolol, cis-ene-yne dicyclic ether and apigenin-7-glucoside and increased apigenin content.

[0012] Mint is any plant of the genus Mentha (e.g. spearmint and peppermint) and is often used in the form of its oil extract. It is commonly used in oral hygiene products as a flavourant. It is also used to make tea.

[0013] EP-A-410054 (Chen et al) discloses a cleansing composition for cleaning, for example, utensils, leather, glass, clothes, tiles, walls and wooden furniture, which composition is prepared by mixing mint oil, lemon oil, rhubarb oil, rice powder and other additives to form a mixture to which is added an equal volume of cryolite powder treated water.

[0014] Herbal teas are know that contain peppermint oil, camomile and rosehip separately as well as rosehip with peppermint.

[0015] The present inventor has found that a composition comprising rosewater, mint and camomile provides a surprisingly effective cleaning solution, particularly when applied to car windscreens, which is non-corrosive and can be prepared from entirely natural ingredients.

[0016] Accordingly, in a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a composition comprising rosewater, camomile and mint for use as a cleaning solution.

[0017] Preferably, the composition consists essentially of, and more preferably, solely of rosewater, camomile and mint.

[0018] In a preferred embodiment, the composition is prepared with 5-50g camomile and 1-15g mint for every litre of rosewater. More preferably the composition is prepared with 10g camomile and 5g mint for every litre of rosewater. The preferred composition has an approximate rosewater:camomile:mint ratio of 200:2:1 by weight.

[0019] In a second aspect of the invention, there is provided a use of a composition as defined herein as a cleaning solution. Preferably, the composition may be used as a vehicle wash solution, particularly a vehicle windscreen wash solution.

[0020] The wash solution may suitably be added to the windscreen wash reservoir of a vehicle. When using a composition prepared with 10g camomile and 5g mint for every litre of rosewater, a dilution of 40:1 is preferable when adding the solution to a vehicle windscreen wash reservoir.

[0021] In a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of cleaning a surface comprising applying a composition as defined herein and wiping the solution off the surface with a wiping means.

[0022] Suitable wiping means include cloths and windscreen wipers. Typically, the solution may be used by soaking a cloth in the solution and applying to the vehicle surface.

[0023] The ingredients of the composition described herein are preferably solely from a natural source.

[0024] The combination of the dissolving effect of the rosewater and the smoothing effect of the camomile and the mint makes the composition particularly suitable for use on car windscreens as the insect residue and other dirt is removed whilst minimising the effect on the rubber of the windscreen wiper blades.

[0025] In accordance with the present invention, the term rosewater is meant to include the water resulting from distillation of roses, which usually includes a proportion of rose oil, and water resulting from allowing rose petals to soak in water for several days. The term camomile is meant to include plants and extracts of plants of the family Asteraceae (aster family), especially the perennial "Roman camomile" (Chamaemelum Nobile - formerly Anthemis nobilis) and the annual "wild camomile" (Matricaria Chamomilla). The term mint is meant to include any plant or extract of plants of the genus Mentha. In the present invention the use of spearmint or peppermint is preferred.

[0026] The invention will now be illustrated by the following non-limiting Example.

Example 1

[0027] A washing solution for cleaning car windscreens was prepared by mixing 1 litre of rosewater, 10g of camomile and 5g of mint and allowing the mixture to rest for three days.

[0028] The resulting solution was diluted with water in a ration of 40:1 and added to a vehicle windscreen wash reservoir.

Claims

1. A composition for use as a cleaning solution comprising rosewater, camomile and mint.

2. A composition for use as a cleaning solution consisting essentially of rosewater, camomile and mint

3. A composition for use as a cleaning solution consisting solely of rosewater, camomile and mint.

4. A composition as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, which comprises from 5 to 50 g camomile and from 1 to 15 g mint for every litre of rosewater.

5. A composition as claimed in Claim 4, which comprises 10g camomile and 5g mint for every litre of rosewater.

6. Use of a composition as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 as a cleaning solution.

7. A use as claimed in Claim 6 as a vehicle wash solution.

8. A use as claimed in Claim 7 as a vehicle windscreen wash solution.

9. A method of cleaning a surface comprising applying a composition as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 5 and wiping the solution off the surface.

10. A method as claimed in Claim 9, wherein the surface is metallic or glass surface.

11. A method as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the surface is a glass surface.