View source for Swarfega

{{Short description|Heavy-duty hand cleaning product}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{more citations needed|date=May 2013}}
[[File:Swarfega bottles.jpg|thumb|right|Swarfega - heavy duty hand cleaner]]
'''Swarfega''' ({{IPAc-en|s|w|ɔːr|ˈ|f|iː|g|ə}}) is a brand of heavy-duty hand cleaner made by Deb Limited, a [[United Kingdom|British]] company based in [[Denby]], [[Derbyshire]]. It is used in engineering, construction and other manual trades, such as printing.
It is a gelatinous, [[thixotropic]] substance, dark green or orange in colour, which is used to clean [[Grease (lubricant)|grease]], [[oil]], [[printing ink|printer's ink]], or general persistent, [[hydrophobic]] dirt from the skin. Swarfega is used by working a small amount into dry skin, then wiping or rinsing off. As with other such cleaners, it can be more effective than soap or other common cleansing products at removing such dirt; accordingly, Swarfega has become virtually ubiquitous in environments where this kind of dirt is common, such as [[automobile repair shop|garage]]s and [[machine shop]]s.
==History==
Swarfega was invented in 1947 by Audley Bowdler Williamson (28 February 1916 - 21 November 2004), an industrial chemist from [[Heanor]], [[Derbyshire]].<ref name="Times obit" >{{cite journal |title=Audley Bowdler Williamson (Obituary)|url= http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article1077655.ece |date=December 14, 2004 |journal=[[The Times]]}}{{dead link|date=September 2024|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>"Latest Wills", The Register, ''[[The Times]]'', 19 August 2006, page 67.</ref> In 1941, he had founded a detergent-sales company, Deb Silkware Protection Ltd., based in [[Belper]], to produce a formulation for extending the life of [[silk]] [[stocking]]s.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Company History |url=https://www.debgroup.com/uk/about-deb/history |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203191523/https://www.debgroup.com/uk/about-deb/history |archive-date=Dec 3, 2020 |website=Deb Group}}</ref> The name derived from "[[debutante]]",<ref name="Times obit" /> to signify the newness of the company and its products. The introduction of nylon stockings threatened to render it superfluous; however, Williamson purportedly suggested that mechanics had already found it useful for cleaning their hands. This may have been a myth encouraged to attract interest, but the product was reformulated and marketed as Swarfega, becoming the company's main product. (The company's name had been changed to Deb Chemical Proprietaries Ltd.) Before Swarfega, mechanics used a variety of harsh home-brewed cleaners such as paraffin (kerosene), sand and petrol. These removed the skin's natural oils, leading to dry, cracked skin and the risk of [[occupational dermatitis]]. The effectiveness of Swarfega is due to the hydrophobic ingredients, including medium-chain (C9-C16) [[alkanes]] and [[cycloalkanes]]; in combination with an emulsifier (Trideceth-5 in current formulations). These are more efficient at [[Soluble|solubilizing]] oil and grease than a detergent alone.{{Citation needed|date=October 2007}}
In the UK, the word "Swarfega" may be used as a generic term for all similar cleaners, particularly if they have the same green jelly-like appearance as genuine Swarfega. According to the company website, the name derives from "swarf", a Derbyshire word for oil and grease, and "ega", as in "eager to clean".<ref>{{Cite web |title=For the Home {{!}} Swarfega is Born |url=http://www.swarfega.com/home/swarfega-born |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920115827/http://www.swarfega.com/home/swarfega-born |archive-date=Sep 20, 2017 |website=Swarfega}}</ref> "[[Swarf]]" now commonly refers to the metal shavings and chips resulting from metalworking operations. The word did not originally mean oil or grease as Deb claimed, but rather the waste material from a grindstone (or similar material resulting from wear in a machine). This material would be a wet or oily mixture of grit abraded from the wheel and filings from the workpiece.
Deb expanded its product range and has long offered a range of products either related to detergent ingredients, or sold to the same mechanical trades. Many of these, such as [[Jizer]], a water-rinsable degreaser used for washing mechanical parts rather than mechanics, first defined the original market for a new product that has now become commonplace.
It was reported on 3 March 2010 that the manufacturer of Swarfega had been sold to an investment firm for £325 million.<ref>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/derbyshire/8548003.stm |title= Derbyshire-based Swarfega manufacturer sold for £325m |work=BBC News |date=2010-03-03 |accessdate=2020-06-12}}</ref>
In 2015, Deb Group Ltd. was acquired by [[S. C. Johnson & Son]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date= |title=Company History |url=https://www.debgroup.com/uk/about-deb/history |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150623140342/http://www.debgroup.com:80/uk/about-us/company-history |archive-date=2015-06-23 |access-date=2020-07-02 |website=Deb Group}}</ref>
==Competing products==
Swarfega has lost the ubiquity it once had. There are now many competing products, such as [[Rozalex]] Two Fives and Rozalex Gauntlet. Deb have even repositioned their own "Suprega" and "Tufanega" for industrial use.<ref name="Tufanega" >{{cite web|title=Tufanega range |url=http://www.debgroup.com/en/products/selector/skin-care/uk/tufanega/ |publisher=Deb Ltd}}</ref> This has an orange colour, emphasising its "natural" origins and citrus oil ingredients. A similar orange-coloured product called "Dirty Paws" was available in the UK in the 1950s<ref>{{cite web |last=Prior |first=Jeremy |date=November 23, 2007 |title=Watford's vanishing trick |url=https://www.ourwatfordhistory.org.uk/content/topics/cassiobury/watfords-vanishing-trick |accessdate=2020-06-12 |website=Our Watford History}}</ref> but is no longer available.{{citation needed|date=June 2020}}
==See also==
* [[List of cleaning products]]
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
*[http://www.swarfega.com Company website]
[[Category:British brands]]
[[Category:Cleaning products]]
[[Category:Soap brands]]
[[Category:Companies based in Derbyshire]]
[[Category:Products introduced in 1947]]