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{{Short description|Brand of cleaning agents}}
{{Infobox brand
| name = Bar Keepers Friend
| logo = Bar Keepers Friend logo.png
| logo_upright =
| logo_alt =
| logo_caption = The Bar Keepers Friend logo, designed to resemble [[Western saloon|saloon]] doors
| image = [[File:BarKeepersFriend.jpg|225px]]
| image_upright =
| alt =
| caption = A can of Bar Keepers Friend in 2010, with English and Spanish text
| producttype = Powdered [[cleaning agent]], liquid and spray cleansers
| currentowner = SerVaas Laboratories, Inc. (1957–present)<ref name="IBJ-1" />
| producedby = SerVaas Laboratories, Inc.
| country = United States
| introduced = 1882
| discontinued =
| related =
| markets = United States, Canada, United Kingdom<ref>{{Cite web |date=November 1, 2012 |title=Bar Keepers Friend back to clean up UK |url=http://www.thegrocer.co.uk/buying-and-supplying/categories/household-goods/bar-keepers-friend-back-to-clean-up-uk/234614.article |access-date=February 28, 2017 |website=[[The Grocer]]}} {{Paywall}}</ref>

| trademarkregistrations =
| ambassadors =
| tagline =
| website = {{Url|http://www.barkeepersfriend.com}}
| module = 
| module1 = 
}}
'''Bar Keepers Friend''' is an American brand of [[Mass production|mass-produced]] [[cleaning agent]]s. The original canned [[scouring powder]] product has been manufactured and sold since 1882.<ref name="Reynolds 2016">{{Cite web |last=Reynolds |first=Pat |date=September 16, 2016 |title=Accuracy improved in auger filling |url=https://www.packworld.com/machinery/fillingsealing/accuracy-improved-auger-filling |access-date=February 28, 2017 |website=[[Packaging World]]}}</ref> It was invented by a chemist in [[Indianapolis]], [[Indiana]], where it continues to be manufactured by SerVaas Laboratories.<ref name="IBJ.com 2016">{{Cite web |date=April 18, 2016 |title=Maker of Indy mainstay Bar Keepers Friend plans expansion |url=http://www.ibj.com/articles/58153-maker-of-indy-mainstay-bar-keepers-friend-plans-expansion |access-date=February 28, 2017 |website=Indianapolis Business Journal}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bar Keepers Friend Story |url=http://www.barkeepersfriend.com/about-us |access-date=July 6, 2012 |publisher=Barkeepersfriend.com}}</ref> The canned product's primary active ingredient is [[oxalic acid]]. 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|Indianapolis, Indiana]]. 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-05-04 |title=Sunday Adverts: George William Hoffman Co. (Bar-Keepers' Friend) |work=Historic Indianapolis |url=http://historicindianapolis.com/sunday-adverts-george-william-hoffman-co/ |access-date=2017-04-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YfB-AAAAMAAJ&pg=PA1848 |title=Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office |year=1889 |volume=49 |page=1849 |access-date=2015-03-30 |issue=13}}</ref> The formula contains [[oxalic acid]] as a primary ingredient.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hunt, Mary |date=February 10, 2016 |title=Mary Hunt: Three generic cleaners same as brand names but cheaper |url=https://herald-review.com/news/opinion/editorial/columnists/hunt/mary-hunt-three-generic-cleaners-same-as-brand-names-but/article_c8a00006-f75e-5b5b-8290-8f33166a64d9.html |access-date=February 28, 2017 |website=Herald-Review}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Wiseman |first=G. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NBjL1k7ZYTwC&pg=PA67 |title=Nutrition and Health |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-415-27875-1 |page=67 |access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref>

The Bar Keepers Friend logo represents the swinging doors of a [[Western saloon|saloon]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 28, 2017 |title=About Us |url=https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/about-us/ |access-date=February 28, 2017 |website=Bar Keepers Friend}}</ref> According to the president of SerVaas Laboratories, Paul SerVaas, although some people complained during [[Prohibition in the United States|Prohibition]], "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,<ref name="IBJ-1">{{Cite news|url= http://www.ibj.com/bar-keepers-friend-parent-lands-new-headquarters/PARAMS/article/27125 |title=Bar Keepers Friend parent lands new headquarters|date=May 12, 2011 |newspaper=[[Indianapolis Business Journal]] |access-date=July 6, 2012 |author=Schouten, Cory}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web |author=The Good Housekeeping Institute |title=Bar Keepers Friend Cooktop Cleaner Review |website=Good Housekeeping |date=March 20, 2013 |url= http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/product-reviews/home-products/cook-top-cleaners/bar-keepers-friend-cooktop-cleaner-115 |access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Our Cleaning Products |website=Bar Keepers Friend |date=February 28, 2017 |url= https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/cleaning-products/ |access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref> SerVaas Laboratories had 40 employees in May 2011<ref name="IBJ-1" /> and 54 in April 2016.<ref name="IBJ.com 2016" />

==Production==
Bar Keepers Friend products are [[Mass-production|mass-produced]] in a manufacturing environment that has significant [[automation]] in the process.<ref name="Reynolds 2016" /> The powdered and canned (original) product is formulated in separate two-[[ton]] batches during the production process.<ref name="Reynolds 2016" /> 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.<ref name="Reynolds 2016" />

[[File:Bar keepers friend miller bar keepers friend.jpg|thumb|Walter Miller Co era Bar Keepers Friend Packaging]]

==Active ingredients==
According to the 2015 [[material safety data sheet]] (MSDS), the ingredients are [[feldspar]], linear [[Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate|sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (DDBSA)]] and [[oxalic acid]].<ref name="SDS 2015">{{Cite web |title=Safety Data Sheet |publisher=Servaas Laboratories |date=December 2015 |url= https://www.barkeepersfriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/SDS_BKF_Cleanser_Polish_6-12-15.pdf |access-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> The 2020 MSDS now gives the abrasive as glass oxide [[CAS Registry Number|CAS]] 65997-17-3, although this could still cover natural feldspars.<ref >{{Cite web
|title=Safety Data Sheet
|publisher=Servaas Laboratories
|date=December 2015
|url= https://barkeepersfriend.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/SDS-BKF-Cleanser-26FEB2020.pdf
|access-date=December 22, 2016
}}</ref>

Prolonged use and extended skin contact may cause irritation,<ref name="SDS 2015"/> peeling and [[contact dermatitis]], which is avoided by wearing gloves. The product can also be an eye irritant.<ref name="SDS 2015"/>

[[File:Old bkf boxes 1.jpg|thumb|George Hoffman-era 1 lb Bar Keepers Friend boxes with wood shipping crate.]]

==Performance and uses==
In 1994, ''[[Consumer Reports]]'' 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.<ref name=Business>{{Cite web|url=http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-indiana/435939-1.html|title=Bar Keepers Friend. | Science & Technology > Chemistry from AllBusiness.com|date=October 14, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101014170002/http://www.allbusiness.com/north-america/united-states-indiana/435939-1.html|archive-date=2010-10-14}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.home-ec101.com/using-bar-keepers-friend/|title=7 Places To Use Bar Keepers Friend - Home-Ec 101|date=February 18, 2009}}</ref>

The product serves to make stainless steel resistant to [[oxidation]] via the process of [[Passivation (chemistry)|passivation]] and can remove rust on stainless steel.<ref name="Schaefer 2014 p. 145">{{Cite book |last=Schaefer |first=M. |title=The Homebrewer's Handbook: An Illustrated Beginner's Guide |publisher=Skyhorse Publishing |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-62914-989-9 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=ko3oBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT145 |page=pt145}}</ref> The product can also remove small scratches from stainless steel,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Dominguez |first=J.M. |title=The Holy Grail Maintenance: Maintenance Reference Guide |publisher=Page Publishing |year=2015 |isbn=978-1-68139-095-6 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=wm-qCQAAQBAJ&pg=PT191 |pages=pt191-192}}</ref> silver and plates.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Custer |first=D. |title=Food Styling: The Art of Preparing Food for the Camera |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-470-08019-1 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7BSioG0WCrcC |access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref>

Uses of Bar Keepers Friend that are not noted on its label include removing [[hard water]] stains from glass and windows<ref>{{Cite web |last=Romero |first=Cristel |title=7 products to make cleaning your home quick and easy |website=Las Vegas Review-Journal |date=August 13, 2015 |url= http://www.reviewjournal.com/life/home-and-garden/7-products-make-cleaning-your-home-quick-and-easy |access-date=February 28, 2017}}</ref> and removing the brown or yellow stains caused by sunscreen containing [[avobenzone]].{{Citation needed|date=February 2017}} The product can also clean [[teak]] wood and serves to bleach it.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Badham |first1=M. |last2=Robinson |first2=R. |last3=Badham |first3=M. |title=Sailors' Secrets |publisher=McGraw-Hill Education |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-07-134869-0 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=t_lUsj1yvEoC |page=56}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Unger |first1=B. |last2=Sovchen |first2=D. |title=Absolute power trip: lifestyle guide for women boaters |publisher=Greenleaf Enterprises |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-9665319-4-7 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=XWpPHHVLDeAC |page=57}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[List of cleaning products]]

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite news |url= http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/article_87fc3244-2fdb-5d01-9fd4-96b9d0da8f0b.html |title=Bar Keepers Friend is also bathtub pal |newspaper=St. Louis Post Dispatch |date=January 17, 2009 |access-date=July 6, 2012 |author=Hibbs, Bill}}
* {{Cite web |url= http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15348299.html |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170301092627/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-15348299.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=March 1, 2017 |title=Bar Keepers Friend |publisher=Indiana Business Magazine |date=April 1, 1994 |access-date=July 6, 2012}} {{Paywall}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|http://www.barkeepersfriend.com}}
* {{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}}

[[Category:1882 introductions]]
[[Category:Cleaning product brands]]

Bar Keepers Friend - Revision history

WikiDwarfBOT at 08:48, 22 July 2023