Calgon
Encyclopedia
Calgon is a brand registered trademark of different corporations. The original product consisted of powdered sodium hexametaphosphate
(amorphous sodium polyphospate), which in water would complex with ambient calcium
ion
and certain other cations, preventing formation of unwanted salts and interference by those cations with the actions of soap
or other detergent
s. Its name was a portmanteau derived from the phrase "calcium gone". 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 ingredients zeolite
and polycarboxylate, which are less problematic in wastewater treatment than phosphates.
, which first put Calgon water softener on the market in 1933. It was acquired by Merck
in 1968 and later broken up and sold off. Calgon was broken into:
, Calgon's advertisements have generated several popular catchphrases and/or definitions, which have been referenced in numerous subsequent songs, television shows, and motion pictures.
In this advertisement, a woman wearing a fluffy pink robe is seen in a chaotic home scenario. As tension rises, she utters the slogan "Calgon, take me away!" The next scene shows her relaxing in a bath in a quiet room.
A Caucasian woman with an American accent asks "Mr. Lee" (played by Calvin Jung
), a laundry shop owner, how he gets her shirts so clean. He replies, with what appears to be a Chinese accent
, "Ancient Chinese secret."
The scene changes to Mrs. Lee, who is in an adjoining room. Mrs. Lee (Japanese-American actress Anne Miyamoto) appears ethnically Chinese, but she speaks English with a thoroughly American accent, and explains to the audience that her husband's "ancient Chinese secret" is that he uses Calgon water softener.
Mrs. Lee ultimately gives the secret away by sticking her head into the front room where Mr. Lee and the customer are standing, and shouts "We need more Calgon!" To which the customer replies "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?" while Mr. Lee accepts the exposure with good humor.
Calgon water softener adverts in the United Kingdom
, Ireland
and in the rest of Europe
promote the product solely on the basis of saving washing machine
s from breakdown rather than any benefits to the clothing in the wash, although the products on sale are identical to those in the United States. In Portugal
, the Calgon advertisement jingle
is the same popular one, for almost 30 years. In Italy
, until Spring 2008, Calgon was called Calfort.
magazine demonstrated that there was no evidence to suggest that washing machines do live longer when treated with Calgon under "normal" washing conditions. Calgon disputes this. In October 2011, Dutch TROS
TV program Radar also concluded Calgon water softener is not necessary under "normal" washing conditions for Dutch customers.
Sodium hexametaphosphate
Sodium hexametaphosphate is a hexamer of composition 6. Sodium hexametaphosphate of commerce is typically a mixture of polymeric metaphosphates, of which the hexamer is one, and is usually the compound referred to by this name. It is more correctly termed sodium polymetaphosphate. It is prepared...
(amorphous sodium polyphospate), which in water would complex with ambient calcium
Calcium
Calcium is the chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. It has an atomic mass of 40.078 amu. Calcium is a soft gray alkaline earth metal, and is the fifth-most-abundant element by mass in the Earth's crust...
ion
Ion
An ion is an atom or molecule in which the total number of electrons is not equal to the total number of protons, giving it a net positive or negative electrical charge. The name was given by physicist Michael Faraday for the substances that allow a current to pass between electrodes in a...
and certain other cations, preventing formation of unwanted salts and interference by those cations with the actions of soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
or other detergent
Detergent
A detergent is a surfactant or a mixture of surfactants with "cleaning properties in dilute solutions." In common usage, "detergent" refers to alkylbenzenesulfonates, a family of compounds that are similar to soap but are less affected by hard water...
s. Its name was a portmanteau derived from the phrase "calcium gone". 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 ingredients zeolite
Zeolite
Zeolites are microporous, aluminosilicate minerals commonly used as commercial adsorbents. The term zeolite was originally coined in 1756 by Swedish mineralogist Axel Fredrik Cronstedt, who observed that upon rapidly heating the material stilbite, it produced large amounts of steam from water that...
and polycarboxylate, which are less problematic in wastewater treatment than phosphates.
Companies
The brands have their origin in Calgon, Inc. of Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, which first put Calgon water softener on the market in 1933. It was acquired by Merck
Merck & Co.
Merck & Co., Inc. , also known as Merck Sharp & Dohme or MSD outside the United States and Canada, is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world. The Merck headquarters is located in Whitehouse Station, New Jersey, an unincorporated area in Readington Township...
in 1968 and later broken up and sold off. Calgon was broken into:
- Calgon water softener, sold to Reckitt BenckiserReckitt BenckiserReckitt Benckiser plc is a global consumer goods company headquartered in Slough, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of household products and a major producer of consumer healthcare and personal products...
. Calgonit is the brand name of Reckitt Benckiser's dishwasher detergent sold in Continental EuropeContinental EuropeContinental Europe, also referred to as mainland Europe or simply the Continent, is the continent of Europe, explicitly excluding European islands....
. - Calgon bath and beauty products, sold to Coty, Inc.Coty, Inc.Coty, Inc. is the world's largest fragrance company, founded in 1904. It is also a beauty products manufacturer whose main businesses are fragrances , followed by color cosmetics , toiletries and skin care...
, and then acquired by Ascendia Brands on 9 February 2007. Ilex Capital of Annapolis, MarylandAnnapolis, MarylandAnnapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
purchased the product line and the rights to the name for $4.2 million in 2008. The brand's operations are run by Ilex Consumer Products Group LLC, the parent companyParent companyA parent company is a company that owns enough voting stock in another firm to control management and operations by influencing or electing its board of directors; the second company being deemed as a subsidiary of the parent company...
's BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
-based arm headquartered in the Warehouse at Camden YardsOriole Park at Camden YardsOriole Park at Camden Yards is a Major League Baseball ballpark located in Baltimore, Maryland. Home field of the Baltimore Orioles, it is the first of the "retro" major league ballparks constructed during the 1990s and early 2000s, and remains one of the most highly praised. The park was...
. - Calgon Carbon 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 SquibbBristol-Myers SquibbBristol-Myers Squibb , often referred to as BMS, is a pharmaceutical company, headquartered in New York City. The company was formed in 1989, following the merger of its predecessors Bristol-Myers and the Squibb Corporation...
in November 1994 for $261.5 million and then to the Steris Corporation in 1996 - Nu-Calgon
Advertisements
In North American popular culturePopular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
, Calgon's advertisements have generated several popular catchphrases and/or definitions, which have been referenced in numerous subsequent songs, television shows, and motion pictures.
"Calgon, take me away!"
This commercial was for Calgon bath and beauty products.In this advertisement, a woman wearing a fluffy pink robe is seen in a chaotic home scenario. As tension rises, she utters the slogan "Calgon, take me away!" The next scene shows her relaxing in a bath in a quiet room.
"Ancient Chinese secret, huh?"
A famous commercial from the early 70s that ran for years was for Calgon Water Softener.A Caucasian woman with an American accent asks "Mr. Lee" (played by Calvin Jung
Calvin Jung
Calvin Jung is an American actor.Graduating from high school in New York, Jung attended Massanutten Military Academy in Virginia. He attended Hillsdale College in Michigan, and left his senior year to pursue acting back in New York. His first professional acting job was a commercial in Canada in...
), a laundry shop owner, how he gets her shirts so clean. He replies, with what appears to be a Chinese accent
Chinglish
Chinglish refers to spoken or written English language that is influenced by the Chinese language. The term "Chinglish" is commonly applied to ungrammatical or nonsensical English in Chinese contexts, and may have pejorative or deprecating connotations, reflecting the attitudes of those who apply...
, "Ancient Chinese secret."
The scene changes to Mrs. Lee, who is in an adjoining room. Mrs. Lee (Japanese-American actress Anne Miyamoto) appears ethnically Chinese, but she speaks English with a thoroughly American accent, and explains to the audience that her husband's "ancient Chinese secret" is that he uses Calgon water softener.
Mrs. Lee ultimately gives the secret away by sticking her head into the front room where Mr. Lee and the customer are standing, and shouts "We need more Calgon!" To which the customer replies "Ancient Chinese secret, huh?" while Mr. Lee accepts the exposure with good humor.
Calgon water softener adverts in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and in the rest of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
promote the product solely on the basis of saving washing machine
Washing machine
A washing machine is a machine designed to wash laundry, such as clothing, towels and sheets...
s from breakdown rather than any benefits to the clothing in the wash, although the products on sale are identical to those in the United States. In Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, the Calgon advertisement jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
is the same popular one, for almost 30 years. In Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, until Spring 2008, Calgon was called Calfort.
Jingles
Calgon water softener adverts across Europe feature the same phrase and jingle translated into the local language. They are as follows:- Bulgarian: "Пералнята живее по-дълго със Калгон."
- Croatian: "Perilica dulje živi uz Calgon."
- Czech: "Dlouhý život pro Vaši pračku, Váš Calgon"
- Danish: "Vaskemaskiner lever længere med Calgon"
- Dutch: "Wasmachines leven langer met Calgon"
- English: "Washing machines live longer with Calgon"
- Estonian: "Pesumasin teenib kaua, Calgon"
- French: "Les lave-linge durent plus longtemps avec Calgon"
- German: "Waschmaschinen leben länger mit Calgon"
- Greek: "Το πλυντήριό σας ζεί περισσότερο, με Calgon"
- Hebrew: "מכונות כביסה מאריכות שנים עם קלגון"
- Hungarian: "Calgonnal a mosógép is tovább él"
- Italian: "La lavatrice vive di più con Calgon" (from 1991 to 2008: "La lavatrice vive di più con Calfort")
- Latvian: "Veļas mašīna kalpo ilgāk, ar Calgon"
- Polish: "Dłuższe życie każdej pralki to Calgon"
- Portuguese: "Prolongue a vida da sua máquina, com Calgon"
- Romanian: "Masina de spalat traieste mai mult cu Calgon"
- Russian: "Пусть машина служит долго, Calgon"
- Serbian: "Веш машина живи дуже уз Калгон"
- Slovenian: "Da pralni stroj bo dlje živel, dodaj Calgo."
- Spanish: "Prolongue la vida de su lavadora, con Calgon"
- Turkish: "Makinanız uzun yaşar Calgonla"
- Ukrainian: "Ваша машина служитиме довго, Калгон"
Criticism
In May 2011 a study by Which?Which?
Which? is a product-testing and consumer campaigning charity with a magazine, website and various other services run by Which? Ltd ....
magazine demonstrated that there was no evidence to suggest that washing machines do live longer when treated with Calgon under "normal" washing conditions. Calgon disputes this. In October 2011, Dutch TROS
TROS
TROS is a Dutch television and radio organization part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting...
TV program Radar also concluded Calgon water softener is not necessary under "normal" washing conditions for Dutch customers.