Acidulate 150 | Our Most Popular Acid Cage Wash Cleaner

Urine scale — the white or yellowish mineral buildup that accumulates on rodent caging — forms when calcium and magnesium from urine and hard water bond to cage surfaces over time. The most effective removal method is a chelating acid cleaner run as the secondary stage in an automated cage wash program. Acidulate 150 uses a blend of organic acids (citric, glycolic, and gluconic) that sequester and dissolve those mineral ions without depending on achieving an extremely low pH. Because it works across a wide pH range, it can neutralize within the wash cycle itself without precipitating mineral salts back onto cage surfaces.

Organic acid cage wash products are generally much safer on polycarbonate and polysulfone caging than strong inorganic acids. Acidulate 150 is an organic acid blend — citric, glycolic, and gluconic — and has been used in vivarium cage wash programs for decades without the stress cracking and crazing associated with highly caustic or highly acidic chemistries. For your specific caging materials and washer setup, contact us and we can confirm compatibility.

Not necessarily. If your facility runs an alkaline detergent and an acid cleaner in a two-part program, those two chemistries can neutralize each other — eliminating the need for a dedicated third-product neutralizer. Pairing Acidulate 150 with Enviro-Kleen 100 is a common two-product program where no separate neutralizer is required. This simplifies chemical inventory, reduces storage requirements, and cuts down on HazMat shipping — which matters when you are managing multiple chemical deliveries for a wash center.

If cages still appear hazy, stained, or filmy after washing, the cause is usually one of two things: mineral scale that an alkaline-only detergent cannot remove, or residue from a cleaner that is not fully rinsing. Alkaline detergents are designed to break down organic soils — fats, proteins, and waste — but they do not dissolve the mineral deposits left by urine and hard water. Adding an acid rinse stage with a chelating organic acid like Acidulate 150 addresses the mineral side. If the problem is a filmy residue, that typically points to a cleaner that is not free-rinsing, or incorrect dosing.

Most effective automated cage wash programs use two products: an alkaline detergent to remove organic soils (fats, proteins, waste) and an acid cleaner to remove mineral scale and urine deposits. Some programs add a third product — a dedicated neutralizer — but this is often unnecessary when the alkaline and acid chemistries are selected to neutralize each other. Quip Laboratories has been building two-product cage wash programs for over 40 years. The right combination depends on your washer type, water hardness, species mix, and soil load.