0:00:02 > 0:00:07This series is about getting inside the stuff we can't live without. The cleaners, the cosmetics,
0:00:07 > 0:00:10the convenience items we use every single day.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14How do these things actually work?
0:00:15 > 0:00:18I want to hunt down the hidden magic -
0:00:18 > 0:00:20I'm calling it the Wonderstuff.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23The stuff that's doing the clever work
0:00:23 > 0:00:26in our most vital household essentials.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28I'm Jane Moore, and I like to think
0:00:28 > 0:00:32I'm pretty good at sniffing out facts.
0:00:32 > 0:00:36But for this assignment, I'm going to need to call on the specialists.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40My little black book is bulging with the phone numbers
0:00:40 > 0:00:42of some of Britain's best boffins,
0:00:42 > 0:00:46ready to reveal what they get up to behind closed doors.
0:00:46 > 0:00:48We're just in the flush cycle now...
0:00:48 > 0:00:52And take me right out of my comfort zone...
0:00:52 > 0:00:53Take it, take it.
0:00:53 > 0:00:57..To help me uncover some mind-blowing new insights.
0:00:59 > 0:01:00Well, that worked.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03When this mission is complete, I'm expecting to be able to
0:01:03 > 0:01:06hit the shops armed with a whole new perspective.
0:01:06 > 0:01:11Welcome to the extraordinary hidden world of Wonderstuff.
0:01:28 > 0:01:33This time, I'm digging into household cleaners.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37I feel pretty in the dark about what we can rely on to banish the filth.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40In particular, when it comes to working out so-called
0:01:40 > 0:01:43natural versus chemical, I haven't got a clue.
0:01:43 > 0:01:48But I reckon that the three items on this week's Wonderstuff shopping list
0:01:48 > 0:01:49should help me find out.
0:01:49 > 0:01:52Yes, I'm out to pull apart three household cleaners
0:01:52 > 0:01:55we often associated with nature.
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Biological washing powder, citrus degreaser,
0:01:59 > 0:02:02and shiny surface cleaner.
0:02:02 > 0:02:05In this quest, I'm going to need some help.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Luckily, I can call on my very own user-friendly scientist,
0:02:08 > 0:02:09Dr Mark Miodownik,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13head of the Materials Research Group at King's College London.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18Later, in a shameless attempt to entice me back to his flat,
0:02:18 > 0:02:22Mark will be cooking up a batch of natural degreaser.
0:02:22 > 0:02:26But before that, my hunt for what nature has to offer
0:02:26 > 0:02:29when it comes to that tiresome burden of household cleaning
0:02:29 > 0:02:33starts with this squirty bottle right here.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43'Don't call me obsessive, but one thing
0:02:43 > 0:02:46'I would personally love to know is
0:02:46 > 0:02:50'whether there's a particular substance out there that can clean without leaving streaks.'
0:02:50 > 0:02:55On those labels that promise a streak-free finish,
0:02:55 > 0:02:58there is an ingredient that I recognise from my childhood -
0:02:58 > 0:03:02ammonium hydroxide, which of course to you and I is good old ammonia.
0:03:02 > 0:03:07So what's an old-fashioned ingredient like that
0:03:07 > 0:03:09still doing in a modern product?
0:03:11 > 0:03:15To find out what's made this age-old substance so useful for so long,
0:03:15 > 0:03:20I'm consulting an age-old font of wisdom - Oxford University.
0:03:22 > 0:03:25Apparently, our ancestors were on to ammonia's unique powers
0:03:25 > 0:03:27thousands of years ago,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29but Professor Alan Chapman tells me
0:03:29 > 0:03:31it took them a long time to extract it,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35which is not surprising when you consider its natural source.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37Deer hooves.
0:03:37 > 0:03:38Oh. Yuck. OK.
0:03:38 > 0:03:42Not the nicest of things to look at.
0:03:42 > 0:03:46Oh, dear, yes, that really is quite unpleasant.
0:03:46 > 0:03:47Plainly from the butcher's.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Eurgh, OK.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53So how did they get ammonia from that?
0:03:53 > 0:03:56Well, of course they would get it from that by the same method
0:03:56 > 0:03:59- they would get it from the animal's horns.- Right.
0:03:59 > 0:04:04And ammonia's early name was "spirit of hartshorn".
0:04:04 > 0:04:10Bearing in mind a deer was a hart, and they had horns.
0:04:10 > 0:04:13So, it's the same, a bit like the nails...
0:04:13 > 0:04:17The hard stuff, like nails, the hard stuff of an animal,
0:04:17 > 0:04:20and virtually all organic things, living beings, contain it.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Our hair, our teeth, our fingernails contain ammonia.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26Now we know what happened to Bambi's mother.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30Yes, absolutely, Bambi's mother, what a terrible shame, that.
0:04:30 > 0:04:34'Alan's macabre recipe for pure ammonium hydroxide
0:04:34 > 0:04:38'starts with ground-up pieces of hoof and horn,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42'throw in some slaked lime, and add water and heat.'
0:04:44 > 0:04:49- We have a drip. There it goes. - It's coming down inside the chamber.
0:04:49 > 0:04:54This is cooler than the main chamber here, so as it is cooler
0:04:54 > 0:04:55it begins to condense.
0:04:55 > 0:05:00As it condenses, you get the drips, that is spirits of hartshorn.
0:05:02 > 0:05:05'Luckily for deer, ammonia is now manufactured
0:05:05 > 0:05:08'on an industrial scale by a different method.'
0:05:08 > 0:05:14Using powerful electric motors by 1900, you could liquefy air
0:05:14 > 0:05:18and then let off at the right pressures individual gases -
0:05:18 > 0:05:20nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide and so on -
0:05:20 > 0:05:24then use them for chemically engineering other substances.
0:05:24 > 0:05:26'Including ammonia.'
0:05:26 > 0:05:29It's funny, because when I'm in my house
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and using all of these amazing products that get things clean,
0:05:32 > 0:05:35I never make that connection with Mother Nature.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Everything is natural in one form or another,
0:05:38 > 0:05:40and what we often call artificial products,
0:05:40 > 0:05:45such as industrial products, are just natural substances that the ingenuity
0:05:45 > 0:05:48of the human race has learnt how to recombine in useful ways.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52'It's fascinating stuff, but there's something about
0:05:52 > 0:05:55'Professor Chapman that's been troubling me.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57'Ooh, I know what it is.'
0:05:57 > 0:06:01I thought you were fantastic in Silence Of The Lambs, by the way.
0:06:01 > 0:06:03Do you get that a lot?
0:06:03 > 0:06:06I'm often mistaken.
0:06:06 > 0:06:08He looks so like Anthony Hopkins.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Ammonia is one serial dirt-killer that leaves no evidence behind,
0:06:14 > 0:06:20but how does my ammonia cleaner simply vanish without a trace?
0:06:20 > 0:06:24Luckily, just a few rooms away is Dr Matthew Lodge,
0:06:24 > 0:06:28another Oxford don with a keen interest in the stuff.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31He thinks the answer is evident in the way ammonia
0:06:31 > 0:06:36was once used by Victorian policeman to revive fainting ladies.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39These are smelling salts, which used to be used as a restorative,
0:06:39 > 0:06:42and if you smell these it'll give you an idea
0:06:42 > 0:06:44of some of the oomph and power of ammonia.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47- This is safe, is it, Matt? - It is totally safe, yes.
0:06:47 > 0:06:50Oh, my God!
0:06:48 > 0:06:50CHOKES
0:06:50 > 0:06:53Yeah, it's certainly got a kick, hasn't it?
0:06:53 > 0:06:54That's revived me.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56It's obviously not a very pleasant smell.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58What am I recognising in that smell?
0:06:58 > 0:07:02Ammonia occurs in the body, for example it's found in urine,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05as urea, and also in sweat.
0:07:05 > 0:07:07OK, that explains why I don't like the smell, then.
0:07:07 > 0:07:13'Matt tells me it's the ammonia gas released from the ammonia salt
0:07:13 > 0:07:17'which irritates the nose and lungs and triggers the breathing reflex.
0:07:17 > 0:07:20'Ammonia comes into its own by simply mixing it with water
0:07:20 > 0:07:25'to produce ammonium hydroxide, and here's the clever part.'
0:07:25 > 0:07:28The brilliant thing about ammonia is, as the water evaporates,
0:07:28 > 0:07:32the ammonia turns back into a gas, and that evaporates as well.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Not leaving any trace behind at all.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40'Making it perfect as a streak-free cleaning agent.'
0:07:40 > 0:07:45On the side here we'll try our cleaning product.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49And this is some normal, everyday hand soap.
0:07:49 > 0:07:51- Watered down, obviously. - Watered down, yeah.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53From a soap dispenser.
0:07:53 > 0:07:54Bubbling up nicely, there.
0:07:54 > 0:07:57So they would certainly get rid of dirt, wouldn't they?
0:07:57 > 0:08:00Indeed, but the big difference will happen
0:08:00 > 0:08:03when the water starts to evaporate from this,
0:08:03 > 0:08:05because what we'll see on this side here,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08with our ammonia-containing cleaning agent,
0:08:08 > 0:08:11is that we start to get evaporation of the solvents,
0:08:11 > 0:08:14and they're not leaving any trace behind at all.
0:08:14 > 0:08:17The water's evaporating, our solvent's evaporating,
0:08:17 > 0:08:22and the ammonia is turning back into a gas, and that's evaporating, too.
0:08:22 > 0:08:25Whereas on this side, as the water starts to evaporate
0:08:25 > 0:08:29from our soap, many of the cleaning agents,
0:08:29 > 0:08:31the hydroxides that are used in this soap
0:08:31 > 0:08:35and all the surfactants will stay behind on the glass,
0:08:35 > 0:08:38and they'll cause the streaky marks.
0:08:39 > 0:08:43So there you go, my first all-natural household cleaning Wonderstuff
0:08:43 > 0:08:46is a simple solution of ammonium hydroxide.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50It may not be in every streak-free cleaner on the shelves nowadays,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53but it's proved its gold-standard ability to put back
0:08:53 > 0:08:57the sparkle to all manner of shiny surfaces.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00You can make your own cheap household cleaner by mixing
0:09:00 > 0:09:05one part wonderstuff ammonium hydroxide to nine parts water.
0:09:05 > 0:09:07If you don't mind the smell, that is.
0:09:07 > 0:09:10I'm still waiting for the luxury Winnebago to materialise,
0:09:10 > 0:09:14but at least my other deal-breaker for doing this programme
0:09:14 > 0:09:16is about to come to fruition,
0:09:16 > 0:09:17and that's learning what it is
0:09:17 > 0:09:21that makes biological washing powder work.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23You may have gathered by now I'm no Stepford Wife,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28but I have to say, I do really rely on what's in this little box.
0:09:28 > 0:09:32I also want to know, what's the difference between bio and non-bio?
0:09:32 > 0:09:35And is it the word "biological" in this context
0:09:35 > 0:09:38that holds the key to the magic ingredient?
0:09:38 > 0:09:42Questions, questions. Time for some answers.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50We spend thousands of pounds on clothes in our lifetime,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54yet we trust what's in this box, costing just a few quid,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56to keep them pristine.
0:09:56 > 0:10:00Exactly how this works has always been a bit of a mystery to me,
0:10:00 > 0:10:02but now I'm going to find out.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'There are few who know more about the inside of a box
0:10:06 > 0:10:09'of washing powder than chemist John Pickup.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13'He's been studying cleaning methods for nearly 30 years.'
0:10:13 > 0:10:17Great, a man's come to do my washing, that's what I like.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20I've got a pile of clothes I've gathered for you here.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24'Unfortunately for me, it's back to basics,
0:10:24 > 0:10:26'and I'm doing the hard work.'
0:10:26 > 0:10:29I would suggest we're better off doing this outside.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32And we'll need lots and lots of hot water.
0:10:32 > 0:10:35Oh, sounds like childbirth! Right, I'll get going.
0:10:35 > 0:10:40'Yes, John wants me to see for myself how dirty clothes come clean,
0:10:40 > 0:10:46'and that means giving me hands-on experience of what laundry day was like before washing powder.
0:10:46 > 0:10:50'First, you need energy to loosen stains from fabric.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54'You can bash your clothes against a rock,
0:10:54 > 0:10:58'but really hot water is an easier way to provide energy to your wash.'
0:10:58 > 0:11:01Phew! Bit of a facial steamer, I'll go and get the other one.
0:11:02 > 0:11:08'Back then, the hotter the water, the greater the energy, the cleaner the clothes.'
0:11:13 > 0:11:16I have to say, I'm exhausted already.
0:11:16 > 0:11:19'Then they cottoned on that the addition of a basic soap would also help.'
0:11:19 > 0:11:23This is like working in an Italian restaurant with Parmesan.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25'And for really dirty laundry,
0:11:25 > 0:11:28'you COULD turn to a rather unusual stain remover.'
0:11:28 > 0:11:30In America in the 19th century,
0:11:30 > 0:11:34they commonly used the pee from the pot under the bed, suitably stale,
0:11:34 > 0:11:38and that used to start the process of getting the stains out.
0:11:38 > 0:11:40Very hygienic.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44'They used wee because it contains our old friend ammonia,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46'that fabulous natural stain remover.
0:11:46 > 0:11:50'Without a washing machine, you had to get a lather up manually.
0:11:50 > 0:11:53'If you were lucky, you owned a posser,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56'which looks like it was nicked from a Dalek's face.'
0:12:00 > 0:12:03They knew what hard work was, didn't they, in those days?
0:12:03 > 0:12:07'That's it - I'm done with the nostalgia trip.
0:12:07 > 0:12:10'Washday without my mod cons is a nightmare.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13'So, what happened in the evolution of washing powder
0:12:13 > 0:12:17'that meant we no longer had to expend so much energy?
0:12:17 > 0:12:21'What's in my biological powder that does the job
0:12:21 > 0:12:24'without needing boiling water?
0:12:24 > 0:12:29'John's brought along 20-odd different ingredients to show me.'
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Blimey, it looks like an apothecary.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35The old-style solid soap is gone, but there's still soap in there,
0:12:35 > 0:12:39masquerading under the name surfactants, plus bleaching agents.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42But what's this? Optical brighteners? Sounds clever.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46This is the optical brightening agent.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49What this does is absorb visible light
0:12:49 > 0:12:52and reflect out more blue light than started off.
0:12:52 > 0:12:55So it's not actually making the clothes whiter,
0:12:55 > 0:12:57it's just giving the illusion they're whiter?
0:12:57 > 0:12:59It is making them appear whiter.
0:12:59 > 0:13:05Modern biological powder is clearly crammed full of clever chemistry
0:13:05 > 0:13:08to tackle different aspect of the dirt that ends up
0:13:08 > 0:13:09on clothes and linen.
0:13:10 > 0:13:13And what about those blue speckles?
0:13:13 > 0:13:15I bet they're doing something pretty special.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17What do they do?
0:13:17 > 0:13:19- To make it look nice, really. - Is that it?- Yes.
0:13:20 > 0:13:25That's a real surprise. So where's the Wonderstuff, then?
0:13:25 > 0:13:29Well, John reckons he saved the best till last.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34Actually, this is the magic ingredient.
0:13:34 > 0:13:38It's the specific ingredient for biological powder,
0:13:38 > 0:13:40and that is a range of enzymes.
0:13:40 > 0:13:45It's why you get boil-wash results at low temperatures.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49So this is what I need to go and find out more about, then?
0:13:49 > 0:13:50Absolutely.
0:13:50 > 0:13:52I have heard of enzymes,
0:13:52 > 0:13:55but they're a long way off being my specialist subject on Mastermind.
0:13:55 > 0:13:58John assures me they're the crucial difference between
0:13:58 > 0:14:01biological and non-biological washing powder.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03To find out more,
0:14:03 > 0:14:06I've set up a rendezvous in the historic city of Bath.
0:14:06 > 0:14:12I've come to see top enzymologist Michael Danson.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15Apart from being an excellent word to play at Scrabble,
0:14:15 > 0:14:19I'm not really sure about what enzymology is, exactly,
0:14:19 > 0:14:21or what it entails.
0:14:21 > 0:14:22So I've got to come here,
0:14:22 > 0:14:26but he's asked to meet me at the Roman baths for some reason.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28I've read about men like him.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35People bathed in the murky hot springs here for 2,000 years,
0:14:35 > 0:14:39but quite what that's got to do with my potential Wonderstuff, I don't know.
0:14:41 > 0:14:42So what are we doing here?
0:14:42 > 0:14:45Because I was expecting to be in a hi-tech lab, if I'm honest.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49We've brought you here because these hot springs,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52like the ones here in Bath, are absolutely ideal places
0:14:52 > 0:14:56from which we can obtain enzymes for your washing powders.
0:14:56 > 0:15:00So something in there is linked to my washing powder?
0:15:00 > 0:15:02I don't get that.
0:15:02 > 0:15:06This to me looks murky and a bit grubby.
0:15:06 > 0:15:09So in here we have enzymes?
0:15:09 > 0:15:12In here you will have literally millions of organisms,
0:15:12 > 0:15:17millions of bacteria growing, and it's those bacteria
0:15:17 > 0:15:22which contain the enzymes which you use for your washing powders.
0:15:22 > 0:15:26They're actually secreting enzymes to digest the nutrient
0:15:26 > 0:15:29which is in the water. Exactly the same as we secrete enzymes
0:15:29 > 0:15:33into our stomachs to digest our food,
0:15:33 > 0:15:37those enzymes will do exactly the same on your clothes or our clothes
0:15:37 > 0:15:39when we put them in the washing machine.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43'So, bacteria living in warm water, like at a natural spring,
0:15:43 > 0:15:46'can be especially useful to harvest enzymes from.
0:15:46 > 0:15:49'Mike is keen to show me why.'
0:15:49 > 0:15:51So, here is a bacterium...
0:15:51 > 0:15:52It looks like a cactus.
0:15:52 > 0:15:56..which we isolated from one of the hot springs in New Zealand,
0:15:56 > 0:16:00and what I'm doing is actually growing this organism on a plate
0:16:00 > 0:16:05which is infused with milk protein, so there's milk in the plate.
0:16:05 > 0:16:08These areas here which are cloudy, that's the milk,
0:16:08 > 0:16:11but all round the bacterium you have a halo.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13That's incredible.
0:16:13 > 0:16:15That halo is because what the organism is doing
0:16:15 > 0:16:19is producing a protease, that protease digests
0:16:19 > 0:16:23the protein in the milk and then takes it in for food.
0:16:23 > 0:16:24'There it is.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28'Visible proof that these bacteria make a natural substance
0:16:28 > 0:16:31'that actually dissolves milk.'
0:16:31 > 0:16:32'Amazing.'
0:16:33 > 0:16:37'Once identified, these enzymes can be produced on an industrial scale
0:16:37 > 0:16:42'and used in millions of boxes of biological washing powder.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45'Like those made at my next stop - McBride's in Bradford,
0:16:45 > 0:16:49'where they supply own-brand washing powder to supermarkets.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52'Head of laundry development Dr Jim Gordon
0:16:52 > 0:16:55'has invited me to see enzymes in action.'
0:16:55 > 0:16:58Oh my goodness, it's Elton John's utility room.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01- How many machines have you got in here?- We have 25 machines.
0:17:01 > 0:17:06'Turns out there are three basic types of laundry stain.
0:17:06 > 0:17:09'Number one is oily, so any type of grease.
0:17:09 > 0:17:13'Number two is what they call an oxidisable stain -
0:17:13 > 0:17:15'things like tea, coffee and fruit juice.
0:17:15 > 0:17:19'And number three is a stain that needs a specific enzyme
0:17:19 > 0:17:20'to break it down.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24'These enzymatic stains include food, blood and grass -
0:17:24 > 0:17:27'the ones that basic soap can't shift on its own.'
0:17:29 > 0:17:33'Jim's going to show me how a protein-eating enzyme works
0:17:33 > 0:17:35'on a super-tough bloodstain.'
0:17:36 > 0:17:39This protease, we hope, is going to get rid of the blood,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42- because of the protein element. - Yes.
0:17:42 > 0:17:44'But it'll have to do this in lukewarm 30'degree water,
0:17:44 > 0:17:47'without any soap to help, either.
0:17:47 > 0:17:51'He's going to compare this to another mini wash tub
0:17:51 > 0:17:52'without this enzyme.'
0:17:52 > 0:17:54Do you do the washing at home, Jim?
0:17:54 > 0:17:55Absolutely. Modern man.
0:17:55 > 0:17:57This is so good, isn't it?
0:17:57 > 0:17:59A man that can work a washing machine.
0:17:59 > 0:18:02'Five minutes into our mini-wash cycles,
0:18:02 > 0:18:05'how is the bloodstain faring without the enzyme?'
0:18:05 > 0:18:10Right. So that hasn't tackled blood whatsoever.
0:18:10 > 0:18:12'As expected, pretty rubbish.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16'But what about the bloodstain with the enzyme to digest it?'
0:18:16 > 0:18:18Oh, my God, look!
0:18:18 > 0:18:21That's almost gone completely, now.
0:18:21 > 0:18:23Hold those up for me. Look at that.
0:18:23 > 0:18:24'Mightily impressive.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28'So, getting rid of food stains is clearly much more effective
0:18:28 > 0:18:30'with our Wonderstuff enzymes.
0:18:30 > 0:18:35'20 years ago, we would have thought cleaning our clothes effectively
0:18:35 > 0:18:39'at 30 degrees was bonkers, but now the hunt is on
0:18:39 > 0:18:44'for suitable bacteria living in much colder climates.'
0:18:44 > 0:18:47The future will be even lower wash temperatures
0:18:47 > 0:18:50than we have currently, and for that enzymes will play a key role
0:18:50 > 0:18:52in us being able to achieve those targets.
0:18:52 > 0:18:56So you're looking for an enzyme that's going to work
0:18:56 > 0:18:57in very cold temperatures.
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Ideally. I mean, we're at 30 degrees now,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02we'll try and get down to cold-water washing.
0:19:02 > 0:19:06'Cold-water washing would certainly be a major leap forward
0:19:06 > 0:19:09'since the day of our granny's boil wash.'
0:19:09 > 0:19:14To me, this place really drives home the unique irony of washing powder -
0:19:14 > 0:19:19here you've got 21st-century manufacturing in all its glory,
0:19:19 > 0:19:23with automated robots packing up the most effective
0:19:23 > 0:19:27laundry-cleaning ingredient that we've ever seen.
0:19:27 > 0:19:32And yet that ingredient comes from minute living organisms
0:19:32 > 0:19:34that were on this planet long before you and I arrived,
0:19:34 > 0:19:39and will probably be here long after we've gone.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43'A single enzyme can speed up a staggering ten million
0:19:43 > 0:19:45'chemical reactions every second,
0:19:45 > 0:19:52'so just a tiny amount of it will break up a heck of a lot of stains.
0:19:52 > 0:19:54'Now that's what I call a Wonderstuff.'
0:20:00 > 0:20:02'What I have learned so far about the things inside
0:20:02 > 0:20:05'the powders and sprays in my kitchen cupboard
0:20:05 > 0:20:09'has really been food for thought. I'm beginning to realise
0:20:09 > 0:20:12'that natural ingredients can be pretty powerful.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15'Which is just as well because the final household dirt-buster
0:20:15 > 0:20:19'on my Wonderstuff shopping list has a tough job on its hands.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22'Tackling everyday grease.'
0:20:22 > 0:20:26When I'm cruising the supermarket aisles, I often see bottles with
0:20:26 > 0:20:31the rather fruity and intriguing description of "citrus degreaser".
0:20:31 > 0:20:33What I want to know is,
0:20:33 > 0:20:36is it the citrus that is doing the heavy lifting?
0:20:36 > 0:20:38My materials scientist Mark Miodownik
0:20:38 > 0:20:42reckons he has got the recipe for cooking up an answer.
0:20:47 > 0:20:52'So I've been summoned to New Covent Garden fruit and veg market
0:20:52 > 0:20:55'at six in the morning.'
0:20:57 > 0:21:02I knew there was a reason I never became a milkman. God, it's early.
0:21:02 > 0:21:07Ohh! OK, Mark, it's stupid o'-clock.
0:21:07 > 0:21:09I've not even had a whiff of a bacon butty -
0:21:09 > 0:21:10this had better be good.
0:21:10 > 0:21:12- Catch!- Oh!
0:21:12 > 0:21:15- An orange.- Yeah.
0:21:15 > 0:21:18It turns out that you can get one of the best degreasers on the planet
0:21:18 > 0:21:20from the rind of an orange.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23- Really! Just from the peel? - Yes, just from the peel.
0:21:23 > 0:21:28The fantastic thing is there's huge amounts of oranges used in making orange juice around the world.
0:21:28 > 0:21:32Everyone has it for breakfast. What happens to the peel? It gets made into this stuff.
0:21:32 > 0:21:33It's called limonene.
0:21:33 > 0:21:37I knew when you called me here you were taking the "pith".
0:21:37 > 0:21:41Orange peel on its own won't really shift much grease. The key
0:21:41 > 0:21:44is to distil out the grease-busting limonene -
0:21:44 > 0:21:48D-limonene, to be precise - that's trapped in the peel.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52To do this Mark uses a chemist's condenser.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55The recipe is quite simple. Peel the hard rind of some oranges,
0:21:55 > 0:21:59remove the pith and liquidise with a little water.
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Then, heat the mixture up to just below boiling.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05But what can be so special about this
0:22:05 > 0:22:09when it's just a by-product of making orange juice?
0:22:09 > 0:22:13Limonene is what's called a hydrocarbon,
0:22:13 > 0:22:17so the kind of places you would have met that kind of thing before is petrol and diesel.
0:22:17 > 0:22:22You go to the diesel pump and you get a bit of oily, colourless liquid on you.
0:22:22 > 0:22:25That is very similar to limonene in its feel.
0:22:25 > 0:22:27In fact, limonene is also a biofuel.
0:22:27 > 0:22:30So you could use it in your engine if you retuned it
0:22:30 > 0:22:34and people have been talking about using it as a biofuel in general.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36So it's that kind of class of thing.
0:22:36 > 0:22:39Its claim to fame - the thing it really is brilliant at -
0:22:39 > 0:22:41is sucking up other fats.
0:22:41 > 0:22:43They love it to be dissolved in it. They absolutely love it.
0:22:43 > 0:22:46So, although you could use it for loads of other things,
0:22:46 > 0:22:49this turns out to be the thing it's really brilliant at.
0:22:49 > 0:22:51So from a source we're perfectly happy to eat,
0:22:51 > 0:22:56we get this extraordinary chemical.
0:22:56 > 0:22:58Mark's extracting it using the same process
0:22:58 > 0:23:03that we used to make ammonia. The steam condenses when it goes into the cold glass tube
0:23:03 > 0:23:07and drips down into a mixture of pure limonene oil and pure water.
0:23:07 > 0:23:12- Here come the drips.- That is the first one! That's it!- Plop!
0:23:12 > 0:23:16We can see the layer of limonene oil on the top, floating.
0:23:16 > 0:23:19- About two millimetres. - Yeah. That's it.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21If I unclip this...
0:23:21 > 0:23:26- Now...- Is it hot?- No.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Smell that. That's the first clue we've got limonene.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32Oh, yeah! Wow!
0:23:32 > 0:23:38It's very evocative of that early morning freshly squeezed orange juice.
0:23:38 > 0:23:44- But there is something else about it.- That kind of rindy, high note...
0:23:44 > 0:23:48This is how you make essential oils for perfume as well.
0:23:48 > 0:23:51I can definitely see the layer there.
0:23:51 > 0:23:56- How do I know that this will degrease?- We have two choices.
0:23:56 > 0:24:00We either do chemical analysis, or we go and have a fry-up.
0:24:00 > 0:24:03- And we try and clean the dishes. - You're talking my language.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06A fry-up, come on then.
0:24:06 > 0:24:08If my husband is watching, I would like to point out,
0:24:08 > 0:24:12I'm having breakfast with another man in the interests of science.
0:24:18 > 0:24:22As Mark creates a nice greasy feast to test our limonene on,
0:24:22 > 0:24:26I get my first chance to look around a scientist's flat.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30"Home-made Contemporary Russian Folk Artefacts."
0:24:30 > 0:24:35Do you want to come and look at my Russian artefacts? Good grief.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39Table by the window - doesn't get much better than this.
0:24:39 > 0:24:40Right.
0:24:40 > 0:24:44'This could possibly be the first time that bacon, eggs
0:24:44 > 0:24:47'and orange juice have been used as tools of scientific research.'
0:24:47 > 0:24:50Fantastic. My personal chef.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54'It's time to test our precious few drops of pure limonene.
0:24:54 > 0:24:59'Will this innocuous-looking substance justify its reputation
0:24:59 > 0:25:01'as a Wonderstuff?'
0:25:01 > 0:25:05Put it on the plate. You can see it.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08You can see the oil and a bit water there.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12- Hah!- Look at that! - That is actually quite impressive.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14God, that is really impressive.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17You're surprised, aren't you?
0:25:17 > 0:25:21It is not that I have a reputation for demos not quite going to plan, but this is nice.
0:25:21 > 0:25:23Look at that! That's pretty good.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28'What are these tiny drops of limonene actually doing to the grease on my plate?'
0:25:28 > 0:25:30It's like a sort of liquid sponge.
0:25:30 > 0:25:32This is one of the best hydrocarbon solvents.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36- It has a Kb value of 67. - What's a Kb value?
0:25:36 > 0:25:39If you have a high Kb value you're an excellent solvent for hydrocarbons.
0:25:39 > 0:25:42The top is toluene, 105. Limonene is 67,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46which is really pretty good if you consider that white spirits,
0:25:46 > 0:25:51which is something we consider as being absolutely brilliant on paint, even, is 37.
0:25:51 > 0:25:56It just so happens that limonene really attracts lots of oil.
0:25:56 > 0:26:01The oil on the plate is sticking to the plate and likes being on the plate,
0:26:01 > 0:26:03but when it comes in contact with limonene,
0:26:03 > 0:26:06it thinks "I would much rather be swimming around in limonene!"
0:26:06 > 0:26:09It has a much greater affinity with the molecules
0:26:09 > 0:26:12and so it quickly skedaddles into any drop of limonene.
0:26:12 > 0:26:14But it still retains its liquid nature.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16If you have a sponge or something,
0:26:16 > 0:26:19you can just wipe it off and down the drain it goes.
0:26:21 > 0:26:24Who'd have thought that something as simple as orange rind
0:26:24 > 0:26:30could give us a user-friendly cleaning agent that tackles the worst grease we can throw at it?
0:26:30 > 0:26:32To me it trounces the competition
0:26:32 > 0:26:36because it comes from a completely renewable waste product
0:26:36 > 0:26:39that literally grows on trees.
0:26:39 > 0:26:44Best of all, it has the delicious smell of oranges.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49Limonene can also be extracted from lemons, as the name suggests.
0:26:49 > 0:26:53It cleans up everything from chain oil to good old lard.
0:26:53 > 0:26:58It also turns up in cosmetics, food flavouring and glue.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Some research even suggests that limonene
0:27:00 > 0:27:04could turn out to be a possible treatment for cancer.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07Now that really would be extraordinary stuff.
0:27:07 > 0:27:09Now, when I started this programme,
0:27:09 > 0:27:11I'll be honest, I didn't think
0:27:11 > 0:27:15that the words "natural" and "chemical" sit in the same sentence,
0:27:15 > 0:27:18particularly when it comes to household cleaning products.
0:27:18 > 0:27:20But now I know they can.
0:27:20 > 0:27:26The same stuff our ancestors extracted from deer antlers
0:27:26 > 0:27:27is still going strong today.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30They are just not leaving any trace behind at all.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33The breakthrough of getting clean clothes
0:27:33 > 0:27:36AND low temperature is down to natural enzymes made by
0:27:36 > 0:27:41bacteria that thrive in the world's most inhospitable places.
0:27:41 > 0:27:44Oh my God, look! It's almost gone completely now.
0:27:44 > 0:27:50It just goes to show that nature really is the original mother of invention.
0:27:50 > 0:27:54Who knows what other miraculous natural substances are out there
0:27:54 > 0:27:59just waiting to make our modern lives that bit easier?
0:27:59 > 0:28:03'Next time, I lift the lid on our household life-savers.'
0:28:03 > 0:28:06- Oh!- That is your problem.- Oh, yeah!
0:28:06 > 0:28:11'I discover some crafty chemicals that clear the nasty blockages others can't reach.'
0:28:11 > 0:28:14Here we go, we have lift-off. Yeuch!
0:28:14 > 0:28:17'Mark attempts to win me over...'
0:28:17 > 0:28:19Plastic!
0:28:19 > 0:28:22'...by generating electricity between us.'
0:28:22 > 0:28:24Is it going to explode?
0:28:24 > 0:28:28'And I endure freezing temperatures to find the remarkable bug
0:28:28 > 0:28:32'whose blood could stop your car exploding.'
0:28:32 > 0:28:34That is absolutely astonishing.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:28:51 > 0:28:54E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk