a microbicidal disinfecting composition may include an antimicrobial agent and an acidifying agent . the acidifying agent may include at least one of an alkali metal bisulfate or ammonium bisulfate and may be present in an amount effective to provide the microbicidal disinfecting composition with an acidity conducive to the desired microbicidal activity of the antimicrobial agent . the ph value of the microbicidal disinfecting composition may range from very low up to 7 . 0 depending on the current state of the composition or its intended use ( highly concentrated for shipping / storage , less concentrated for end - use application , etc .). the amount of the acidifying agent needed to achieve this ph value target can vary quit considerably and may range from about 0 . 1 wt . % to about 99 . 90 wt . %. the microbicidal disinfecting composition may also include , if desired , at least one of a fungicidal agent , a preservative , a flavoring agent , a coloring agent , a freeze - thaw modifying agent , or a sequestering agent . the alkali metal bisulfate and / or ammonium bisulfate may , at low concentrations , provide the microbicidal disinfecting composition with the acidity needed to support the effectiveness of the antimicrobial agent . the presence of hard water in the microbicidal disinfecting composition or the later addition of hard water will not promote turbidity or precipitate formation . the use of an alkali metal bisulfate and / or ammonium bisulfate generally contributes to the formation of a clear solution when the microbicidal disinfecting composition is in a liquid aqueous state . the low concentration effacacy of these bisulfates and their hard water tolerance can simplify , and reduce the costs associated with , the preparation of the microbicidal disinfecting composition as compared to other similar compositions that use mineral acids and / or organic acids as the primary acidifying agent . a method of preparing the microbicidal disinfecting composition may include adding the acidifying agent to a liquid medium that includes an antimicrobial agent . the acidifying agent may be added in an amount effective to considerably lower the ph value of the liquid medium to form an acidic concentrate . the acidic concentrate of the microbicidal disinfecting composition may then be shipped or stored , either in liquid or powder form . the fact that additional chemicals do not have to be included in the acidic concentrate to prevent turbidity or precipitation when the microbicidal disinfecting composition is exposed to hard water increases the extent to which the antimicrobial agent may be concentrated . then , at some later time , the acidic concentrate may be diluted with water to form some intermediate microbial disinfecting composition or an end - use microbicidal disinfecting composition . the alkali metal bisulfate may be sodium bisulfate , potassium bisulfate , or a combination of sodium bisulfate and potassium bisulfate . each of these alkali metal bisulfates as well as ammonium bisulfate is available in food grade and technical grade . the selection of which grade to select for use in preparing the microbicidal disinfecting composition depends on the particular use for which the composition is intended , as understood by skilled artisans . the antimicrobial agent may be an anionic surfactant , a cationic surfactant , a nonionic surfactant , or any other material that exhibits microbicidal activity in acidic conditions . the antimicrobial agent may be present in an amount ranging from about 0 . 0001 wt . % to about 50 wt . %. an anionic surfactant that may be employed as the antimicrobial agent may comprise a c4 - c18 acid or salt compound selected from the group consisting of : ( 1 ) an alkyl - carboxylate , isethionate , sulfate , sulfonate , sulfoacetate , sulfosuccinate , lactate , lactylate , phosphate , phosphonate , or mixtures thereof ; ( 2 ) an alkenyl - carboxylate , isethionate , sulfate , sulfonate , sulfoacetate , sulfosuccinate , lactate , lactylate , phosphate , phosphonate , or mixtures thereof ; ( 3 ) an alkylbenzene - carboxylate , isethionate , sulfate , sulfonate , sulfoacetate , sulfosuccinate , lactate , lactylate , phosphate , phosphonate , or mixtures thereof ; or ( 4 ) a naphthalene - carboxylate , isethionate , sulfate , sulfonate , sulfoacetate , sulfosuccinate , lactate , lactylate , phosphate , phosphonate , or mixtures thereof . a more specific class of anionic surfactants that may be used include a free acid or a salt of ( 1 ) a c6 - c18 alkyl sulfate , ( 2 ) a c6 - c18 alkenyl sulfate , ( 3 ) a c6 - c18 alkyl ether sulfate , ( 4 ) a c6 - c18 alkenyl ether sulfate , ( 5 ) a c8 - c16 alkyl diphenyl ether disulfonate , ( 6 ) a c4 - c18 fatty acid isethionate , ( 7 ) a c6 - c18 alkyl sulfonate , ( 8 ) a c6 - c18 alkenyl sulfonate , ( 9 ) a dialkyl sulfosuccinate in which the alkyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 10 ) a dialkenyl sulfosuccinate in which the alkenyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 11 ) a c6 - c18 alkylbenzene sulfonate , ( 12 ) a naphthalene sulfonate , ( 13 ) an alkyl naphthalene sulfonate in which the alkyl group independently contains from 1 to 6 carbon atoms , ( 14 ) a mono ( n - alkyl ) acyl ester of a c2 - c4 hydroxylated monocarboxylic acid in which the alkyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 15 ) a mono ( n - alkenyl ) acyl ester of a c2 - c4 hydroxylated monocarboxylic acid in which the alkyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 16 ) a mono ( n - alkyl ) acyl ester of a c2 - c4 hydroxylated dicarboxylic acid in which the alkyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 17 ) a mono ( n - alkenyl ) acyl ester of a c2 - c4 hydroxylated dicarboxylic acid in which the alkenyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 18 ) a mono ( n - alkyl ) alkyl ester of a c2 - c4 dicarboxylic acid in which the alkyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , ( 19 ) a mono ( n - alkenyl ) alkyl ester of a c2 - c4 dicarboxylic acid in which the alkenyl group independently contains from 6 to 18 carbon atoms , and ( 20 ) a c4 - c18 fatty alcohol sulfoacetate . some preferred exemplary anionic surfactants that may be used as the antimicrobial agent include at least one of a sulfated alkyl ester , a sulfated aryl ester , a sulfonated alkyl ester , or a sulfonated aryl ester . some specific examples of such anionic surfactants are sodium dodecyl sulfate , sodium dioctyl sulfosuccinate , sodium decyl lactylate , and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate . a cationic surfactant that may be employed as the antimicrobial agent may comprise , for example , a quaternary ammonium compound . other cationic and nonionic surfactants known to skilled artisans may also be used as the antimicrobial agent . the fungicidal agent may be any material that exhibits fungicidal activity such as copper salts and zinc salts . some specific fungicidal agents that may be included in the microbicidal disinfecting composition include copper sulfate , cupric sulfate , and zinc sulfate . these metal salts can provide the microbicidal disinfecting composition with antifungal and algicidal characteristics in the presence of the acidifying agent . the fungicidal agent may be present in an amount ranging up to about 10 wt . %. the preservative , flavoring agent , coloring agent , freeze - thaw modifying agent , and sequestering agent may be any material known to skilled artisans . the preservative may , for example , be a free acid , salt , or ester form of at least one of benzoic acid , sorbic acid , ascorbic acid , or erythorbic acid . the flavoring agent may be any known agent that imparts a specific flavor ( meat flavor , seafood flavor , fruity flavor , herbal flavor , etc .). these materials are generally commercially available . the coloring agent may be any coloring agent suitable for the intended use of the microbicidal disinfecting composition . the freeze - thaw agent may be any known organic or inorganic material that can be used to increase or decrease the freezing point of the microbicidal disinfecting composition . some specific examples of freeze - thaw agents include an alcohol , an inorganic salt , and urea . the sequestering agent may be any material that binds to metal or toxic compounds . specific examples of suitable sequestering agents include , for example , sodium acid pyrophosphate , citric acid , isopropyl citrate , and calcium diacetate . each of the preservative , flavoring agent , coloring agent , freeze - thaw modifying agent , and sequestering agent may be included in the microbicidal disinfecting composition in an amount that independently ranges from about 0 . 0001 wt . % to about 10 wt . %. the examples in table 1 detail the preparation of several exemplary microbicidal disinfecting compositions . an anionic surfactant was used as the antimicrobial agent and sodium bisulfate was used as the acidifying agent . the compositions were diluted with water for determining their microbicidal efficacy . the microbicidal efficacy of the microbicidal disinfecting compositions of examples 1 - 3 ( compositions a - c ) were evaluated with 50 ppm of hypochlorite as a control against staphylococcus aureus and escherichia coli by the modified detergent and germicidal sanitizer test of the a . o . a . c . ( lopes , 1986 ). the results are shown in table 1 . the microbicidal efficacy of the microbicidal disinfecting composition of example 1 ( composition a ) was further tested and proven effective against salmonella on contaminated tomatoes . when salmonella - contaminated tomatoes were treated with 0 . 1 % solution of composition a , the viable bacterial population was reduced by 2 . 31 log 10 cfu as compared with 2 . 11 og 10 cfu with 150 ppm of hypochlorite .
a microbicidal disinfecting composition and a method of preparing the same include the use of an acidifying agent that comprises at least one of an alkali metal bisulfate , ammonium bisulfate , or a combination thereof . the composition has broad - spectrum microbicidal properties and does not demonstrate cloudiness or precipitation when prepared , diluted , or otherwise exposed to hard water .