Key takeaways
- Arsenal One Super Shine-All: Neutral pH all-purpose cleaner for daily damp mopping and general surfaces.
- Arsenal One QT-Plus and Suprox-D: Disinfectants. Suprox-D is a hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectant cleaner (EPA Reg. No. 1658-3) that kills TB, norovirus, and SARS-CoV-2 with a 5-minute contact time at 2 oz per gallon on hard surfaces.
- Arsenal One Glass Cleaner: Ammonia-free, streak-free formula for windows and mirrors.
- Arsenal One Restroom Cleaner / Non-Acid Bowl Cleaner: Daily restroom maintenance without harsh acids.
Hillyard cleaning supplies are worth buying for business and institutional use where super-concentrates and dilution control systems save significant money, while for typical home use only their ready-to-use disinfectants and all-purpose cleaners make sense due to minimum order sizes and storage requirements.
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How Hillyard Sells Cleaning Chemicals Differently
Hillyard, Inc. is not a retail consumer brand like Clorox or Lysol. Founded in 1907 in St. Joseph, Missouri, the company sells primarily to schools, healthcare facilities, office buildings, and building service contractors through direct sales reps and authorized distributors. That distribution model explains why you will not find most Hillyard products on retail shelves.
The core of the catalog is super-concentrated chemicals designed to be diluted on-site, often paired with the Hillyard Arsenal One dispensing system. A single small cartridge or 2.5-liter container can produce dozens of gallons of ready-to-use solution. This reduces shipping weight, plastic waste, and storage space for high-volume users, but it is overkill if you only need a spray bottle for a kitchen and bathroom.
For home buyers, Hillyard does offer some ready-to-use (RTU) quarts and gallon jugs that can be purchased through distributors without a dispenser. These are the most practical entry point if you want to try the brand without investing in dilution equipment.
Hillyard Product Lines Broken Down by Use Case
1. Arsenal One Super Concentrates: For High-Volume Professional Cleaning
Arsenal One is Hillyard’s color-coded, closed-loop dispensing program. Chemicals come in small, sealed cartridges that only dispense through a wall-mounted unit, which prevents staff from mixing incorrectly and reduces chemical exposure. The system includes over 20 formulations covering every task.
Key products in this line include:
- Arsenal One Super Shine-All: Neutral pH all-purpose cleaner for daily damp mopping and general surfaces.
- Arsenal One QT-Plus and Suprox-D: Disinfectants. Suprox-D is a hydrogen peroxide-based disinfectant cleaner (EPA Reg. No. 1658-3) that kills TB, norovirus, and SARS-CoV-2 with a 5-minute contact time at 2 oz per gallon on hard surfaces.
- Arsenal One Glass Cleaner: Ammonia-free, streak-free formula for windows and mirrors.
- Arsenal One Restroom Cleaner / Non-Acid Bowl Cleaner: Daily restroom maintenance without harsh acids.
Best for: Schools, gyms, medical offices, and janitorial companies cleaning more than 5,000 sq ft daily. Not ideal for homes because you need the dispenser, and a single cartridge will last a household months to years and may expire before use.
2. Bulk Concentrates and Traditional Gallons: For Small Businesses Without a Dispenser
If you run a small restaurant, auto shop, or vacation rental and do not want a wall-mounted dispenser, Hillyard sells the same professional chemistry in standard gallon bottles and 2.5-liter cases for manual dilution with a pump or measuring cap.
- Hillyard Lemon Drop and Top Clean: High-foam neutral detergents for mopping. Lemon scent, pH 7-8.
- Hillyard Super Shine-All (gallon version): Same formula as Arsenal but for manual dilution.
- Hillyard Green Select Degreaser: DfE-certified degreaser for kitchens, pH around 11.5 concentrate, effective on food soils.
- Hillyard Q.T. 3.5 Disinfectant: Quaternary disinfectant that disinfects at 2 oz per gallon in 10 minutes and functions as a deodorizer and sanitizer at lighter dilutions.
Best for: Small businesses that want professional cost-per-gallon economics but prefer to mix by hand. Requires a clean, labeled spray bottle, measuring device, and storage away from children and pets.
3. Ready-to-Use and Floor Care: The Only Lines That Make Sense for Most Homes
For home use, focus on these:
- Hillyard Suprox-D RTU and QT-Plus RTU: Pre-diluted disinfectant cleaners in quart spray bottles. No mixing needed.
- Hillyard CleanScents Daily Cleaners: RTU bathroom and glass cleaners.
- Floor finishes and strippers (Hillyard Explorer, Top Floor, Star Shine): Only relevant if you maintain large areas of VCT tile, hardwood gym floors, or terrazzo. A homeowner with vinyl plank or hardwood should not buy commercial floor finish; it requires stripping and recoating machines.
Unless you are maintaining a home gym, large shop floor, or rental property portfolio, skip the floor care chemistry entirely.
Concentration and Dilution Value: Worked Cost Per Gallon
The main reason facilities choose Hillyard is cost per diluted gallon. Super concentrates look expensive until you calculate yield. This table compares actual Hillyard dilution rates as listed on 2026 product technical data sheets.
| Product (Concentrate Size) | Dilution for Daily Cleaning | Yield from One Container | Diluted pH / Chemistry | Ideal Dilution Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenal One Super Shine-All (1.06 qt / 1L cartridge) | 0.5 oz per gallon | ~64 gallons RTU | pH 7.0 neutral, no rinse | Arsenal One dispenser |
| Arsenal One Glass Cleaner (1.06 qt cartridge) | 0.5 oz per gallon | ~64 gallons RTU | pH 8.5 ammonia-free | Arsenal One dispenser |
| Suprox-D Concentrate (2.5L / 84.5 oz) | 2 oz per gallon for disinfection, 0.5 oz for glass/daily | ~42 gallons at disinfectant strength | pH 4.5 hydrogen peroxide (5.8% active) | Manual pump or dispenser |
| Q.T. 3.5 (1 gallon concentrate) | 2 oz per gallon for disinfection | 64 gallons at disinfectant strength | pH 11.8 quat, 3.5% active quat | Manual measure |
| Green Select Degreaser (2.5L) | 2-10 oz per gallon depending on soil | 12 to 42 gallons | pH 11.5 alkaline (concentrate) | Manual measure |
Worked example: A 1-gallon jug of Q.T. 3.5 typically retails in the general market range of $30 to $50 per gallon through distribution. At 2 oz per gallon, that one gallon makes 64 gallons of disinfectant. That equals roughly $0.47 to $0.78 per diluted gallon. Compare that to a retail RTU disinfectant quart in the $4 to $7 range, which equals $16 to $28 per gallon. For a janitorial crew using 4 gallons per day, the concentrate saves over $60 per day in chemical cost alone, before accounting for reduced plastic and storage.
For a homeowner using perhaps 1 gallon of spray cleaner per month, that same 64-gallon yield would take over five years to consume. The concentrate would likely expire and the savings would never be realized. That is why RTU is cheaper in practice for low-volume users.
Decision Matrix: Which Hillyard Path Fits Your Situation
| Your Situation | Recommended Hillyard Option | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Home or apartment, cleaning 1-3 bathrooms weekly | Suprox-D RTU quart or CleanScents RTU | No mixing, no dispenser, EPA-registered disinfection when used as directed, manageable shelf life of 12-18 months |
| Rental host or small office under 3,000 sq ft, cleaning daily | Manual-dilution gallons: Top Clean or Suprox-D concentrate with labeled spray bottles | Balances cost per gallon with low equipment cost; 1 gallon lasts 2-4 months |
| School, church, clinic, or gym cleaning over 5,000 sq ft per day | Arsenal One system with Super Shine-All, Glass Cleaner, Suprox-D | Closed-loop accuracy, OSHA/GHS labeling compliance, lowest cost per gallon and training support from rep |
| Restaurant or commercial kitchen | Green Select Degreaser + Q.T. 3.5 + Suprox-D | Degreaser handles food oils, quat disinfectant for non-food contact sanitizing, peroxide for restrooms |
| Facility with VCT, terrazzo, or sealed wood floors over 10,000 sq ft | Explorer or Top Floor finish + Hillyard stripper + Arsenal system | Commercial floor coatings require machine application; Hillyard reps provide floor care training |
Availability for Retail Buyers vs Janitorial Professionals
For janitorial professionals: You buy through a local Hillyard sales representative who services your region. The rep will install the Arsenal One dispenser free on a chemical supply agreement, provide wall charts, safety data sheets, training, and scheduled deliveries. Most products are stocked locally and you can order by the case. Minimum orders are low, often a single case of four cartridges or gallons. This includes access to technical support for dilution rates, dwell times, and floor care programs.
For retail/home buyers: You cannot buy directly from Hillyard.com for home delivery in most states. You must order through an authorized Hillyard distributor that sells to the public, or find RTU quarts listed by janitorial supply e-commerce sites. Expect to pay shipping for heavy liquids, and you will not get dispenser installation without a business account. If a distributor requires a business name or tax ID, ask for their cash-and-carry or will-call option; many will sell single gallons to the public.
Before ordering any concentrate for home use, confirm you have: a chemical-resistant spray bottle with accurate ounce markings, a place to store concentrates locked away from children and pets, and willingness to read the safety data sheet for PPE guidance. For disinfectants, any deviation from the labeled dilution and contact time means the product is not disinfecting as claimed.
Durability and Ownership Realities
Hillyard super concentrates are formulated for stability, but they are not indefinite. Hydrogen peroxide products like Suprox-D lose efficacy if stored above 85°F or past their expiration date, typically 12-18 months from manufacture. Quats like Q.T. 3.5 are more stable but will separate if frozen. Always check the lot code on the bottom of the container.
What wears first is not the chemical but the delivery system. Arsenal One dispensers need occasional descaling if you have hard water, and trigger sprayers clog if you use hard water for dilution or fail to rinse bottles between refills. The most common mistake is eyeballing the concentrate instead of measuring. Adding extra chemical does not clean better; with neutral cleaners it leaves a hazy residue on floors, and with disinfectants it can leave a sticky, potentially irritating residue without improving kill claims.
Consumables to budget for: replacement spray triggers, color-coded bottles, PPE such as nitrile gloves and eye protection when handling concentrates, and for floor programs, pads, mops, and wet-floor signs. Hillyard floor finishes typically require burnishing pads and autoscrubbers for best durability; without them, expect more frequent recoats.
For general cleaning and disinfection, follow label directions and local regulations. If you need a product for healthcare, childcare, or food-contact surfaces, verify the EPA registration and whether the label allows that use site, and consult your Hillyard rep or environmental health professional.
Bottom Line: What to Buy and What to Skip
Buy Hillyard if you clean frequently enough to use up a concentrate within its shelf life and want the lowest cost per diluted gallon with professional-grade disinfection claims. Start with a manual-dilution gallon of Super Shine-All or Suprox-D and proper measuring tools.
Skip the Arsenal One system and floor care lines for a single-family home. The upfront complexity, storage needs, and yield far exceed household demand. In that case, a Hillyard RTU quart for bathrooms and a separate RTU glass cleaner will give you the brand’s chemistry without waste or equipment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a homeowner buy Hillyard cleaning supplies without a business account?
Yes, but not directly from Hillyard in most areas. Look for authorized Hillyard distributors that offer public sales or will-call pickup. RTU quarts and single gallon jugs are the easiest to buy without an account. Cartridge-based Arsenal products almost always require a dispenser agreement.
Is Suprox-D safe for homes with pets and children?
Suprox-D is a hydrogen peroxide disinfectant that breaks down to water and oxygen after use when applied as directed, rinsed where required, and allowed to air dry. As with all disinfectants, keep children and pets off surfaces until dry, store concentrate locked away, and follow label instructions for PPE and ventilation. Consult your pediatrician or veterinarian if you have specific health concerns.
Do Hillyard disinfectants work against norovirus and COVID-19?
Suprox-D and Q.T. 3.5 both have EPA-registered claims against norovirus and SARS-CoV-2 when used at the disinfection dilution and contact time stated on the label. Efficacy depends entirely on correct dilution, pre-cleaning of heavily soiled surfaces, and keeping the surface wet for the full contact time.
