Imagine finding chewing gum blobs on your expensive carpet. You try to get the messy stuff off with chemical cleaners, but they only burn holes in your treasured family heirloom.

Instead, reach out for a canful of friendly bacteria, pour on the sticky mess and watch the gum disappear without a single strand of your carpet damaged in any way.

This is the world of bio-enzymatic cleaners.

Bio-enzymatic cleaners are products containing friendly bacteria and enzymes that get rid of grease, oil stains, slush and organic dirt hidden in toilets, sinks, drains, carpets, kitchens, floors and septic tanks simply by degrading them.

"There is a popular misconception that bacteria can only be harmful. People forget there are many bacteria that are friendly and involved in cleaning the environment. These bacteria are Nature's own cleaners and are responsible for converting biodegradable waste into their organic form," says J Lakhani, Director of Lemmens Shardlow (India) Pvt Limited, a company that deals in BECs.

BEC products are nothing but the application of this age-old scientific truth; they have converted Nature's tested cleaning tools for consumer use, he says.

The BEC concept is highly popular in the West, with several brands available and used widely in five star hotels, food chains, restaurants and industrial units. But, in India, the concept is new and is still being used on an experimental basis, says Lakhani.

With effects of harmful chemicals amply demonstrated worldwide, BECs make more sense because they are 100 per cent safe. Besides, they don't harm the skin or the material on which they are used. Nor do they lead to the inhaling of any dangerous chemical odours or cause allergies.

BECs are extremely cost effective. Unlike chemical cleaners that have to be used in the same measure every time, the amount of BEC to be used decreases gradually.

Mohan Gulkarni, a consultant, explains, "BECs contain friendly bacteria which gobble up organic dirt. They continue to work even later, eating up the surrounding harmful particles, cleaning the air naturally, leaving the space not only stain-free but healthy to live and breathe."

While chemical cleaners only clean the surface, dirt continues to settle in the ridges, pores and empty spaces between uneven surfaces, says Lakhani. "Your toilet tiles, for example, might appear squeaky clean but dirt lies within those space between the tiles," he says.

BEC's bacteria not only clean the surface "but chase the dirt to the root cause and even destroy the dirt hidden in these inscrutable pores or spaces."

Lakhani's company has come up with 12 products under the brand name Biosolv, catering to different needs.