It is a white, granular or crystalline solid, highly soluble in water, producing an alkaline solution.

This versatility and low manufacturing price made TSP the basis for a plethora of cleaning products sold in the mid-20th century.

TSP is still sold and used as a cleaning agent, but since the late 1960s, its use has diminished in the United States and many other parts of the world because, like many phosphate-based cleaners, it is known to cause extensive eutrophication of lakes and rivers once it enters a water system.

[8] Although it is still the active ingredient in some toilet bowl-cleaning tablets, TSP is generally not recommended for cleaning bathrooms because it can stain metal fixtures and can damage grout.

[11] The United States Food and Drug Administration lists sodium phosphates as generally recognized as safe.

[14] The basis of this belief is the fact that phosphate is required for the energy-producing Krebs cycle central to aerobic metabolism.

However, sodium carbonate is not as strongly basic as trisodium phosphate, making it less effective in demanding applications.