A reworking of the 2005 usenet forum contributions and its continuation on a web forum, linked below
http://www.diy-forum.net/detergents-and-cleaners-faq-t21087.html
Detergents and Cleaners FAQ
Most material by Andrew Gabriel and Phil Addison
Detergents and soaps
Cheapo washing up liquid:
probably the fastest detergent, but the least powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply liquid soap. Dries skin. Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove everything, so not recommended for continued use.
Liquid soaps:
Most goods sold as liquid soaps are not, they are in nearly every case sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth sulphate, a synthetic detergent. This is a nearly universal low cost human cleaning detergent. It is mildly irritant, mildly skin drying, very cheap to make, and although not currently receiving much publicity, there have been concerns about its safety. Nearly all commercial skin washes and shampoos contain it, regardless of price, brand, marketing, etc.
Quality washing up liquid:
much better on skin than the cheapie stuff, remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap type.
Ecover washing up liquid:
much better on skin than other washing liquids. Can strip some household paints. Non toxic. Can also be used as body wash and shampoo: mix a very little oil in for drier skin and hair.
Washing powder:
more powerful than washing liquids, effective degreasing with hot water. More drying and irritant to skin than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at hotter temps. Most contain various additives such as optical brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler.
Washing powder tablets: take time to dissolve, thus give less cleaning time than powders. Also some brands fail to dissolve, causing poor washes and clothes with a residue of washing powder, which irritates skin.
Dishwasher detergent: most powerful detergent, requires hot water to work, the most irritant to skin. skin contact best avoided.
Wonder / miracle / magic cleaners / stain removers: ordinary detergents sold at steep prices.
Solvents
Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic and/or drug-like. Ensure good ventilation.
- white spirit: very irritant to skin, very slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints. Not very versatile.
- 1,1,1 trichloroethylene: aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. One of the higher cost solvents.
- alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated spirits.
- Isopropyl alcohol: aka isopropanol. almost identical properties to alcohol. Screen wash, head cleaner.
- paraffin: very slow to evaporate, repels insects. Dissolves oils.
- acetone, aka nail varnish remover:
- cellulose thinners: a powerful mix of solvents
- Nitromethane: aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
- nitromors: Strong alkali? paint and varnish stripper
- turpentine and turps substitute: gloss/eggshell/oil paint solvents
- petrol
- orange solvent (?) aka sticky stuff remover (?) - is this orange oil?
- glo-fuel for model aircraft: various mixtures exist, contain methanol and oils, toxic and explosive.
- carbon tetrachloride: powerful general purpose solvent, narcotic, now banned from domestic use due to toxicity.
Oils
----
- Olbas oil: a solvent plant oil mixture. removes ballpoint ink, paint, varnish, wax.
- clove oil: strips paint, irritant, use diluted
- penetrating oil: oil and solvent mix, sometimes frees rusted parts, dissolves oils, dissolves bath grease, leaves oil film behind.
- WD40: a penetrating oil mix, also repels water.
Abrasives
---------
- scouring pads
- Ajax: abrasive powder and bleach, once popular as toilet cleaner
- bath brick: strong abrasive suited only to unfinished cast iron
- sand: ditto. Also blasted for paint and rust stripping
- melamine sponge, aka flash cleaning block:
- wire wool pads: suited only to unfinished cast iron, damages all modern surfaces and finishes. Effective rust remover for cutlery, but will scratch and mark the metal. Causes metal splinters.
- scrapers and razor blades: simple mechanical cleaners mostly used on glass. Can permanently mark the glass. Do not use on toughened glass.
- brass wire brush: for cleaning suede and soiled clothes. Causes damage, don't overdo it.
- steel wire brush: not for general household use. Will remove paint, plaster, skin, soft mortar. A rotary wire brush in a drill is very fast: in an angle grinder even more so.
Bleaches:
---------
Bleaches sterilise and remove the dirt's colour, but don't remove the dirt.
Chlorine bleach: the most common household bleach. Irritant to lungs, exacerbates asthma. Contact with acids releases toxic chlorine gas. Discolours and damages many fabrics. A mild environmental toxin. Kills bacteria and moulds. Thick bleach is not a stronger bleach mix, it is bleach plus detergent.
Oxygen bleach: aka hydrogen peroxide, avoids the downsides of chlorine bleaches, and does not discolour fabrics. Oxygen bleach can be used in laundry.
Soap and sun: soaping clothes and hanging them in sunlight while wet can bleach marks and discolouration not removed by Cl2 or O2 bleaches. It is a slower process, taking many hours. The clothes should be kept wet or damp.
Limescale removers (from weakest to strongest)
-------------------
Citric acid: weak limescale remover. Requires boiling and long immersion time. Only effective on thin layers of scale. Available from any chemist.
Vinegar: good for minor descaling of hot taps. Restores shine. Heat the tap first.
Sulphamic acid: most popular ingredient in limescale removing toilet cleaners
Sulphuric acid: stronger but costs more
Phosphoric acid: toxic
Hydrochloric acid: powerful and fast, avoid contact with skin, eyes, metal, mortars, lime paints and tile grout.
?: where does phosphoric acid belong in this strength ranking?
TODO - New text from UK-DIY
OP: Hydrochloric acid Leaves the pan as clean as a whistle. In France you can get it in any supermarket.
R1: Its called brick acid or patio cleaner.
R2:
R3: Hydrochloric acid is the correct stuff as the reaction product (calcium chloride) is soluble in water. Don't use battery acid (sulphuric) as the product, calcium sulphate, will form an insoluble layer over the rest of the limescale and slow down the reaction considerably.
R3: Brick (hydrochloric) Acid is available at B&Q or any builder's merchant
R4: Go to Pattersons in Bristol. They have stuff far pokier than the domestic retail grade. Basically you want sulphamic acid to dissolve the scale. Hydrochloric (brick acid, muriatic). will do this too, but is likely to develop black crazing if the glaze was already invisibly less than perfect.
R5: I use Furnox DS-3 which is sulphamic acid with a colour indicator so you can tell when it's exhausted. Was available from plumbers merchants in large tubs, few stock it now. I get it from BES.
Specialist cleaners
- wax based paint cleaners etc
- Brick acid: aka patio cleaner. HCL acid cleaner/etcher for concrete and brick. Eats concrete and mortar, damages brick fireskin, excellent toilet limescale remover, dangerous to skin and eyes.
- oxalic acid, also sold as patio cleaner: non-etching concrete and brick cleaner. Toxic. Less powerful than the acid type, but non-damaging.
- fuller's earth: dry powder sometimes used to clean very delicate items such as baby animal skin gloves. It is a dry absorbent. Some brands of cat litter are fuller's earth.
- vinegar: resurfaces copper, it etches the surface off, leaving fresh clean copper. The liquid runoff is toxic if eaten. Diluted vinegar is also an old favourite for cleaning glass, often applied with paper rather than cloth.
- stain devils for ballpoint ink: I had no result with it at all. Olbas oil worked very well.
- saliva: still the best cleaner for fine art oil paintings
Alkalis
Strong alkalis can cause serious eye injury. Dangerous as damage takes time to occur so may not prompt a person to seek medical assistance.
- caustic soda: cleans ovens. Toxic, irritant, can cause serious eye injury.
- washing soda: degreases when used with boiling water. For clothes and drain unblocking. The majority of drain blockages are mostly solidified fat.
Bleach is very alkaline
- sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, a mild safe alkali:
For brushing teeth
Removes tea and coffee stains
Reduces laundry odour: add to final rinse
Removes black scuff marks from floors
Cleans fibreglass baths
Freshens sour dishcloths: soak in water and bicarb
Deodorises laundry awaiting washing: sprinkle in the basket.
Removes crayon marks: use a brush and soda paste.
Water cleaners:
---------------
High Pressure Water Sprayers: The pressure of these can be enough to go through skin. Effective on very hardy materials eg. concrete or brick paths. Can damage brickwork when used repeatedly. Can remove paint in some cases. Good for cleaning undersides of cars etc, as long as excessive pressure is not used. The one caveat is that water on brake pads makes them not work. (I once got water on all 4 at once: thankfully I never got out of the car park!)
Steam cleaners:
> Detergents and soaps
Washing powder:
more powerful than washing liquids, effective degreasing with hot water. More drying and irritant to skin than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at hotter temps. Most contain various additives such as optical brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler.
Dishwasher detergent:
A powerful domestic detergent, requires hot water to work effectively. A skin irritant, contact best avoided.
Alkali based:
Can dissolve amphoteric metals such as aluminium.
Washing powder and dishwasher detergent:
Good at removing organic based stains in other situations, like tea stains and grease from stainless steel sinks. Excrement from WC pans.
Solvents
Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic and/or drug-like. Ensure good ventilation.
white spirit:
very irritant to skin, very slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints. Not very versatile. Evaporates leaving no residue (important in some situations).
1,1,1 trichloroethylene: aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. One of the higher cost solvents. Adequate ventilation essential. Never place dry cleaned goods in a closed car.
I think CoSH has effectively removed all products containing this from the market now. (Tippex thinner hasn't been 1-1-1 trichloroethylene for very many years now.)
alcohol:
degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated spirits. Meths does leave a residue (the purple dye, whose name I forget).
Oils
WD40: a penetrating oil mix, also repels water. Also a good solvent.
Detergents and soaps
--------------------
Cheapo washing up liquid:
probably the fastest detergent, but the least powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply liquid soap. Dries skin. Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove everything, so not recommended for continued use.
Keep to washing up with it? Good for cleaning oily hands. If using proprietary 'oily hand cleaner' I use dishwasher detergent, to clean *that* off after, finished with 'gentler' soap.
Liquid soaps: Most goods sold as liquid soaps are not, they are in nearly every case sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth sulphate, a synthetic detergent. This is a nearly universal low cost human cleaning detergent. It is mildly irritant, mildly skin drying, very cheap to make, and although not currently receiving much publicity, there have been concerns about its safety. Nearly all commercial skin washes and shampoos contain it, regardless of price, brand, marketing, etc.
safety in which way? toxic / environmental? Too much emphasis on chemical name.
Quality washing up liquid: much better on skin than the cheapie stuff, remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap type.
> Solvents
> - alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated
> spirits.
Meths isn't much good for degreasing, except for minute smears. It can be used for drying things out (e.g. wet watch mechanism) as it absorbs water.
> - cellulose thinners: a powerful mix of solvents
Tar remover (as sold in motor accessory shops) - the only stuff I found which, well, removes tar.
Nitromethane: aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
nitromors: stong alkali? paint and varnish stripper
Very good at too, but very messy to use. Beware fumes. Eats through the tin after 15 yrs (don't ask!)
> - petrol
A cheap and much under-rated solvent for cleaning oily hands, but wash off straight away. Somewhat flammable!! See Jizer below.
Forgot to mention Brasso, Silvo, and jewellery 'dips' - that clear liquid you can dip silver items into, and it converts the black back into silver, whilst emitting H2S.
white spirit:
very irritant to skin, very slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints. Not very versatile.
Safe to use on most plastics - denatures latex rubber gloves in minutes.
1,1,1 trichloroethylene:
Now banned except for a few industrial uses by the Montreal Protocol (Ozone depleter) and unavailable. No longer used in dry cleaner or Tippex.
>- paraffin: very slow to evaporate, repels insects. Dissolves oils.
Causes corrosion.
>- acetone, aka nail varnish remover:
Nail Varnish remover usually also contains Lanolin or similar
Most nail varnish removers now contain oil, so will make the cleaning problem worse.
>- nitromors: strong alkali? paint and varnish stripper
Methylene Chloride?
>- orange solvent (?) aka sticky stuff remover (?) - is this orange oil?
d-Limonene (1-methyl-4-isopropenyl-1-cyclohexene)
>Oxygen bleach: aka hydrogen peroxide, avoids the downsides of chlorine bleaches, and does not discolour fabrics. Oxygen bleach can be used in laundry.
Not as effective as a bactericide or disinfectant as Chlorine bleach
>Limescale removers: (from weakest to strongest)
>-------------------
>Citric acid: weak limescale remover. Requires boiling and long immersion time. Only effective on thin layers of scale. Available from any chemist.
Also available at much lower price in most Indian Food stores.
>Vinegar: good for minor descaling of hot taps. Restores shine. Heat the tap first.
Distilled vinegar - wine and cider vinegars are pretty useless.
alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated spirits.
> What is the difference between these? - not a lot, they're all 90% or more alcohol.
>> > Phosphoric acid:
A drum of strong phosphoric acid has been known to be used to clean the concrete off the back of a readymix truck. He also swore by it as a loo descaler (*) and at it when he used to descale the
kettle. 3 rinses later tea made from water in the kettle still burned the mouth!
Contents:
---------
Detergents and soaps
Solvents
Oils
Abrasives
bleaches
spray and wipe cleaners
Limescale removers
specialist cleaner
alkalis
Water cleaners
Stains
More information
Detergents and soaps
--------------------
Cheapo washing up liquid:
probably the fastest detergent, but the least powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply liquid soap. Dries skin. Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove
everything, so not recommended for continued use. Its speed makes it useful for washing carpets, saves much labour.
Liquid soaps: Most goods sold as liquid soaps are not, they are in nearly every case sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth sulphate, a synthetic detergent. This is a nearly universal low cost human cleaning detergent. It is mildly irritant, mildly skin drying, very cheap to make, and although not currently receiving much publicity, there have been concerns about its toxicity. Nearly all commercial skin washes and shampoos contain it, regardless of price, brand, marketing, etc.
Quality washing up liquid: much better on skin than the cheapie stuff, remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap type.
Ecover washing up liquid: much better on skin than other washing liquids. Can strip some household paints. Non toxic. Can also be used as body wash and shampoo: mix a very little vegetable oil in for drier skin and hair. Palm oil is favoured for hair.
Washing powder: more powerful than washing liquids, effective degreasing with hot water. Alkaline. More drying and irritant to skin than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at hotter temps. Most contain various additives such as optical brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler. An overnight soak with bio powder can remove a wide range of stains and organic materials.
Dishwasher detergent, powders and tablets: most powerful detergent, alkaline, requires hot water to work, the most irritant detergent to skin. Skin contact best avoided.
Wonder / miracle / magic cleaners / stain removers: ordinary detergents sold at steep prices. Stain removers designed for a limited range of stains are a different thing to these general purpose wonder bars.
Household soap bars: Soap intended for skin cleaning is normally superfatted, meaning it contains free fat. This makes it poorly suited to general household cleaning, and so outside the scope of this FAQ. In poorer countries a wider variety of soaps are found, with bars for household cleaning, shampooing, laundry etc, but these are not often seen in Britain. If you want to find them, look for them at ethnic supermarkets. They are often sold in big bars a foot or so long, you slice off a new soap bar when you need one. The colours indicate which type of soap it is. They make very economical cleaners, but are not widely available, not widely used, and not the best type of cleaning product available.
Solvents
--------
Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic, melt plastics, and/or drug-like. Ensure good ventilation.
- white spirit: aka turps substitute. Petroleum distillates. Very irritant to skin, slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints and uncured epoxy resin. Not very versatile.
- 1,1,1 trichloroethylene: aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. No longer sold. Adequate ventilation essential. Never place dry cleaned goods in a closed car.
- alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated spirits. Meths leaves purple dye residue behind after it evaporates. Removes fresh ballpoint ink.
- Isopropyl alcohol: aka isopropanl. almost identical properties to alcohol. Screen wash, head cleaner.
- paraffin: very slow to evaporate, repels insects, dissolves oils. One of the safer solvents
- acetone, aka nail varnish remover: dissolves polyurethane (squirt can) foam. Dissolves perspex and can be used to solvent weld it.
- cellulose thinners: a powerful mix of solvents, often used when other solvents have failed. Removes tar.
- Nitromethane: aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
- nitromors: Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper. Produces fumes
- turpentine and turps substitute: gloss/eggshell/oil paint solvents. See white spirit
- petrol: flammable and explosive, fumes can produce intense headaches.
- orange oil: aka limonene, sticky stuff remover.
- glo-fuel for model aircraft: various mixtures exist, containing methanol, oils, solvents, etc. Flammable, explosive, very toxic, fumes can be fatal.
- carbon tetrachloride: powerful general purpose solvent, narcotic, now banned from domestic use due to toxicity.
- pipe weld solvent:
Oils
----
- Olbas oil: a solvent plant oil mixture. removes ballpoint ink, paint, varnish, wax. Available from superdrug, boots, supemarkets etc
- clove oil: strips paint, irritant, use diluted with oil or soap and water. Available from superdrug, boots etc
- penetrating oil: oil and solvent mix, help free rusted parts, dissolves oils, dissolves bath grease, leaves oil film behind. Penetrating oils make poor lubricants.
- WD40: a penetrating oil mix, also repels water.
Abrasives
---------
- plastic scouring pads
- metal scourers
- Ajax: abrasive powder and bleach, once popular as toilet cleaner
- bath brick: strong abrasive suited only to unfinished cast iron
- sand: ditto. Also sand blasting strips paint and rust
- melamine sponge, aka flash cleaning block:
- wire wool pads: suited only to unfinished cast iron, damages all modern surfaces and finishes. Effective rust remover for cutlery, but will scratch and mark the metal. Causes metal splinters.
- scrapers and razor blades: simple mechanical cleaners mostly used on glass. Can permanently mark the glass. Do not use on toughened glass.
- brass wire brush: for cleaning suede and soiled clothes. Causes damage, dont overdo it.
- pumice:
- metal balls: used to clean inaccessible places. Insert balls and cleaning liquid, whizz em round, remove balls. Typically used for inaccessible places, eg very narrow necked vases etc
Bleaches:
---------
Bleaches sterilise and remove the dirt's colour, but don't remove the dirt.
Chlorine bleach:
The most common household bleach. Irritant to lungs, exacerbates asthma. Contact with acids releases toxic chlorine gas. Discolours and damages many fabrics. A mild environmental toxin. Kills bacteria and moulds. Thick bleach is not a stronger bleach mix, it is bleach plus detergent.
Oxygen bleach:
aka hydrogen peroxide, avoids the downsides of chlorine bleaches, and does not discolour fabrics. Oxygen bleach can be used in laundry. Not as powerful as chlorine bleach.
Soap and sun:
soaping clothes and hanging them in sunlight while wet can bleach marks and discolouration not removed by chlorine or oxygen bleaches. It is a slower process, taking many hours. The clothes should be kept wet or damp.
Limescale removers:
-------------------
Limescale removers are all acids. Many are potentially dangerous and should be treated with some care. Many will attack metals, skin, cloth, and so on. They are here listed from weakest to strongest. The first 2
are safe to handle, and even eat, the others are not, and skin should be rinsed if contact occurs.
Citric acid:
weak limescale remover. Requires boiling and long immersion time. Only effective on thin layers of scale. A common food additive. Available from any chemist, typically at a fraction of the price of brand name supermarket descalers. Multipurpose appliance descalers are normally citric, since it is safe on a wide range of materials. Citric is also used for washing machine descaling, but is not altogether effective.
Vinegar: good for minor descaling of taps. Restores shine. Heat the tap first with boiling water. Wash any remaining vinegar off after the job is done.
Sulphamic acid: most popular ingredient in limescale removing toilet cleaners.
Sulphuric acid: stronger than sulphamic but costs more.
Phosphoric acid: ?: where does phosphoric acid belong in this strength ranking?
Hydrochloric acid: powerful and fast, avoid contact with skin, eyes, metal, mortars, lime paints and tile grout. One of the higher risk cleaners, follow instructions with care. Effective at removing scale from glass, but care must be taken to keep it off metal, wood etc. This can be done by wiping it on the glass very thinly, as just a smear, and washing off well afterwards.
Specialist cleaners
-------------------
- wax based paint cleaners etc
- Brick acid:
aka patio cleaner. Hydrochloric acid cleaner/etcher for concrete and brick. Eats concrete and mortar, damages a brick's fireskin, very fast toilet limescale remover, dangerous to skin and eyes.
- oxalic acid,
also sold as patio cleaner: non-etching concrete and brick cleaner. Toxic. Less powerful than the acid type, but does not damage the items being cleaned. Toxic residues should be washed away with plenty of water.
- fuller's earth: dry powder sometimes used to clean very delicate items such as baby animal skin gloves. It is a dry absorbent. Some brands of cat litter are fuller's earth.
- vinegar: resurfaces copper by etching the surface off, leaving fresh clean copper. The liquid runoff is toxic if eaten. Diluted vinegar is also an old favourite for cleaning glass, best applied with newspaper rather than cloth.
- saliva: still the best cleaner for fine art oil paintings,
Contents:
---------
Detergents and soaps
Solvents
Oils
Abrasives
bleaches
Limescale removers
specialist cleaner
alkalis
Water cleaners
Stains
More information
Detergents and soaps
--------------------
Cheapo washing up liquid:
probably the fastest detergent, but the least powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply liquid soap. Dries skin. Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove
everything, so not recommended for continued use. Its speed makes it useful for washing carpets, saves much labour.
Liquid soaps:
Most goods sold as liquid soaps are not, they are in nearly every case sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth sulphate, a synthetic detergent. This is a nearly universal low cost human cleaning detergent. It is mildly irritant, mildly skin drying, very cheap to make, and although not currently receiving much publicity, there have been concerns about its toxicity. Nearly all commercial skin washes and shampoos contain it, regardless of price, brand, marketing, etc.
Quality washing up liquid:
much better on skin than the cheapie stuff, remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap type.
Ecover washing up liquid:
much better on skin than other washing liquids. Can strip some household paints. Non toxic. Can also be used as body wash and shampoo: mix a very little vegetable oil in for drier skin and hair. Palm oil is favoured for hair.
Washing powder:
more powerful than washing liquids, effective degreasing with hot water. Alkaline. More drying and irritant to skin than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at hotter temps. Most contain various additives such as optical brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler. An overnight soak with bio powder can remove a wide range of stains and organic materials.
Washing powder tablets:
take time to dissolve, thus give less cleaning time than powders. Also some brands fail to dissolve, causing poor washes and clothes with a residue of washing powder, which irritates skin.
Dishwasher detergent, powders and tablets:
most powerful detergent, alkaline, requires hot water to work, the most irritant detergent to skin. Skin contact best avoided.
Wonder / miracle / magic cleaners / stain removers: ordinary detergents sold at steep prices. Stain removers designed for a limited range of stains are a different thing to these general purpose wonder bars.
Household soap bars:
Soap intended for skin cleaning is normally superfatted, meaning it contains free fat. This makes it poorly suited to general household cleaning, and so outside the scope of this FAQ. In poorer countries a wider variety of soaps are found, with bars for household cleaning, shampooing, laundry etc, but these are not often seen in Britain. If you want to find them, look for them at ethnic supermarkets. They are often sold in big bars a foot or so long, you slice off a new soap bar when you need one. The colours indicate which type of soap it is. They make very economical cleaners, but are not widely available, not widely used, and not the best type of cleaning product available.
Solvents
--------
Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic, melt plastics, and/or drug-like. Ensure good ventilation.
- white spirit: aka turps substitute. Petroleum distillates. Very irritant to skin, slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints and uncured epoxy resin. Not very versatile.
- 1,1,1 trichloroethylene: aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. No longer sold. Adequate ventilation essential.
- alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated spirits. Meths leaves purple dye residue behind after it evaporates. Removes fresh ballpoint ink.
- Isopropyl alcohol: aka isopropanl. almost identical properties to alcohol. Screen wash, head cleaner.
- paraffin: very slow to evaporate, repels insects, dissolves oils. One of the safer solvents
- diesel:
- acetone, aka nail varnish remover: dissolves polyurethane (squirt can) foam. Dissolves perspex and can be used to solvent weld it.
- cellulose thinners: a powerful mix of solvents, often used when other solvents have failed. Removes tar.
- Nitromethane: aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
- nitromors: Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper. Produces fumes
- turpentine and turps substitute: gloss/eggshell/oil paint solvents. See white spirit
- petrol: flammable and explosive, fumes can produce intense headaches.
- orange oil: aka limonene, sticky stuff remover.
- carbon tetrachloride: powerful general purpose solvent, narcotic, now banned from domestic use due to toxicity.
Oils
----
- Olbas oil: a solvent plant oil mixture. removes ballpoint ink, paint, varnish, wax. Available from superdrug, boots, supemarkets etc
- clove oil: strips paint, irritant, use diluted with oil or soap and water. Available from superdrug, boots etc
- penetrating oil: oil and solvent mix, help free rusted parts, dissolves oils, dissolves bath grease, leaves oil film behind. Penetrating oils make poor lubricants.
- WD40: a penetrating oil mix, also repels water.
Abrasives
---------
- plastic scouring pads
- metal scourers
- Ajax: abrasive powder and bleach, once popular as toilet cleaner
- bath brick: strong abrasive suited only to unfinished cast iron
- sand: ditto. Also sand blasting strips paint and rust
- melamine sponge, aka flash cleaning block:
- wire wool pads: suited only to unfinished cast iron, damages all modern surfaces and finishes. Effective rust remover for cutlery, but will scratch and mark the metal. Causes metal splinters.
- scrapers and razor blades: simple mechanical cleaners mostly used on glass. Can permanently mark the glass. Do not use on toughened glass.
- brass wire brush: for cleaning suede and soiled clothes. Causes damage, dont overdo it.
- pumice:
- metal balls: used to clean inaccessible places. Insert balls and cleaning liquid, whizz em round, remove balls. Typically used for inaccessible places, eg very narrow necked vases etc
Bleaches:
---------
Bleaches sterilise and remove the dirt's colour, but don't remove the dirt.
Chlorine bleach: the most common household bleach. Irritant to lungs, exacerbates asthma. Contact with acids releases toxic chlorine gas. Discolours and damages many fabrics. A mild environmental toxin. Kills bacteria and moulds. Thick bleach is not a stronger bleach mix, it is bleach plus detergent.
Oxygen bleach: aka hydrogen peroxide, avoids the downsides of chlorine bleaches, and does not discolour fabrics. Oxygen bleach can be used in laundry. Not as powerful as chlorine bleach.
Soap and sun: soaping clothes and hanging them in sunlight while wet can bleach marks and discolouration not removed by chlorine or oxygen bleaches. It is a slower process, taking many hours. The clothes should be kept wet or damp.
Limescale removers:
-------------------
Limescale removers are all acids. Many are potentially dangerous and should be treated with some care. Many will attack metals, skin, cloth, and so on. They are here listed from weakest to strongest. The first 2 are safe to handle, and even eat, the others are not, and skin should be rinsed if contact occurs.
Citric acid: weak limescale remover. Requires boiling and long immersion time. Only effective on thin layers of scale. A common food additive. Available from any chemist, typically at a fraction of the price of brand name supermarket descalers. Multipurpose appliance descalers are normally citric, since it is safe on a wide range of materials. Citric is also used for washing machine descaling, but is not altogether effective.
Vinegar: good for minor descaling of taps. Restores shine. Heat the tap first with boiling water. Wash any remaining vinegar off after the job is done.
Sulphamic acid: most popular ingredient in limescale removing toilet cleaners.
Sulphuric acid: stronger than sulphamic but costs more.
Phosphoric acid: ?: where does phosphoric acid belong in this strength ranking?
Hydrochloric acid: powerful and fast, avoid contact with skin, eyes, metal, mortars, lime paints and tile grout. One of the higher risk cleaners, follow instructions with care. Effective at removing scale from glass, but care must be taken to keep it off metal, wood etc. This can be done by wiping it on the glass very thinly, as just a smear, and washing off well afterwards.
Specialist cleaners
-------------------
- wax based paint cleaners etc
- Brick acid:
aka patio cleaner. Hydrochloric acid cleaner/etcher for concrete and brick. Eats concrete and mortar, damages a brick's fireskin, very fast toilet limescale remover.
- oxalic acid,
Also sold as patio cleaner: non-etching concrete and brick cleaner. Toxic. Less powerful than the acid type.
- fuller's earth: dry powder sometimes used to clean very delicate items such as baby animal skin gloves. It is a dry absorbent. Some brands of cat litter are fuller's earth.
Vinegar: resurfaces copper by etching the surface off, leaving fresh clean copper. The liquid runoff is toxic if eaten. Diluted vinegar is also an old favourite for cleaning glass, best applied with newspaper rather than cloth.
Liquid soaps:
Most goods sold as liquid soaps are not, they are in nearly every case sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate
It needs to be there because people will always say 'it's not in my 'luxury shampoo'. They need to see for themselves that it is, and learn that its by no means the best for the job.
white spirit: very irritant to skin, very slow to
> > One of my staples. Wouldn't be without it for getting rid off gooey residues.
Specifically it lifts dried on self adhesive labels; the ones that you can't even scrape off without a struggle. Wet the label with it and leave a few minutes, it will then peel off and you wipe the residue away with a rag wetted with white spirit.
Do you mean Jizer, as sold for engine cleaning? Very efficient for in-situ engine cleaning. Spray it on with garden sprayer, leave a while then hose down (it's water soluble) perhaps with pressure washer!
No. It is a petrochemical type thin liquid, sold in motor accessory shops as engine cleaner degreaser. Same as "Gunk" which does not seem to be around anymore, at least in my area. It leaves the dirty oily dirt in
a state where it can be hosed off. It is water soluble.
Andrew Gabriel
- white spirit: very irritant to skin
Sounds like some sort of super-sensitivity to it, which can happen
with some people for just about any chemical you choose to pick.
Specifically it lifts dried on self adhesive labels; the ones that you can't even scrape off without a struggle. Wet the label with it and leave a few minutes, it will then peel off and you wipe the residue away with a rag wetted with white spirit (anyone know what it is chemically?).
There seem to be two types of label sticky in common use. One is softened by water, and the other with white spirit. In both cases, the sticky fails to soften much with the 'other'.
raden
View profile Translate to English (UK) Translated (View Original)
More options 27 Apr 2005, 20:49
Newsgroups: uk.d-i-y
From: raden <ra...@kateda.org>
Date: Wed, 27 Apr 2005 19:49:09 GMT
Local: Wed 27 Apr 2005 20:49
Subject: Re: Detergents and cleaners FAQ
Reply to author | Forward | Print | Individual message | Show original | Report this message | Find messages by this author
In message <1114544560.666430.77...@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
big...@meeow.co.uk writes
>Lars wrote:
>> Is this FAQ going to be kept on a website? Do you have the URL.
>eventually, yes. It looks like its a success. Lots moer material to
>add, as you say.
Cleaners and Detergents FAQ v3
Detergents and soaps
Solvents
Oils
Abrasives
bleaches
spray and wipe cleaners
Limescale removers
specialist cleaners
alkalis
Water cleaners
Stains
Less likely candidates
More information
Detergents and soaps
--------------------
Cheapo washing up liquid: probably the fastest detergent, but the least
powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply
liquid soap. Dries skin.
Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove
everything, so not recommended for continued use.
Its speed makes it useful for washing carpets, where it saves much
labour.
Liquid soaps: Almost all products sold as liquid soaps are really a
detergent called sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth
sulphate. This is a nearly universal low cost human cleaning detergent.
It is very mildly irritant, mildly skin drying, very cheap to make, and
although not currently receiving much publicity, there have been
concerns about its toxicity. Nearly all commercial skin washes and
shampoos contain it, regardless of price, brand, marketing, etc. Such
products are not well suited to general cleaning since they contain
oils and fats, and are a relatively high price per litre.
Quality washing up liquids: much better to skin than the cheapie ones,
remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap
type.
Ecover washing up liquid: much better on skin than other washing
liquids. Can strip some household paints. Non toxic.
Can also be used as body wash and shampoo: mix a very little vegetable
oil in for drier skin and hair. Palm oil and castor oil are favoured
for hair. (Engine oil is superb on hair, as many mechanics have found,
but not advisable due to possible toxicity. Engine oils were once
castor oil, so there is some similarity between the 2.)
Washing powder: more powerful than washing liquids, effective
degreasing with hot water. Alkaline. More drying and irritant to skin
than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to
improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at
hotter temps. Most contain various additives such as optical
brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler. An overnight soak with
bio powder can remove a wide range of stains and organic materials, so
is a good first line of treatment for unknown stains.
Washing powder tablets: take time to dissolve, thus give less cleaning
time than powders. Also some brands fail to dissolve in time, giving
poor washes, and clothes with a residue of washing powder, which can
irritate skin.
Dishwasher detergent, powders and tablets: most powerful detergent,
alkaline, requires hot water to work, the most irritant detergent to
skin. Skin contact best avoided.
Dishwasher detergent, liquid: I know nowt about em.
Wonder / miracle / magic cleaners / stain removers: ordinary detergents
sold at steep prices. Stain removers designed for a limited range of
stains are a different thing to these general purpose wonder bars.
Soap bars: Soap intended for skin cleaning is normally superfatted,
meaning it contains free fat. This makes it poorly suited to general
household cleaning, and so outside the scope of this FAQ.
In poorer countries a wider variety of soaps are found, with bars for
household cleaning, shampooing, laundry etc, but these are not so often
seen in Britain. If you want to find them, look for them at Indian
supermarkets. They are often sold in big bars a foot or so long, and
you slice off a new soap bar when you need one. The colours indicate
which type of soap it is. They make very economical cleaners, but are
not widely available, not widely used, and better cleaning products are
now available.
Soaps may be used for cleaning gold and silver jewellery.
Sugar soap: A soap, it has nothing to do with sugar, and is definitely
not edible. Used primarily to clean paintwork, as traces of this soap
don't affect houseold paints. Other soaps may be used instead so long
as theyre rinsed off properly.
Washing painted walls is often an effective way to rejuvenate them and
avoid the need to repaint. Little paint chips can be filled in with
fresh paint of the same or very slightly duller colour. It is important
not to use a brighter shade, nor to let new paint overlap the edges of
the chipped area at all. This method can often make a tatty wall look
good again in 60-90 minutes.
Best detergents for general use: if we must pick one for all uses, it
would have to be a mixture of cheap soap washing up liquid and
biological washing powder. This mix gives both speed and thoroughness,
as well as a wide array of stain removers all in one.
Solvents
--------
Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic, melt plastics,
and/or act as drugs. Ensure good ventilation.
White spirit: aka turps substitute. Petroleum distillates. Slow to
evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints and uncured epoxy
resin.
Lifts dried on self adhesive labels: wet the label with it and wait a
few minutes, then peel off and wipe the residue away with a rag wetted
with white spirit.
Safe on most plastics, but denature latex rubber gloves.
1,1,1 trichloroethylene: aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. No
longer sold, but still in many cupboards. Adequate ventilation
essential. Never place dry cleaned goods in a closed car.
Alcohol: degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated
spirits, ethanol, ethyl alcohol. Meths leaves purple dye residue behind
after it evaporates. Removes fresh ballpoint ink.
Isopropyl alcohol: aka isopropanol. Almost identical properties to
alcohol. Screen wash, head cleaner.
Paraffin: very slow to evaporate, repels insects, dissolves oils. One
of the safer solvents. Good for degreasing vehicle underneaths and
engine compartments. Apply with a brush, brush off. Where its
flammabilitiy is a problem, clean up afterwards with soap and hot
water, or a pressure washer. Lamp oil is a lower odour form of
paraffin.
Diesel: Vehicle and parts degreaser similar to paraffin. One of the
least flammable petrochemicals: a naked flame will usually not light
it.
Acetone, aka nail varnish remover: dissolves polyurethane (squirt can)
foam. Dissolves perspex and can be used to solvent weld it. Nail
varnish may contain other ingredients.
Cellulose thinners: a powerful mix of solvents, often used when other
solvents have failed. Removes tar.
Nitromethane: aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
Nitromors: Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper. Produces
fumes
Turpentine and turps substitute: gloss/eggshell/oil paint solvents.
Turps substitute is white spirit.
Petrol: flammable, explosive, fumes can produce intense headaches. Not
recommended for indoor use.
Lighter fluid: petroleum distillates again. More volatile than
paraffin, diesel or white spirit. Removes many glues. In common with
most petrochemicals, the vapour can form an explosive mixture with air,
so it should only be used in very small quantities, with ventilation,
and cotton buds etc with it on should be disposed of outside, not
indoors.
Orange oil: aka limonene, Sticky stuff remover. A solvent oil.
Carbon tetrachloride: powerful general purpose solvent, narcotic, now
banned from domestic use due to toxicity.
Pipe weld solvent:
Oils
----
Penetrating oil: oil and solvent mix, helps to free rusted parts,
dissolves oils and greases, leaves an oil film behind which attracts
dirt. Penetrating oils make second rate lubricants.
WD40: a penetrating oil mix, repels water.
Olbas oil: a solvent plant oil mixture. removes ballpoint ink, paint,
varnish, wax. Available from superdrug, boots, supemarkets etc. Strong
but pleasant smell.
To remove ballpoint ink, apply the oil to a cotton bud and wipe the
stain with it.
Clove oil: strips paint, irritant, use diluted with oil or soap and
water. Available from superdrug, boots etc. Similar actions to olbas
oil.
Abrasives
---------
- plastic scouring pads
- metal scourers
- Ajax: abrasive powder and bleach, once popular as toilet cleaner
- bath brick: strong abrasive suited only to unfinished cast iron. Not
often used.
- sand: ditto. Also sand blasting strips paint and rust
- melamine sponge, aka flash cleaning block:
- wire wool pads: suited only to unfinished cast iron, damages all
modern surfaces and finishes. Effective rust remover for cutlery, but
will scratch and mark the metal. Causes metal splinters.
- scrapers and razor blades: simple mechanical cleaners mostly used on
glass. Can permanently mark the glass. Do not use on toughened glass.
- brass wire brush: for cleaning suede and soiled clothes. Causes
damage with just one use, so use as little as possible.
- pumice: used for removing hard skin and cleaning obstinate marks from
skin. It does this by scraping the skin surface. This tends to promote
the formation of thick hard skin. It is perhaps ironic that this is
what it is mainly used to treat.
- metal balls: used to clean inaccessible places, eg very narrow necked
vases etc. Insert balls and cleaning liquid, whizz them around, and
remove balls. More versatile than bottle brushes, but less effective.
Bleaches:
---------
Bleaches sterilise and remove the dirt's colour, but don't remove the dirt. The remaining bleached dirt acts as a lodging place for more dirt, hence items cleaned only with bleach get dirty quickly. Bleaches are useful when all other attempts to remove the dirt have failed.
Chlorine bleach: the most common household bleach. Irritant to lungs, exacerbates asthma. Contact with acids releases toxic chlorine gas (chlorine was much used for chemical warfare in WW1). Discolours and damages many fabrics, particularly natural fabrics and natural dyes. A mild environmental toxin. Kills bacteria and moulds. Thick bleach is not a stronger bleach mix, it is bleach plus detergent. You can thus make it yourself for a fraction the cost, but only if you
> Acetone, aka nail varnish remover:
This is dangerous wording as it will encourage people to use it instead. The remover *contains* acetone - not the same thing.
> - saliva: still the best cleaner for fine art oil paintings.
No its not. It might work, at your risk, but certainly not the best.
washing soda:
degreases when used with boiling water. For clothes and drain unblocking. The majority of drain blockages are mostly solidified fat. Discolours aluminium.
No , *Dissolves* aluminium generating H2. Didn't you do the milk top in washing soda experiment at school?
Milton - mild bleach used for sterilising baby's bottles etc
Blood:
- soak in biological washing powder in cold water (I think! not sure)
yes (probably). also if you just rinse it off before it dries it wont stain in the first place.
Chewing gum on carpet:
Use Freezer Spray
The gum will now break apart.
so if its on smaller items, put it in freezer?
> Cup ring marks:
> - clean with bio washing powder
Proprietary "ring-away" works well.
> Grease marks:
> - wipe/rub with paraffin or dry a cleaning solvent.
> - wash with hot water and washing powder
> - wash with boiling water and washing soda
> - dishwashers are powerful degreasing machines for any items not
> admaged by the heat or detergent.
put absorbent paper tissue over grease mark and warm with an iron on lowiash temp. Same technique for candle wax.
Ensure a clean dry piece of tissue is under the iron at all times. As soon as it appear oil/wax stained, replace with fresh tissue.
> Paint, emulsion:
was once posted here that freezing hardens it then crumble off (see cheqing gum)
Blood:
Plain soap and water will work for a while even after it dries. However, eventually the red blood cells break down releasing their iron, and that's much harder to remove. The thought just occured to me (although I've never tried it) that a rust remover such as phosphoric acid might work once that's happened.
Andrew Gabriel
Plain soap and water will work for a while even after it dries. However, eventually the red blood cells break down releasing their iron, and that's much harder to remove. The thought just occured to me (although I've never tried it) that a rust remover such as phosphoric acid might work once that's happened.
> I can't recall what it is, but I thought there was a chemical that removes rust stains. A reducer presumably; but that would leave iron which you say is hard to remove.
Phosphoric acid removes rust -- I'm not sure what any stain might look like afterwards (maybe a large hole;-). As I said, I haven't tried it -- it only occured to me as I was typing the previous response. I might have some in gel form somewhere, and I can probably find an old blood stain which no longer washes out somewhere...
> Under dishwasher detergent - add that it corrodes some steel cutlery,
Are you thinking of old copper steel cutlery?
> > - saliva: still the best cleaner for fine art oil paintings. Its what a fine art restoration expert said, so maybe we need some good references.
He was quite clear about it, saying it was still the best cleaner for the old oil paintings he was doing. He was restoring a huge collection of enormous paintings for an estate, so clearly at least someone thinks he's an expert - but thats about all I know.
washing soda:
Discolours and causes pitting of aluminium.
Cleaners and Detergents FAQ v5
------------------------------
Contents:
---------
Detergents and soaps
Solvents
Oils
Abrasives
bleaches
spray and wipe cleaners
Limescale removers
specialist cleaners
alkalis
Water cleaners
Stains
Detergents and soaps
--------------------
Cheapo washing up liquid:
probably the fastest detergent, but the least powerful. Removes most things, very quickly. 15p/litre. It is simply liquid soap. Dries skin. Will wash clothes in 2 minutes in cold water, but can not remove everything, so not recommended for continued use. Do not use it in washing machines, it creates a greasy film that makes them pong. Its speed makes it useful for hand washing carpets, where it saves much labour. A good lubricant for sash window runners. May be wiped onto just dried paint to prevent sticking and allow prompt reassembly.
Liquid soaps: Almost all products sold as liquid soaps are really a detergent called sodium lauryl ethyl sulphate, aka sodium laureth sulphate, plus various additives. This is a nearly universal low cost human-cleaning detergent, and a known mild irritant. Nearly all brands contain it. Such products are not well suited to general cleaning since they contain oils and fats, and are a relatively high price per litre.
Quality washing up liquids: much better to skin than the cheapie ones, remove more types of dirt. But not as fast acting as the low cost soap type.
Ecover washing up liquid: much better on skin than other washing liquids. Can strip some household paints. Non toxic. Can also be used as body wash and shampoo: mix a very little vegetable oil in for drier skin and hair. Palm oil and castor oil are favoured for hair. (Engine oil is superb on hair, as many mechanics have found, but not advisable due to possible toxicity. Engine oils were once castor oil, so there is some similarity between the 2.)
Washing powder: more powerful than washing liquids, effective degreasing with hot water. Alkaline. More drying and irritant to skin than any washing up liquid. Biological powders also contain enzymes to improve their cleaning action at 40C, but the enzymes stop working at higher temps. Washing powders various additives such as stain removers, optical brighteners etc, and powdered cardboard filler. An overnight soak with bio powder can remove a wide range of stains and organic materials, so is a good first line of treatment for unknown stains.
Washing powder tablets:
take time to dissolve, thus give less cleaning time than powders. Also some brands fail to dissolve in time, giving poor washes, and clothes with a residue of irritant washing powder.
Dishwasher detergent, powders and tablets:
most powerful detergent, alkaline, requires hot water to work well. The most irritant detergent to skin, skin contact best avoided. The detergent gradually attacks some types of glass, making it go cloudy in time.
Wonder / miracle / magic cleaners / stain removers: ordinary detergents sold at steep prices. Note that stain removers designed for a limited range of stains are a different thing to these general purpose wonder bars. Use washing powder instead.
Soap bars:
Soap intended for skin cleaning is normally superfatted, meaning it contains free fat. This makes it poorly suited to general household cleaning, and so outside the scope of this FAQ. In poorer countries a wider variety of soaps are found, with bars for household cleaning, shampooing, laundry etc, but these are not so often seen in Britain. If you want to find them, look for them at Indian supermarkets. They are often sold in big bars a foot or so long, and you slice off a new soap bar when you need one. The colours indicate which type of soap it is. They make very economical cleaners, but are not widely available, not widely used, and better cleaning products are now popular. Soaps may be used for cleaning gold and silver jewellery.
Sugar soap:
A soap, has nothing to do with sugar, and is definitely not edible. Used primarily to clean paintwork, as traces of this soap don't affect household paints. Other soaps may be used instead so long as they're rinsed off properly.
Washing painted walls is sometimes an effective way to rejuvenate them and avoid the need to repaint. Little paint chips can be filled in with fresh paint of the same or very slightly duller tint. It is important not to use a brighter shade, nor to let new paint overlap the edges of the chipped area at all. Less is more in this case. This method can often make a tatty wall look respectable again in 60-90 minutes with no materials cost. Whatever your painting regime, this method can make walls look better between repaints.
Solvents
--------
Many solvents are volatile, flammable, explosive, toxic, melt plastics, and/or act as drugs. Ensure good ventilation.
White spirit:
Petroleum distillates. Slow to evaporate. Dissolves un-set oil based (gloss) paints, good for paintbrush cleaning. Not the ideal solvent for thinning oil paints, but usable. Turps sbustitute is better for that. Dissolves uncured epoxy resin. Lifts many dried on self adhesive labels: wet the label with it and wait a few minutes, then peel off and wipe the residue away with a rag wetted with white spirit. Safe on most plastics, but not on latex rubber gloves. Vapour explosive and toxic, ventilate thoroughly. http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/WH/white_spirits.html
Turps substitute. Very similar to white spirit, but cheaper and not
ideal for thinning paint.
1,1,1 trichloroethylene:
aka spot dry cleaner, tippex thinner. No longer sold, but still in many cupboards. Adequate ventilation essential. Never place dry cleaned goods in a closed car.
Alcohol:
degreaser. Aka surgical spirit, rubbing alcohol, methylated spirits, ethanol, ethyl alcohol. Meths leaves purple dye residue behind after it evaporates. Removes fresh ballpoint ink.
Isopropyl alcohol: aka isopropanol, IPA.
Almost identical properties to ethyl alcohol. Screen wash, head cleaner.
Paraffin:
very slow to evaporate, repels insects, dissolves oils. One of the safer solvents. Good for degreasing vehicle underneaths and engine compartments. Apply with a brush, brush off. Where its flammabilitiy is a problem, clean up afterwards with soap and hot water, or a pressure washer. Lamp oil is a lower odour form of paraffin, often with a little colouring.
Diesel:
Vehicle and parts degreaser similar to paraffin. One of the least flammable petrochemical cleaners, a naked flame will usually not light it.
Acetone,
an ingredient in nail varnish remover: dissolves polyurethane (squirt can) foam. Dissolves perspex and can be used to solvent weld it. Nail varnish remover may contain other ingredients such as lanolin, oil etc.
Cellulose thinners:
a powerful mix of solvents, often used when other solvents have failed. Removes tar.
Nitromethane:
aka cyanoacrylate debonder, dissolves superglue
Nitromors:
Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper. Produces fumes
Turpentine and turps substitute:
gloss/eggshell/oil paint solvents. Turpentine is a plant oil. Turps substitute is similar to white spirit, but not the same.
Petrol: flammable, explosive, fumes can produce a range of serious health problems. Not recommended for indoor use. Contains benzene, a carcinogen, not recommended for hand cleaning. Use something less toxic whenever possible. http://ptcl.chem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/BE/benzene.html
Lighter fluid: petroleum distillates again. Much more volatile than paraffin, diesel or white spirit. Removes many glues. In common with most petrochemicals, the vapour can form an explosive mixture with air, so it should only be used in very small quantities, with good ventilation, and cotton buds etc with it on should be disposed of outside not indoors.
Orange oil:
aka limonene, Sticky stuff remover. A solvent oil derived from oranges. Lemon oil is similar.
Carbon tetrachloride:
general purpose solvent, narcotic, now banned from domestic use due to toxicity.
Pipe weld solvent:
intended for dissolving and welding pvc pipes. Dont use on plastic!
Oils
Penetrating oil:
oil and solvent mix, helps to free rusted parts, dissolves oils and greases, leaves an oil film behind which attracts
dirt. Penetrating oils make second rate lubricants. WD40 is a well known brand.
Olbas oil:
a solvent plant oil mixture. Removes ballpoint ink, paint, varnish, wax. Available from superdrug, boots, supemarkets etc. Strong
but pleasant smell. To remove ballpoint ink, apply half a drop to a cotton bud and wipe the stain with it. Olbas oil is not usually a first choice cleaner at £3:50 per 30ml, but for ballpoint ink it is recommended.
Clove oil:
another solvent oil. strips paint, irritant, use diluted with oil or soap and water. Available from superdrug, boots etc.
Similar actions to olbas oil. Not often used as a cleaner, but occasionally effective and useful.
Eucalyptus oil:
similar properties to clove oil. Olbas, clove and eucalyptus all have strong but pleasant smell.
Abrasives
---------
Plastic scouring pads: widely used for cleaning dishes. Should be regularly cleaned to remove insanitary muck build-up. Can be cleaned in
a dishwasher, at ...
Cleaners and Detergents FAQ v5
Contents:
Detergents and soaps
Solvents
Oils
Abrasives
bleaches
spray and wipe cleaners
Limescale removers
specialist cleaners
alkalis
Water cleaners
Stains
Less likely candidates
Untested claims
More information
Safety data sheets
Need a section title for
> Solvents
> --------
> Nitromors: Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper.
attacks some plastics etc (friend of sprog's tried to remove unsuccessful paint job from model boat with it, ended up destroying plastic of boat)
> Limescale removers:
> -------------------
> Sulphamic acid: the most popular acid in limescale removing toilet cleaners.
> Sulphuric acid: stronger than sulphamic but costs more.
And is more harmful, especially in high concentrations.
Removes drain blockages, including grease, fat, teabags, cardboard, faeces and vegetable matter.
Hydrochloric acid: powerful and fast. Stomach acid is 0.2-0.3% hydrochloric acid, and can digest a range of substances. Avoid contact with skin, eyes, metal, mortars, lime paints, and tile grout. A high toxicity cleaner, follow instructions with care. Effective at removing scale/watermarks from glass, but care must be taken to keep it off the metal or wood frame. This can be done by using toilet cleaner, which is thickened, and wiping it on the glass very thinly, as just a smear, and washing off well afterwards.
Could be more specific about metal(s). Brick cleaner concentration takes a very long time (c weeks) to dissolve copper, and probably does nothing to iron. I expect it reacts more vigorously with light alloys (not sure if Ali's natural AlO2 skin protects it). Definitely tarnishes Chrome (and may attack vitreous enamel on baths?) so don't use for limescale in bathrooms etc.
> Remaining Questions:
> is caustic soda usful for paint removal?
yes, either au naturel as a liquid for dipping or in gel/paste formulation e.g. Ronstrip which can cling to vertical surfaces while the caustic soda takes effect
Nitromors:
Methylene chloride, paint and varnish stripper. Produces fumes, attacks some plastics
Drain cleaners
acid-type based on sulphuric
- thick liquid
alkali based on caustic soda
- available as thick liquid or powder
biological type, works slowly (days/weeks rather than minutes/hours) so more for keeping prob drains clear or slowly clearing partly blocked drain.
Limescale removal
Sulphamic acid: the most popular acid in limescale removing toilet cleaners.
Sulphuric acid: stronger than sulphamic, more expensive.
Hydrochloric acid: powerful and fast. May reacts more vigorously with light alloys. Tarnishes bathroom chrome. May attack vitreous enamel on baths?
Is caustic soda useful for paint removal?
Yes, either au naturel as a liquid for dipping or in gel/paste formulation e.g. Ronstrip which can cling to vertical surfaces while the caustic soda takes effect
> its sold for use on vitreous toilets, (tesco limescale removing toilet cleaner) and leaves them looking pretty good, so I think it would be ok. Whether it can be used on plastic baths I dont know.
Many years ago I used a proprietary limescale remover on a Colston dishwasher, which in those days had an enamelled steel innards. I can't recall the make but it left the white enamel with dark patches which felt less smooth than the surrounding area. I have no idea what was in the descaler.
Is an enamel coating essentially different from ceramic ware?
Glass cleaners
The best that I've found is a product called VISTA CLEER from Chase Products.
Having tried all the usual suspects to clean tea coloured stains off glassware, finally used toilet cleaner containing HCL. It all wiped off instantly, very impressed.
Tea stains off china mugs and black staining in a of teapot. A method that works is to pre-heat the vessel, put a generous teaspoon of biological washing powder into the item and add boiling water. It will take 20 minutes or so. If the item is microwave safe it is then possible to keep the solution hot for the period. Otherwise cover the item with a tea cosy or wrap with a towel to help it retain as much heat as possible. A useful device available in Europe is a portable spiral heating element on the end of a wand. Mine is a 1kW device (D.B.P Type 104) so very quickly heats a teapot volume of water. It is plunged into the vessel and activated occasionally to keep the solution hot.
you can ableThe stain then wipes off with a hot dishcloth.
For a metal teapot boil-up a biological powder brew, keep the pot cosy then rinse-out after 20mins. The stain will then lift-off with a course but non-abrasive dish-washing sponge.
I did think about using HCL on china, but thought that one surface crack, as is fairly common, and it can get through and eat the china. Also cups often have little bits of unglazed china somewhere. Maybe it would be ok but Im not so sure.
Soot and tar from woodburning stove glass windows
Mr Muscle Overn Cleaner, Jangro Comercial oven cleaner (a strong alkali)
NEW INFO
Useful info from a chemical engineer on Bike Forums
http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-341738.html
I'd heard acetone is good to clean [sticker goo] with, since most chemicals damage carbon fiber. but acetone seems so caustic to me, i dont see how it is safer than good ol goo-gone. Any ideas?
It's been my experience that acetone (and to a lesser extent, alcohol) won't dissolve pressure adhesives.
Mineral spirits do a good job and won't hurt the finish.
Acetone, by the way, isn't classified as a caustic.
Caustic means something else entirely. Nor is it a corrosive which is different from caustic.
Acetone is a organic solvent which dissolves many materials which are polar or slightly polar in terms of their molecular structure, is flammable but not terribly toxic.
Mineral spirits is a solvent too but it's a different type of solvent which dissolves non-polar substances.
Geek alert:
Polar substances (from a chemical standpoint) are stuff like water, acetic acid (vinegar), alcohols (all of them up to butanol) and many others. Polycarbonate glasses are polar substances and acetone will dissolve them...or at least do them no good
Nonpolar substances are things that don't mix with water.
Stuff like vegetable oils (oil and vinegar), gasoline, mineral spirits, etc.
3M General Purpose Adhesive Cleaner.
Its MAIN ingredient is the Naptha
But it's the combination of ALL the ingredients that makes it do what it does.
Naphtha is "aka petroleum ether, white spirit (though in the UK white spirit is something different entirely),
Ligroin;
VM&P Naphtha; Varnish Makers and Painter's Naphtha [1];
Benzin; Petroleum Naphtha, Naphtha ASTM, Petroleum Spirits, shellite, ronsonol (from Wikipedia)".
Light aromatics are similar to Naphtha but a little higher boiling point cut of the petroleum distillate. Xylene and ethylbenzene are aromatic hydrocarbons and, while they are not mineral spirits, they act the same, chemically, as the mineral spirits do. All of these things are nonpolar hydrocarbons which do exactly the same thing to pressure adhesives (which are different from many, many other adhesives) which is dissolve them and remove them from surfaces.
My point, which you seem not to be taking home, is that mineral spirits (or paint thinner) which you can purchase for around $3 in the hardware store will do exactly the same thing as the $7 can of spray adhesive remover. The other stuff doesn't need to be there and, quite frankly, shouldn't really be messed with too much. Xylene and ethylbenzene aren't terribly toxic but they are more toxic and more flammable than mineral spirits. If you can do it without the aromatics (which you can using mineral spirits), why use them?
Little Johnny took a drink,
And little Johnny is no more,
For what he thought was H2O,
Was H2SO4!" (sulfuric acid)
That's the main reason you should be extra careful using ketones on it. The ketone may damage the clear coat or the underlying epoxy that holds the fiber together. The ketone won't harm the carbon fiber (it's pretty inert) nor is the fiber what you should worry about anyway. The resin that holds the fiber together does the heavy lifting in this material anyway.
Like I said before, mineral spirits takes adhesives off better than anything I've run across. Acetone usually won't touch it. Mineral spirits also won't touch the epoxy resin...too many oxygens in the matrix.
Lacquer thinners can contain any number of solvents and be any number of formulations some of which have acetones and other ketones and some of which are largely mineral spirits. I will admit that I used lacquer thinner improperly but the term is often used interchangeably with mineral spirits at your local hardware store...incorrectly...but used the same nevertheless.
And yes, I know that "paint thinner" often refers to mineral spirits. That's why I used the abbreviation aka...also known as.
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'Goo Gone' - apparently lighter fluid.
Lighter fluid is good but a friend of mine reconditions very old and rare stringed instruments such as cello`s and violins back home in Ireland for over 40 years and swears by naptha gas the so called camping stove and lantern fuel and it`s relatively cheap just don`t get the scented type as it will leave your place stinking unless your into that.
It's the citrus oil in Goo-Gone that makes it work better and more gently than straight naphtha/lighter-fluid. I seem to recall it's 4/5ths oil and 1/5 naphtha.
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Goo-gone and lighter fluid (the naphthalene Zippo fluid, not charcoal starter fluid) are effectively the same in effect. They're both just light, thin petroleum distillate.
I like the Zippo Fluid better, but have Goo-gone at the house right now...
Seems like Zippo Fluid leaves less residue, to me.
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I've always used paint thinner for this. As John said, when you've seen one light aliphatic hydrocarbon you've seen them all. An advantage of this class of compounds over acetone, lacquer thinner, and chloroform is that plain hydrocarbons don't dissolve many things but are safe for plastic and painted surfaces. If paint thinner doesn't work, try alcohol next.
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