Chemicals & Ingredients = simple life

[greenwoo]

I'm all for a simple life, after all I am but a simple chap!

Over the years i've bought various products ( chemical cleaners etc) from the usual DIY stores to clean patios or kill weeds on a nuclear scale.

But it is bloody annoying to pay top dollar for a Brands 'recipe', so as & when needed/possible I try to find what the main active ingredient is - often its just 1 thing.

So I thought i'd share 2 with you guys, and perhaps they'll be of use and save you a few quid/make your life easier = more car time.

Patio Magic, all seen that? Well the main ingredient is Benzalkonium chloride, except in Pat Mag its diluted to about 7.5%, whereas in BAC50 is 50%. Costs more, but obvs coverage is waaaay more! (i dilute around 10:1).
for me; 2x a year'ish, patio gets a coating, takes off any 'greening' and actually on mine makes it look as though its been properly washed. Having had success on the patio, it now gets used on fencing algae/gates/roof for moss etc.

and my new best friend oxalic acid. Found in minute quantities in some cleaning products. I came across it when i wanted to clean my teak table, bought some crystals and made my own ( just add water ). On wood it cleans and depending on quantity kind of acts as a bleaching agent. So with the table being 'natural' and not covered in oils, it took the dirt off and left it with an 'as new' look.
Have just done some wooden chairs that i nabbed off ebay, they looked awful, but this stuff has taken layers of crud off and they look great.
( also its used for taking rust spots off metals/stone/concrete etc).
Cheap as chips and easy to buy.

lastly a generalization. Its always worth checking out sites that deal with commercial entities ( selling to commercial entities i mean). Often they don't require an account to be set up/nor ask for Company details. I found Amenity.co.uk years back, and grab some nuclear weedkillers etc every couple of years....

[Wingco]

Interesting read Mark, Its amazing when you read on the back of a tin or bottle what ingredients you find in the tin or bottle.
I did my patio the other day, blasted it to death with a power washer, came up really well, Mrs was well happy, no chemicals used but, there is always a but, I've now got to break my back over a few hours to re grout the bloody thing. Perhaps some chemicals would have help me first before I attacked it with the pressure washer

P.S Mark hows the car coming along ?

[Tony C]

All sounds very environmentally friendly, particularly the first one