BILL POSTERS Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 From way back when I started work, I have always made up a cleaning spray with about a cupful of Cloudy Ammonia and half a teaspoon of fairy liquid, in a spray bottle. Takes your breath away but cleans of nicotine , grease etc and leaves stuff like Tolex and polished wood grease free, it all literally just drips off. Doesnt work with ordinary ammonia, has to be the cloudy stuff, just used up my last bottle, and I cant find it in shops anymore. So, whats the difference between the two, and where can I get the cloudy ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 From Wikipeadia: [i]Household ammonia is dilute ammonium hydroxide, which is also an ingredient of numerous other [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cleaning_agent"]cleaning agents[/url], including many window cleaning formulas. In addition to use as an ingredient in cleansers with other cleansing ingredients, ammonium hydroxide in water is also sold as a cleaning agent by itself, usually labeled as simply "ammonia". It may be sold plain, lemon-scented (and typically colored yellow), or pine-scented (green). Commonly available ammonia that has had soap added to it is known as "Cloudy ammonia".[/i] So what you have been making is soapy ammonium hydroxide with added soap. You'd get the same result with adding a bigger dash of washing up liquid to household ammoia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BILL POSTERS Posted October 7, 2013 Author Share Posted October 7, 2013 (edited) Tried that, but what I haven't tried is adding some soap, might try some 'soft soap' if you can still get it - used to come in jars and stank orrible. Isnt fairy liquid detergent, not soap ? It smells as strong, so hopefully ordinary household ammonia isnt greatly diluted from the old cloudy stuff. Dont seem to be able to get a few of the things I used to, local pharmacy wont sell even meths now. Say they dont have a license to. Edited October 7, 2013 by BILL POSTERS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mog Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 Basically it was acting as a solvent. The difference is the molarity of the two products. Household Ammonia is somehow sold with a molarity of up to 10% which is strong enough to burn your lungs. Laboratory grade Ammonia is highly concentrated. I've seen guys drop on the spot after unknowingly walking into a cloud of it. In any concentration it plays havoc with local water treatment facilities so essentially what I'm getting at is use something else. Try using a mix of vinegar and bicarb. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted October 7, 2013 Share Posted October 7, 2013 [quote name='Mog' timestamp='1381169544' post='2235361'] ... Try using a mix of vinegar and bicarb. [/quote] I had a blocked sink due to son's gf throwing up. Nothing would move it including chemicals with labels saying 'stand well back and wear gloves'. But then I tried vinegar and bicarb. Easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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