WARNING! Mixing Stardrops and Zoflora

Queenie

tawnyowls wrote:

I've never had a problem with Stardrops and Zoflora either. As mentioned above, this is generally only a problem when mixing some chemicals with others that contain bleach, as it liberates chlorine gas. Zoflora does contain a chloride compound, so it's possible that you might get a reaction, but it's more likely that the sodium compound in the Stardrops would combine with it to produce sodium chloride (salt). Play safe and dilute the Stardrops before adding the Zoflora to the dilute solution.

Stardrops only lists one ingredient and that is only 15-30% of the total product. Not at all sure what makes up the other 70-85%

The point is, you are mixing chemicals - one of which clearly states: Do Not Mix With Other Chemicals.

I do not have a degree of any kind, let alone one in Science, but, common sense tells me that these products go through testing before they are permitted on the market shelf and if they carry a warning it is there for a very good reason.

While no immediate problem has occured who, that has posted about mixing these products, can honestly say they have carried out legitimate tests and can hand on heart state that there is absolutely no danger either in the short or long term in what they are doing and the warning on the Zoflora bottle can safely be ignored in these particular circumstances?

Equally, bear in mind that NO precise dilution or quantities have been given either so a "bit" of this and a "bit" of that is left to the individual to interpret. I think we are all aware of how my idea of a "bit" and someone else's idea of a "bit" can vary!

The first cigarette my father smoked didn't do him any harm. Five years later, still no ill effects were apparent. He was born in 1910
The day my brother drove a car that was leaking carbon monoxide fumes into the car, didn't kill him!! (Short journey, thankfully!!) I'm sure you get my drift What are the accumilative effects of using this mixture on the materials you are cleaning and the fumes you are producing?

The fact remains, this is a public message forum, read by many many people who will (and did!) read that others are mixing the two together and copy that advice.

Old Style gained in popularity since it began *because* posters gave tried and tested methods and ways and means of doing things. Readers trust what they read on here and happily copy the hints, tips and suggestions given.

The tip about using cola as a toilet cleaner is another good example of a tip given in good faith, yet got taken out of context, but which can in fact stain your toilet and cost a pretty penny to rectify!

I've seen others who claim to have cooked chicken from frozen and "it's not done me any harm" ends up getting translated by readers into it's ok to do that. Yet in every country around the world the advice from the experts remains the same ... "Do not cook a chicken from frozen"!

Maybe it hasn't done the poster any "harm" ... yet
Maybe you've "never had a problem with it" .... yet
That doesn't equal, it's harmless and won't cause any problems - yet unfortunatley, that is just how some people reading these ideas will believe.

Caution, caution, caution! Warnings are placed on those bottles for a very good reason by the people who develop and put their products through rigorous testing!

rosy

Another point to think about alongside the danger aspect is that when the Zoflora is mixed with Stardrops you can lose the disinfectant properties of the Zoflora ( the benzalkonium chloride in the Zoflora has antiseptic properties and these are inactivated when mixed with organic compounds in the soap in the Stardrops http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride) It does say on the Zoflora box that it is a more effective disinfectant when used without soaps or detergents.
So better use them separately from all fronts. Personally after reading through all of this thread it's made me more conscious of all the issues involved and I won't mix them again.
By the way Zoflora and Stardrops are made by the same company and info about them both can be found here http://www.thorntonross.com/household/index.html if you're interested.

Queenie

Thanks for those links, rosy, I found them very interesting indeed

patchwork_cat

You should never mix 2 cleaners for instance bleach contains chlorine which when mixed with some other cleaning agents releases chlorine gas - very toxic.

You can use baby sterlising products like milton with cats.

Queenie

patchwork_cat wrote:

...
You can use baby sterlising products like milton with cats.

Wish I'd known that on Sunday when I had to dunk my furbaby in the bath as a substitute "bidet" ... his rear end most definately needed sterilising after he over indulged on treats which went right through him.

Having a long furry coat may *look* cute ... but there are times when it is a bane!!!!

Wickedkitten

mentaljessie wrote:

Zoflora is also according to th feline advisory beaureau (sp?) toxic to cats. In fact all household cleaning products which turn a cloudy colour are toxic to cats. Here's the linkwww.fabcats.org/poisonsinthehome.html

Zoflora is actually one of the one cleaning products that isn't toxic to cats because it doesn't have phenol in it. Your Cat magazine has actually recommended it over products like dettol which have phenol in it.

tawnyowls

Queenie wrote:

Stardrops only lists one ingredient and that is only 15-30% of the total product. Not at all sure what makes up the other 70-85%

The Thornton Ross site gives the whole list of ingredients.

I do not have a degree of any kind, let alone one in Science,

I do, in biochemistry - however, I still wouldn't rely only on my own knowledge; I think it is far better to raise subjects like this in a forum where there are people with a lot of knowledge on a vast array of subjects, and either confirmed or refuted on a factual basis

but, common sense tells me that these products go through testing before they are permitted on the market shelf and if they carry a warning it is there for a very good reason.

Yes, there is - it's so people won't mix it with bleach or similar products. If the manufacturers didn't have it, they'd be left open to being sued by people who would mix such things (even with such warnings, there are still people who do, but you can't legislate for stupidity)

While no immediate problem has occured who, that has posted about mixing these products, can honestly say they have carried out legitimate tests

No, but I have checked the likelihood of these two ingredients causing this particular problem, as should have been clear from my post.

Caution, caution, caution! Warnings are placed on those bottles for a very good reason by the people who develop and put their products through rigorous testing!

It's right to be cautious - it's also right to be aware that manufacturers often err (greatly) on the side of caution. There's also a difference between being cautious and being panicky. The OS board is really quite a bit about not following the rules, whether that's about how much washing powder to use or when to throw out food. People should be able to say what works for them, but it is only advice, and like all advice, should be checked out. Warn by all means, and you were completely right to do so, but please don't scream at people in bright red capitals - pointing something out calmly will usually be far more effective than yelling (virtually as well as in reality).

rosy wrote:

Another point to think about alongside the danger aspect is that when the Zoflora is mixed with Stardrops you can lose the disinfectant properties of the Zoflora ( the benzalkonium chloride in the Zoflora has antiseptic properties and these are inactivated when mixed with organic compounds in the soap in the Stardrops http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzalkonium_chloride) It does say on the Zoflora box that it is a more effective disinfectant when used without soaps or detergents.

Which is a danger aspect, really, as thinking you're disinfecting when you're not is probably worse than not disinfecting at all. Funnily enough, I'd found that article earlier on today too, and had come on here to post it. I would also now agree that it's better not to mix them, based on the likeihood of inactivation. The point is, though, that this has now been discussed and checked, and doesn't simply rely on possibly over-cautious warnings - if we all did what manufacturers told us, there wouldn't be much point in having an OS board!

Queenie

tawnyowls wrote:

Warn by all means, and you were completely right to do so, but please don't scream at people in bright red capitals - pointing something out calmly will usually be far more effective than yelling (virtually as well as in reality).

Screaming? :think: Hmm, nopey, not screaming

Capitals are indeed considered "shouting" in net terms ... and I make no apology for doing so in this instance. If the warning serves to save even one person from gaily mixing *any* chemicals without giving it any thought, than it's worth it.

The original post was made several months ago and people were following the recommendation, quite happily, up to a few days ago.

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether yelling a warning would be better delivered than "pointing out calmly", when my husband was just about to do something which could have proved fatal, a quick shout of "No!!!" was far more effective in warding off the iminent danger than a gentle,
"Excuse me, dear, but if you decide to go ahead and put that nail through the wall at that particular point, it's is quite possible that there may be a pipe or wire behind it if you examine the layout of the room and note the gas/electrical points".

teedy23

K9cuddles wrote:

I've got dogs and use Zoflora and mix it with Stardrops and a Kennel Cleaning agent! There's not hope for me then!! lol

jeez hope you dont breath in too much when using this, Ive allways worried about mixing these things:eek: has anyone read "a boy called it" true story about authors abuse by nuty and dangerous mother, she used to mix up household cleansers in a bucket, and lock him in toilet with them to see how long he could last. They let off fumes which burn the throat ,lungs and eyes, and eventually made him phyically sick

tawnyowls

Queenie wrote:

Screaming? :think: Hmm, nopey, not screaming

Capitals are indeed considered "shouting" in net terms ... and I make no apology for doing so in this instance. If the warning serves to save even one person from gaily mixing *any* chemicals without giving it any thought, than it's worth it.
The original post was made several months ago and people were following the recommendation, quite happily, up to a few days ago.

We'll have to agree to disagree on whether yelling a warning would be better delivered than "pointing out calmly", when my husband was just about to do something which could have proved fatal, a quick shout of "No!!!" was far more effective in warding off the iminent danger than a gentle,
"Excuse me, dear, but if you decide to go ahead and put that nail through the wall at that particular point, it's is quite possible that there may be a pipe or wire behind it if you examine the layout of the room and note the gas/electrical points"

And in bright red capitals are considered to indicate screaming. I'm afraid when people do that, either virtually or in reality, my immediate incliniation is to walk away and ignore them. Which, in this case, would be a shame, because you did make a very important point.

Posting on a forum isn't really the same situation as you mention - people have the time to read and digest, and I really think over-emotive posts are counter-productive.