Is stardrops environmentally friendly?

Swan_2

Lizzieanne wrote: »

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

That's just given me the best laugh I've had all week! :T

me too, I'm still giggling about it

flissh

Gigervamp wrote: »

Same here. That's what I tend to use, along with elbow grease occasionally.

Flissh, we have a cesspit and can use anything. A septic tank is different though because the liquids drain away, whereas a cesspit is just a holding tank for liquid and solids which has to be emptied a few times a year. I wish we had a septic tank cos it's bloomin' expensive getting the cesspit emptied.

Good to know, can I ask how often you get it emptied and how many in your house hold.

(sorry to hijack thread...)

LittleMissAspie

Interesting site here:
http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/FreeBuyersGuides/householdconsumables.aspx

What I find most interesting is that Ecover, while better than the standard big name brands, is still not that great for the environment, and there are plenty of better things to use.

I like Astonish cleaners personally, and you can find them for a pound in cheapo shops too.

Gigervamp

There are 4 of us here. We usually have to empty it about 3 or 4 times a year. Last year was bad though, because of all the rain we had, running into the drain from the gutters, at one point we had to empty it only 6 weeks after the last emptying. At £165 a time, it was a pretty expensive year.
I'd much rather have a septic tank which only gets emptied about once a year I believe.

flissh

Thanks Gigervamp, you have put my mind at rest a bit, I thought it might be more often, (though that sounds pricey enough.)

pigpen

I have stardrops hugely diluted in a squirty bottle and it makes me really wheezy if I spray it and bits get in the air.. no it can't be good.. but then very few things are and I use it so rarely I doubt it makes much difference

Caterina

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

As a qualified chemist, I'm still at a loss to see why people continue to promote this combination The two chemicals (an acid and an alkali) will react together producing another chemical (sodium acetate) which has no cleaning properties whatsoever

PP, I found that the reaction that the two create is the thing that cleans, not the finished product! I put loads of bicarb and then added vinegar in my blocked dishwasher, and it was all that fizzing and popping that eventually seemed to clear it.

The same thing happened when I cleaned the scaley gunk in the toilet, the fizz seemed to be the thing that loosened the scales and I ended up with a clean toilet bottom!

Am I just deluding myself?

Re. Stardrops, they have a really bad mark in the ethical stakes, I think I read about it on the Ethical Consumer (or something like that), not only they are naff for the environment (as PP pointed out, petrochemicals = fossil fuels etc.) but also apparently the manufacturers did not come out very well on an ethical basis. Will investigate more if you want, and let you know.

Caterina

Penelope_Penguin

Caterina wrote: »

PP, I found that the reaction that the two create is the thing that cleans, not the finished product! I put loads of bicarb and then added vinegar in my blocked dishwasher, and it was all that fizzing and popping that eventually seemed to clear it.

The same thing happened when I cleaned the scaley gunk in the toilet, the fizz seemed to be the thing that loosened the scales and I ended up with a clean toilet bottom!

Am I just deluding myself?

Not necessarily What's probably happening is that the vinegar (an acid) is reacting with the limescale (calcium carbonate, another alkai ). As the vinegar is a relatively weak acid this will take time, but you see the quick fizzzy reaction with the bicarb, and think that must be what's doing the job.

You'll clean your loo or dishwasher just as well with neat vinegar (or coke - that has phosphoric acid in) and save your bicarb for muffins :T In fact neat vinegar will be better than vinegar/bicarb as all the vinegar will be removing the limescale, rather than some of it being wasted on the bicarb

Penny. x

thriftlady_2

Penelope_Penguin wrote: »

and save your bicarb for muffins

or for cutting your cocaine;)

Bongedone

thriftlady wrote: »

or for cutting your cocaine;)

Would that not make drug users look like they have rabies?