Cleaners and Detergents FAQ v4
------------------------------





Contents:
---------

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. Do not use it in
washing machines.
Its speed makes it useful for hand 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
higher 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. The detergent gradually attacks some
types of glass, making it go cloudy in time.

Dishwasher detergent, liquid: I know nowt about em.

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 available.
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 houseold paints. Other soaps may be used instead so long as
theyre 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 and no
materials cost.

Best detergents for general use: if we must pick one for all uses, it
would probably 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 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.

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
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 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.
Turps substitute is white spirit, turpentine is a plant oil.

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. Prone to causing headache or migraine.

Orange oil: aka limonene, Sticky stuff remover. A solvent oil derived
from oranges.

Carbon tetrachloride: 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. Olbas oil is not usually a first choice cleaner at
=A33:50 per 30ml, but for ballpoint it is well recommended.

Clove 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. If you have no olbas or clove, try eucalyptus oil.



Abrasives
---------

Plastic scouring pads: widely used for cleaning dishes. Can usually be
cleaned in a dishwasher to remove insanitary muck build-up.

Metal scourers: there are traditional wire wool scourers, and more
modern stainless steel ribbon balls.

Ajax: abrasive powder and bleach, once popular as a 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. Cause rust stains
wherever theyre stored. Not recommended for general use.

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: aka suede 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: aka ball bearings 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. Any non abrasive denser than water pieces can be used
for this task.



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). Toilet cleaners
are usually acid. 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
know which detergents are safe with bleach and which are not. I use the
cheapie washing up liquid with it if I ever want thick bleach, but
there is no guarantee against an acid formula being sold in future, so
I cannot assure you of its safety in every case.
If you ever encounter unpleasant or choking fumes from bleach, leave
the building immediately. Do not wait to work out what happened, people
have died that way.

Milton: dilute chlorine bleach. Milton solution is 1% bleach, 16.5%
salt. Tablets are Sodium Dichloroisocyanurate. Kills bacteria, fungi,
viri and spores. Tablets can be used to disinfect drinking water, 1
tablet in 32 litres.

Oxygen bleach: aka hydrogen peroxide, avoids all the downsides of
chlorine bleaches, and does not discolour fabrics. Oxygen bleach can be
used in laundry. Not as powerful as chlorine bleach, and not such an
effective antibacterial.

Sun and soap: soaping clothes and hanging them in sunlight while wet
can bleach discolouration not removed by chlorine or oxygen bleaches.
It is a slower process, taking many hours. The clothes should be kept
wet or damp. The uv in sunlight also has a sterilising effect.



Spray and wipe cleaners:
------------------------

Quick and easy hard surface cleaners. Produce noxious fumes. Contain
ammonia, plus perfumes to disguise the smell. Ventilation recommended.



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 eat if pure, but the others are not, and skin
should be rinsed if contact occurs. Never use acids and bleach
together, as toxic chlorine gas is produced.

Citric acid: weak limescale remover. Requires hot water, preferably
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 acid, since its
safe on such 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. Distilled vinegar is stronger than wine and cider vinegars.
Also cleans wood.

Phosphoric acid: used in some acid products.

Sulphamic acid: the most popular acid in limescale removing toilet
cleaners.

Sulphuric acid: stronger than sulphamic but costs more.

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. One of
the higher risk cleaners, follow instructions with care.
Effective at removing scale / watermarks from glass, but care must be
taken to keep it off the metal, wood etc. 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.



Specialist cleaners
-------------------

Wax based paint cleaners etc

Brick acid: aka patio cleaner. 30% 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.

Jizer, Hyperclean etc - dissolves greasy engine deposits, can then be
washed off with water.

Vinegar: cleans and resurfaces copper by etching the surface off,
leaving fresh clean copper.
The liquid runoff is toxic if ingested, so ensure it doesn't get onto
food. Diluted vinegar is also an old favourite for cleaning glass, best
applied with newspaper rather than cloth.

Saliva: used for cleaning fine art oil paintings, but sadly not
available in litre bottles

Ammonia: used for cleaning jewellery

Autoglym glass cleaner: one of the best commercial glass cleaner
preparations, but pricey.
From car accessory shops.

Jewellery dips

Brasso

Silvo: abrasive silver cleaner.

Stain devils ballpoint number 1: I got no result with it at all. Olbas
oil was quick and effective. Stain devil not recommended.

Coke: coca cola and pepsi contain dilute phosphoric acid, will
clean.... what? car battery terminals, ?rust?

Milk: cleans leather

Hartshorn powder: used to clean silver plate. Wipe a hartshorn and
water paste onto the silver, allow to dry, and brush off. Alcohol in
the paste will help to remove tarnish.

Gilt Frame cleaner: Take sufficient sulphur to give a golden tinge to
about 1 1/2 pint of water, and in this boil 4 or 5 bruised onions or
garlic. Strain off the liquid and let cool. Wash the frames with a soft
brush, and when dry it will come out as bright as new.



Alkalis
-------

The stronger alkalis can cause serious eye injury. The damage takes
time to occur, so may not prompt a person to seek medical assistance.
In the worst cases blindness can result. Use eye protection. Do not mix
alkalis with acids, rapid reactions may occur, spitting acid or alkali.

- caustic soda: strong alkali, cleans ovens, unblocks drains. Toxic,
irritant, can cause serious eye injury. One of the high risk cleaners,
follow instructions with care.
It is important to add crystals to water gradually, and never the other
way round. Use rubber gloves, plastic apron, goggles. Proprietary
products containing thickener will be more likely to stay where put,
thus be more effective on non horizontal surfaces.

- washing soda: degreases when used with boiling water. For clothes and
drain unblocking. The majority of drain blockages are mostly solidified
fat. Discolours aluminium, and can even dissolve it in some cases.
For washing, a teaspoonful in the machine is good. For drain
unblocking, half a cup of soda in hot water works well, but use eye
protection as it may spit alkali when mixing, and eyes are particularly
vulnerable to alkalis.

- sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, bicarb - a mild safe alkali,
with many uses:
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.

Lime: greasy and dirty laundry may be cleaned by soaking in lime water.
Lime's claims to fame are its cheapness, around =A36 for a 25kg bag from
any builders merchants, and its wide range of uses. The lime water is
made with 1/2 lb. of lime to every 6 quarts of water which has been
boiled for two hours, then left to settle, and strained off when clear.
Each article should be rinsed in this liquor to wet it thoroughly, and
left to soak till the morning, just covered by it when the things are
pressed together. This is another one of Mrs Beetons recipes, and an
old laundry technique. It works, but how it compares to modern
detergents I wouldnt know. The lime reacts with grease to form soap.



Water cleaners:
---------------

Pressure washers: The pressure of these can sometimes 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 avoided. 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)
Pressure washer FAQ link.

Steam cleaners: Effective at removing some types of dirt, ineffective
for many as well. Useful for some jobs, but not for general purpose
cleaning. Heat damages some materials, and can occasionally shatter
glass. Minor risk of burn injuries. Removes nicotine from walls,
removes grease, strips wallpaper, cleans tile grout,
Small marks can be steam cleaned with a kettle or pan of water. Beware,
steam burns with more severity than boiling water.

Lance: A lance on the end of a hose can remove a lot of dirt from
paths, drives, patios, cars etc. However performance does not compare
to pressure washers, which boost the water pressure considerably.



Stains:
-------

Prompt action increases the likelihood of removing the stain, dried
stains are not as easy to remove.

Firstly the general purpose stain removers:
Washing powder: the most versatile stain remover is biological washing
powder. Soak the stain overnight.
Bleach: will remove many stains, but discolours and rots natural
fabrics and dyes.
Dry cleaning solvents: will remove many stains from most fabrics and
hard surfaces
Cellulose thinners: dissolve many things - might dissolve what youre
trying to clean though


Ballpoint pen ink:
- alcohol
- olbas oil: apply a drop toa cotton bud, wipe off the ink.
- it is also possible to use perfume, hairspray or aftershave as
solvent, but articles should then be washed right away.
- dry cleaning solvents
Blood:
- remove while wet with a cloth and cold water
- if not dried long, rub repeatedly with soap and water. Keep rinsing
the cleaning cloth to
avoid spreading the loosened stain.
- soak in biological washing powder in cold water
Chewing gum:
- for carpet, fill a bag with ice cubes, add a tablespoon of salt, and
use the bag to freeze
the gum. The gum will now break apart.
- for clothes, put them in the freezer to make the gum brittle. Act
quickly when frozen as it
will thaw rapidly.
- spray on freezer spray, and crumble the frozen gum off.
Cup ring marks:
- clean with bio washing powder
- ring-away
Egg:
- always use cold water to wash egg off, heat will set it in place.
- bio washing powder and cold water
Epoxy resin
- white spirit
- it will peel off with a fingernail from some surfaces
- or pare it down with a knife
Foam, polyurethane squirty type:
- acetone
Fruit:
- fruit and wine-spots: dip in a solution of sal ammonia or alcohol,
and rinse.
- salt water, according to Mrs Beeton.
Grease marks:
- wipe/rub with paraffin or a dry 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
damaged by the heat or strong detergent.
- rub with yellow soap and rinse in hot water
- Mrs Beeton recommends: purified bullocks blood, absorbent pastes,
and even common soap,
are applied to the spot when dry. When the colours are not fast, use
fuller's-earth or
pulverized potter's-clay, laid in a layer over the spot, and press
it with a very hot iron
Ink, fountain pen: dip the part into hot water, then spread it smoothly
on the hand or on the
back of a spoon, pour a few drops of oxalic acid or salts of sorrel
over the ink-spot,
rubbing and rinsing it in cold water till removed.
Label adhesive, from self adhesive labels:
- wet with water, let soak a few minutes, peel or rub off.
- wet the label with white spirit and wait a few minutes. Peel off any
remaining label.
Wipe the residue away with a rag wetted with white spirit.
- warm with a hairdryer and peel the label off
Limescale:
- see the limescale section
Nicotine
- steam cleaning
Paint, emulsion:
- if un-set, water and washing powder or washing up liquid, and rub
with a cloth.
Several water changes may be needed.
- if set but soft: soak in dilute ecover overnight, then rub and wash
repeatedly.
- if set and hard: first, break the paint up, this will often remove a
lot of it.
A kitchen knife can do this. Then use a suede brush to remove the
remains.
Suede brushes do damage fabric, so take care to only brush exactly
where the paint is.
- oil type paint removers may soften the paint and allow it to be
washed out by machine
- freeze the item and the paint may crumble off more easily.
- spray on freezer spray, and crumble the frozen paint off.
- if all else fails, small paint marks can often be successfully
disguised temporarily with
a fine tipped black marker pen, or permanently with a button,
brooch, patch, decorative
motif, etc.
Paint, lime:
- on clothes: hot water and washing powder
- on walls: hot water and sugar soap, as this doesnt cause problems
for the next paint coat.
- acids
Paint, oil based gloss:
- white spirit
Plastic glue:
- acetone
Rust:
- oxalic acid will remove iron stains from some materials. However
iron compounds act as a
self mordanting dye with some fabrics, and on these it is not
removable, even by bleach.
****:
- biological washing powder
Superglue:
- nitromethane, aka cyanoacrylate debonder
Stubborn stains:
- an overnight soak in bio washing powder solution frequently works.
- cellulose thinners will remove a lot of stains, but also damage some
things.
Tea & coffee
- soak overnight in bio washing powder
- soak in bicarb solution
Toilet scale:
- limescale removing toilet cleaner, ideally containing hydrochloric
acid. HCl is by far the
most effective. It will need applying several times if the amount of
scaling is significant.
Unknown stains:
- Use the general purpose stain treatments above, starting with an
overnight soak in
biological washing powder.
Varnish:
- paint strippers
- olbas oil
- while still wet, water and detergent for water based, or white
spirit for spirit based
Vehicle grease and dirt: see grease
wax:
- apply blotting paper or absorbent cloth and iron. Repeat until
cleared. The paper soaks up the molten wax.
- wash in boiling water with dishwasher detergent
- alcohol
- olbas oil
Wine:
- washing powder
- white grape juice can loosen red wine stains, then wash with washing
powder.
- dip in a solution of sal ammonia or alcohol, and rinse.
Yellowed cotton:
- bleach sometimes works. If not:
- dip in soapy water, hang in the sun while wet. Allow a day or 2, and
keep it moist.
Very effective, though slow.



Less likely candidates:
-----------------------

Some cleaners are just best avoided...

Blood: Mrs Beeton recommends purified bullocks blood for removing
grease spots.

Fire is also used as an occasional specialist cleaner, but not
recomended for general household use. Gas burners are sometimes used to
clear paths of weeds.

Glo-fuel for model aircraft: various different formulae exist,
containing methanol, oils, solvents such as ether, etc. Glo-fuel is
highly volatile, highly flammable, explosive, very toxic, narcotic,
contains ether which is an early and rather risky general anaesthetic
from the Victorian era, and the fumes can be fatal. A powerful solvent,
but the negative outcomes may somewhat outweigh the benefits.

Mercury: Used in cleaning powders for silver in Victorian times.
Mercury vapour is quite toxic, mercury is toxic to eat, and the mercury
makes the silver weak and brittle. Not an ideal cleaner then.

Saliva: While not one of the favourite household cleaners, its fairly
effective, and is used in quite a few households. Contains enzymes.
Next time you visit your friend, see if you can work out what has been
drool cleaned.

Turd: yes, dirt itself is recommended for cleaning by.... Mrs Beeton
again. To clean the char off scorched linen, she recommends: 1/2 pint
of vinegar, 2 oz. of fuller's-earth, 1 oz. of dried fowls' dung,
1/2 oz. of soap, and the juice of 2 large onions. Thank god for the
onions.

Urine: It had to make the list somewhere. In Tudor times clothes were
boiled in urine and wood ash on wash day. Lovely. The 2 react to make a
form of soap, and both are cleaners in their own right. It need hardly
be said that one should not skimp on rinsing.

Hydrofluoric acid: removes most types of dirt. Unfortunately it also
removes whatever the dirt is on, hands, finger bones, pretty well
everything. It is also difficult to store, since it attacks and eats
even the most unreactive of storage materials, glass. Best stored in
glass coated in liquid paraffin, preferably anywhere but here.



More information:
-----------------

Mrs Beeton: possibly the most famous writer on this subject, she
produced a series of household guidance books a century ago, which
include a thorough section on cleaning materials and methods. Available
in any second hand book store, and reproduced online. Many materials
discussed in the book are outdated, but there is lots of useful stain
removal information, and lots of cooking recipes.

The Google uk.d-i-y archive:
http://tinyurl.com/65kwq

The UK.D-I-Y FAQ:
http://www.diyfaq.org.uk/



Remaining Questions:
--------------------
Where does cream cleaner fit into this list?
Other stain devils and similar?
What does coke clean or do?
What else do steam cleaners remove or do?
? sal ammonia -c?
?spirits of sorrel
Most "substances" from e.g. RS from loktite to IPA now come with a
product data sheet listing contents and warnings / hazards. Root around
the RS site=20
swarfega
tough hand clean jobs, wash pdr.