On Fri, 03 Jun 2005 13:59:36 +0100, Grunff wrote:

David Peters wrote:
Why is isopropyl alcohol (propanol) reckoned by many people to be a
better general cleaner around the house than the ethyl alcohol
(ethanol) which is found in methylated spirits?

It isn't.

Ethanol has a lower toxicity. However, denatured ethanol (meths) has
pyridine added to it. Apart from being one of the most vile smelling
compounds, pyridine is relativly toxic.

It also rots rubber, which is why you should never use meths for
cleaning tape recorder pinch rollers.

So, given the choice between ethanol and isopropanol, I'd choose
ethanol. But given the choice between meths and isopropanol, I'd choose
the latter any day.