Detergents and cleaners FAQ

[Phil Addison]

I would check before advising it for enamel though. Many years ago I used a proprietary limescale remover on a Colston dishwasher, which in those days had an enamelled steel innards. I can't recall the make but it left the white enamel with dark patches which felt less smooth than the surrounding area. I have no idea what was in the descaler.

Is an enamel coating essentially different from ceramic ware?

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

Google uk.d-i-y archive is at NOSPAM from address to email me

[bigcat]

yes, very. Its always advised not to use the usual bog and bath cleaners on enamel, they wreck the finish. only to use ones known to be safe with enamel. I'll add that to the faq then.

cheers, NT

[lukebobek]

Most of the glass cleaners you buy at stores are water. I've found its best to buy glass cleaner through janitorial distributors. They are almost always super purified formulas made for people who use them everyday, not suzy homemaker. The best that I've found is a product called VISTA CLEER, it is the best...awesome. No ammonia, no alcohol. A compnay called Chase Products makes this glass cleaner. I found out that the company has been around for like 80 years and the formula is what most janitors ask for. You will have to call different janitorial distributors and dealers to find it, call around and ask for it. Its worth it.

[bigcat]

Not done anything on this one for a bit, but it still has some work yet to go. Just too busy at the mo...

However I did find one more trick today. Having tried all the usual suspects to clean tea coloured stains off glassware, finally used toilet cleaner containing HCl. It all wiped off instantly, very impressed.

NT

[Phil Addison]

No problem.

I'll try that. Our dishwasher has packed up and we are washing up by hand - didn't realise just how valuable a d/w is!!! However, getting the tea stains off china mugs is really difficult by hand. Best method so far is to fill the mug with water, add a bit of Persil and boil up in the microwave. The stain then wipes off with a hot dishcloth.

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

Google uk.d-i-y archive is at NOSPAM from address to email me

[bigcat]

Just added that too.

I did think about using HCl on china, but thought that one surface crack, as is fairly common, and it can get through and eat the china. Also cups often have little bits of unglazed china somewhere. Maybe it would be ok but Im not so sure.

The other thing is you dont really want to be regularly washing up with HCl, its just a lil rougher than Fairy liquid on skin :)

NT

[Phil Addison]

Hi NT,

Now that the Power Tools FAQ is done (it's just gone live) I have had another look at your Detergents and Cleaners FAQ, and it's really not bad as is, so I'll start an editing pass over it to format it for the DIY FAQ. The latest I have seen is 28 May 2005 14:33:49 -0700, message [e-mail].

Is that OK, or do you have a later mark-up stashed away? Can you email me a valid address in case queries arise?

Phil The uk.d-i-y FAQ is at

Google uk.d-i-y archive is at editor (a t) diyfaq (stop) o r g (stop) uk

[meow2222]

[Phil Addison]

Yes, I realised that. I've imported it into a WP to make it easier to read and re-format, and spotted a few things to query. Having read it again, it does have a lot of useful info in it, but some of the abbreviated notes need expanding a bit for easier reading - I'm happy to do that and let you check it over. No need to spend more than 15 mins on it, to just give me an 'ok you're happy to have your nom de plume on it', or 'no its bollox'.

No problem - we all have to do busy things sometimes, and put fun things like d-i-y aside for a while :-)

That's what I have in mind - to tidy it up, remove the obvious things that look as if they might not be justifiable (or flag them in some way), and put it up on the /

area for a while for the 'team' to spot any errors.

I'll do that if you agree, no need for you to spend more time on it. After that, yes, flag it as draft and put it in the main FAQ.

Got it thanks. Will be in touch.

Cheers,

Phil