Now that the cheapest and most effective path weedkiller (sodium chlorate) and the cheapest and most effective external wood treatment (creosote) have both been banned, I see in the papers that the EU are talking about banning anticoagulant rodenticides.
It seems to me that if something works, it will inevitably be banned.
You can still buy ammonium sulphamate - but as a "compost accelerator".
You can buy cresote in large quanities for "pro use" - or make your own (you do have coal and used sump oil, don't you!!??)
And you can still buy paint and varnish that works - but not in B&Q (well not much range).
But I agree - the tendency is to dissuade people from using teh good stuff in favour of a mediocre product.
I saw a forum post somewhere last year warning of the dangers of having large wood bonfires near parked cars; something about the ash being alakine (well, yes) landing on parked cars, getting wet in the dew overnight and eating into the modern water based paint (= large household insurance claim). Don't recall that happening with cellulose paints. And what's the point? The vast majority of modern paint spraying is done in the factory by machines where the air can be filtered and solvents removed.
I's forgotten about that. I note that the reason for the "ban" as a herbicide is (according to Wrongipedia) because the Irish refused to permit it without further animal testing, not for any reason of toxicity. Sigh.
True, but what a right royal PITA.
I suspect the mediocrity is a by-product of insistence by the regulators that it must be possible to bathe in whatever it is without harm.
Huge wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@mid.individual.net:
We used to have controllable aerosols, but since they've banned CFC propellants it's just all or nothing. And the hole in the ozone layer still isn't getting any smaller ...
Diesel + sump oil, and leave some small lumps of coal (or dust, better) in the mix so the coal tars leech out.
Utterly and completely illegal[1] but allegedly quite close to real creosote (including being carcinogenic).
[1] As would using real creosote anywhere where the public or kids can get to it, IIRC. But only if they catch you... And seeing as fake creosote looks similar, "they" would have to be quite astute to notice...
On an aside, I have a "concreting" book written by americans that recommends diesel/paraffin + old sump oil as a release agent for formwork. In fact they even have a picture of a bloke applying it to the plywood with a souped up all metal garden sprayer.
The CFCs already up there will be consuming ozone for some time yet. I forget the details but there was a good writeup in Bill Bryson's Brief History of Everything.
Alkali strips the old cellulose stuff very effectively. I used to deal with a firm that supplied soda in bulk, and the paintwork on their truck was in a sorry state. OTOH modern acrylics shouldn't be affected at all.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here.
All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.