WD40 update

I was in Isaac Lord yesterday and saw a few shelves with various products from the WD40 company. Each product had its major claims printed on the pack - and for WD40 itself, it does NOT use the L-word "lubricant". The 3-IN-ONE oil and White Lithium certainly do (and I can't remember what else was there).

BTW - I had not realised they own 1001 as well. Mr Medway, how does that rate in the carpet shampoo stakes?

Their web site describes it as "The world's number one multi-purpose lubricant".

I didn't know either. 1001 is just a dry foam shampoo. They have been around for donkeys years.

They are high foam crystallising detergents used either with a rotary floor scrubber with soft brush & feed tank (and skilled operator), or in a dry foam machine which generates foam using a blower.

The idea is that the foam is only perhaps 5% water, so a numpty can't over wet the carpet. The scrubbing action loosens the dirt, which is trapped by the detergent - as the detergent drys it crystalises into a powder & can be vacuumed up.

More a maintenance method than a deep clean, but much better than corn husks or fizzy water systems. Problem is, its a two stage method. Claen carpet, wait for it to dry, vacuum out residue. No use to a contractor.

Has its place, but largely replaced by spray extraction cleaning.

Don't worry - I agree their website goes on about lubrication! :-) Which is why it seemed such an omission on the can. Maybe they are de-emphasising that aspect since they acquired 3-IN-ONE (and appear to be extending the range of products)?

According to my sister it used to be very highly rated as a shampoo by dermatology departments - good cleaning and very gentle on sensitive skin.

Are you really saying head-hair shampooing with 1001?

Yup - highly recommended.

I still maintain that the WD means water dispersant. As is mentioned on their web site. All other claims are a by product.

Dave

I agree. But when I were a nipper, the name was said by some (obviously completely wrongly) to be from War Department!

All together now (those of you who are old enough) # 1001 cleans a BIG BIG carpet, for less than half a crown #

When it first came to the UK, it was called "Rocket WD40" to emphasise a connection with the US space program(me).

So what about using Head'n'Shoulders for emergency carpet cleaning?

I suspect it's all mostly the same stuff inside anyway. A few years ago I bought a Ginormous Bottle of shampoo, found I didn't like it, and being too mean to throw it away used it for washing dishes. Conversely Ecover coconut-based dish-washing liquid makes very nice bubble bath.

Owain

I wasn't allowed to watch commercial television...

I was. And that had already got into my brain, so I can't blame you.

(half a crown = 2/6d = 12 1/2p for the kiddies)

Andy

Owain coughed up some electrons that declared:

My grandfather, Fred Watts, was a Barrister's Clerk specialising in patents - and he helped prepare the Teepol patent. Consequently my grandmother, Amy May Watts, was one of the first housewives to use something akin to fairy, courtesy of some free samples.

Apparantly she was somewhat suspicious of this new fangled stuff, but after trying some, was a convert.

Grandad was cool ;->

Unlike me - I'm more of a Squidward...

But it (Teepol) didn't produce much by way of bubbles and foam. :-(

Thanks for doing that. The wiki's suitably updated.

NT

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Graham." saying something like:

You earworming bastard!