Being the record holder of pouring eight bottles of Lowe's sulphur acid down my kitchen drain, I know what I'm doing.
Hot water is a common recommendation but it doesn't make any sense at first. The devil is in the details.
I got the motivation to try watching youtube. That was the trick to use on toilet bowl. Sulphur acid won't even work on toilet bowl because it doesn't go down unless you pour in a huge volume, in that case, it becomes extremely dangerous.
The method is to pour pans of boiling water and a generous amount of liquid detergent into the toilet until it unclogs totally. I didn't believe it but I was looking for a method to better clear the blocked toilet without using the pump. It's not a good sight and smell to pump in a pool of mess.
To my surprise, it worked as shown on TV. It takes two to three big pans of boiling water. The worst is several pans. I stopped to go to sleep, and then a few more pans the next day.
The science is that something got dissolved or destroyed in hot water. That should be fat/oil/grease common in kitchen drains. Not surprisingly, the human gut should be a lot worse than the kitchen drains. But then humans deal with it by evolution and pass down those things they can't handle down the toilet drain.
The detergent helps to prevent the fog from clinging together and carries them away. So I use dishwasher powder instead. They are not only surfactants that work on surfaces. They actually attack grease, protein, and starch - anything that gets into the dishwasher. You can watch the action by sprinkling some powder into greasy food residues. But check that there are no solid residues due to the dishwasher powder. Small amounts accumulate and can block the toilet by itself.
So as long as there are slow flows of water in the toilet, so slow that you don't see, boiling water will work. But since it's so easy, I clear the toilet as soon as the water flow slows down. No more mess ever again.
So I applied the concept to the kitchen drain. I have to admit I added gadgets to the drain system that allow grease to accumulate, slowing down the flow to a trickle, but still allow the sink to be used with little interruption. That's why I had to pour eight bottles of acid to unblock it once it becomes blocked.
Doing it the first time, or clearing a severely blocked drain, you have to prepare that it will get a lot worse before it gets better. When thick grease layers falling off the pipes, you can get a total blockage. You need to prepare other ways to open the drain, like a pressure bladder or snake.
The method is the same, keep pouring boiling water and dishwasher powder down the drain until the flow is restored. And start doing it when the drain is slow. It's much harder when the flow is almost zero or just standing water. In that case, you have a lot of accumulated FOG and they will completely clog the pipe when they start to soften. However, these melting FOG aren't difficult to clear using pressure bladder or snake. If you don't want to get your hands dirty, do it early before the water flow slows down significantly - it's so easy.
From reviews, the other thing that works is the one on hardware stores that shows before and after pictures of pipes. But imagine if you have 25 ft of pipe down under, how many bottles do you need to clear all that? Someone reminded me that if I snaked the full 25 ft into the drain, the head is already on the other side of the house on the common big drains.
Hot water is much much cheaper and more effective. Boiling water may have a little effect on PVC pipes, and lesser on ABS. So you may just use hot water before it boils or let the boiling water sit for a little time before pouring. But acid is a lot worse.
It's so nice to see vortexes in all drains without getting your hands dirty.
Thursday, October 19, 2017
Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Operation Just Made
as in Bridge.
After I have enough length of both EMT and Sch. 80 PVC pipes, I tested the hybrid strength. It was tough enough that I can even stand in the middle of about 5 ft of horizontal length. But I got greedy. With full body weight, I can bend the 3/4 OD hybrid pipes a little. If I use 1" OD hybrid pipes, it will be awesome for a tough but lightweight, extendable ladder.
So I went to Lowes to pick 1" Sch 80 PVC pipes that fit 3/4" EMT pipes easily. You can get a short 90 bend section for the fitting. Unfortunately, when I got to the electrical section for the EMT, it was sold out. Lowes had done it again. Last time they sold out on 1/2 EMT. They were laughed at by Home Depot, who put up a sign on their stocks, "Always in stock".
Now, I can take home the PVC pipes because they were too soft to carry through my moon roof. Imagine putting the pipes vertically down into the car through the roof. Practically, the pipes point a bit forward, supported by the closing of the moon roof and the back seat. If the pipes are soft, you have to drive very slowly, or the pipes will ripple violently and make a lot of noise. And you have to hold them tight with one hand while driving with the other.
I decided not to go to Home Depot because it was like 8 miles away while Lowes is 2. And also Home Depot doesn't sell Sch 80 PVC pipes anymore. So I waited after the weekend to see if Lowes will restock fast.
They don't. So I have to go to Home Depot. I always like their EMT more because of the finish. The Lowes pipes seem to have been polished without sealer. This is not good after you touched the pipes with residues in your hands when everything in the hardware store is under Prop 65.
Then I put them through my roof, with half of the pipes standing tall in the wind. I have to drive some 8 miles but that's not too bad. The 3/4" conduits are already rather tough so I don't have to drive slow.
I went back to Lowes immediately because the PVC pipes are much softer and you have to drive slow, which is too bad even for less than two miles. But with conduits inside them, they very easy to carry through my moon roof.
It was much more difficult than last them when the first two sch 80 pipes fit the straight portion of the EMT bend well. This time I had to try different bundles. Off I go when I found two. This time, they can scan the pipes at the register, but not the 3/4 pipes last time.
I checked out at the contractor's entrance because of fewer people in the way of my long things. I was surprised when I put the EMT's into the PVC's. One fit well but the other only fit a quarter in and only on one side. Well, did I state that the tolerance is even tighter than 3/4 PVC's?
While I was fitting my pipes, I heard unrest at the main entrance and saw a few people standing and watching. Shortly, the police arrived. I took no notice and went in to exchange the pipe that didn't fit.
When I checked out again, I heard that someone waved a gun. OMG! I should have gone as soon as I heard noises, and definitely should have gone when I heard the police sirens.
Now, I have only two PVC pipe to carry through my moon roof, with the EMT's hidden inside. Wow, I could drive 70 mph instead of 40!
After I have enough length of both EMT and Sch. 80 PVC pipes, I tested the hybrid strength. It was tough enough that I can even stand in the middle of about 5 ft of horizontal length. But I got greedy. With full body weight, I can bend the 3/4 OD hybrid pipes a little. If I use 1" OD hybrid pipes, it will be awesome for a tough but lightweight, extendable ladder.
So I went to Lowes to pick 1" Sch 80 PVC pipes that fit 3/4" EMT pipes easily. You can get a short 90 bend section for the fitting. Unfortunately, when I got to the electrical section for the EMT, it was sold out. Lowes had done it again. Last time they sold out on 1/2 EMT. They were laughed at by Home Depot, who put up a sign on their stocks, "Always in stock".
Now, I can take home the PVC pipes because they were too soft to carry through my moon roof. Imagine putting the pipes vertically down into the car through the roof. Practically, the pipes point a bit forward, supported by the closing of the moon roof and the back seat. If the pipes are soft, you have to drive very slowly, or the pipes will ripple violently and make a lot of noise. And you have to hold them tight with one hand while driving with the other.
I decided not to go to Home Depot because it was like 8 miles away while Lowes is 2. And also Home Depot doesn't sell Sch 80 PVC pipes anymore. So I waited after the weekend to see if Lowes will restock fast.
They don't. So I have to go to Home Depot. I always like their EMT more because of the finish. The Lowes pipes seem to have been polished without sealer. This is not good after you touched the pipes with residues in your hands when everything in the hardware store is under Prop 65.
Then I put them through my roof, with half of the pipes standing tall in the wind. I have to drive some 8 miles but that's not too bad. The 3/4" conduits are already rather tough so I don't have to drive slow.
I went back to Lowes immediately because the PVC pipes are much softer and you have to drive slow, which is too bad even for less than two miles. But with conduits inside them, they very easy to carry through my moon roof.
It was much more difficult than last them when the first two sch 80 pipes fit the straight portion of the EMT bend well. This time I had to try different bundles. Off I go when I found two. This time, they can scan the pipes at the register, but not the 3/4 pipes last time.
I checked out at the contractor's entrance because of fewer people in the way of my long things. I was surprised when I put the EMT's into the PVC's. One fit well but the other only fit a quarter in and only on one side. Well, did I state that the tolerance is even tighter than 3/4 PVC's?
While I was fitting my pipes, I heard unrest at the main entrance and saw a few people standing and watching. Shortly, the police arrived. I took no notice and went in to exchange the pipe that didn't fit.
When I checked out again, I heard that someone waved a gun. OMG! I should have gone as soon as I heard noises, and definitely should have gone when I heard the police sirens.
Now, I have only two PVC pipe to carry through my moon roof, with the EMT's hidden inside. Wow, I could drive 70 mph instead of 40!
Thursday, July 27, 2017
Hybrid Pipe - Maker Pipe's match
PVC pipe furniture is popular as ever. When wood dust become cancer causing agent, working with PVC is even more attractive. With a roller cutter, you don't need an expensive saw table to cut precisely, and there is even no saw dust.
However, I have been looking for non-PVC, environment-friendly alternatives. All the metal alternatives are expensive to very expensive, especially the fittings. EMT conduits are comparable in price to PVC, though, but the fittings are too bad or too expensive. These fittings just don't fit like PVC.
People have been looking for low-cost fittings for low-cost EMT. I would say they all fail, until now.
I invented the use of 4 EMT clips to function as a cross in EMT terms. Finally, I have to admit partial failure because the two holes in an EMT clip is not symmetric. It may be a good reason to hold the EMT tight on a base but the result of a cross over is not square enough.
I'm surprised to find a Kickstarter project to manufacture fittings for EMT - the Maker Pipe project. Because EMT manufacturers aren't interested. There's always the Kee Klamps, rather expensive but a lot less than rigid conduits. Recently, Lowes has a complete system of metal pipes and fittings that are close to Kee Klamps. Basically, there is a whole spectrum of metal alternatives to choose from and if you want cheap you can always go back to PVC.
Honestly, I have been looking at all type of pipes, their inner diameters, and outer diameters. I wanted to strengthen PVC pipes with EMT pipes inside. But I never find any way to fit EMT cheaply.
One day, it dawns on me that I never looked at schedule 80 PVC. A quick look shows that a 1/2 EMT can fit inside an 3/4 Sch. 80 PVC pipe with less than 1mm gap. I was so excited when I went to the hardware store to check it out. A EMT pipe can fit in some PVC pipes but not others. I thought there must be debris blocking the tiny gap. So I picked one PVC pipe, went home, hammered an EMT pipe in, and failed.
I thought it was another failure to find cheap fittings but then I wondered how EMTs can fit inside some of the PVC pipes in the hardware store.
On further analysis, there is a less than 1 mm nominal gap. However, the tolerance of the wall thickness is large. The tolerance of the OD of PVC pipes are much smaller, and I think it would be true for EMT pipes too. The fittings depend on the tight tolerance of the OD's.
In summary, an EMT pipe (1/2) can fit in more than half of the Sch. 80 PVC pipes (3/4) statistically. The same relation holds for 3/4 EMT pipes and 1" Sch. 80 PVC pipes, with an even smaller nominal gap.
First, it's a neat way to reinforce PVC with EMT inside, or EMT with PVC outside, depending on how you see it. It allows you to use thinner pipes, stronger, probably cheaper and better looking.
More important, now you can make EMT structures using PVC fittings, almost the same way you use pure PVC pipes and fittings. You just need to cut half an inch of PVC pipe, push it into a PVC tee, and use it on EMT.
OK, the PVC tee can slide across an EMT pipe. But this is an advantage. There is less cutting of the EMT pipes. Sometimes you want something that can rotate and slide, which is not easy in PVC.
There are many neat ways to hold the tee in place. Because the gap is so small, you can use most glue so the tee cannot slide. More secure is to drill the tee with a thread maker and tighten the EMT inside with a machine screw. If the tee is load bearing, you can drill through the EMT and put a sheet metal screw in it. The other nondestructive method is to use hose clamps on one or both sides of the tee to prevent it from moving at all.
A 3/4 tee is less than 1/5 the cost of a Maker Pipe Tee.
However, I have been looking for non-PVC, environment-friendly alternatives. All the metal alternatives are expensive to very expensive, especially the fittings. EMT conduits are comparable in price to PVC, though, but the fittings are too bad or too expensive. These fittings just don't fit like PVC.
People have been looking for low-cost fittings for low-cost EMT. I would say they all fail, until now.
I invented the use of 4 EMT clips to function as a cross in EMT terms. Finally, I have to admit partial failure because the two holes in an EMT clip is not symmetric. It may be a good reason to hold the EMT tight on a base but the result of a cross over is not square enough.
I'm surprised to find a Kickstarter project to manufacture fittings for EMT - the Maker Pipe project. Because EMT manufacturers aren't interested. There's always the Kee Klamps, rather expensive but a lot less than rigid conduits. Recently, Lowes has a complete system of metal pipes and fittings that are close to Kee Klamps. Basically, there is a whole spectrum of metal alternatives to choose from and if you want cheap you can always go back to PVC.
Honestly, I have been looking at all type of pipes, their inner diameters, and outer diameters. I wanted to strengthen PVC pipes with EMT pipes inside. But I never find any way to fit EMT cheaply.
One day, it dawns on me that I never looked at schedule 80 PVC. A quick look shows that a 1/2 EMT can fit inside an 3/4 Sch. 80 PVC pipe with less than 1mm gap. I was so excited when I went to the hardware store to check it out. A EMT pipe can fit in some PVC pipes but not others. I thought there must be debris blocking the tiny gap. So I picked one PVC pipe, went home, hammered an EMT pipe in, and failed.
I thought it was another failure to find cheap fittings but then I wondered how EMTs can fit inside some of the PVC pipes in the hardware store.
On further analysis, there is a less than 1 mm nominal gap. However, the tolerance of the wall thickness is large. The tolerance of the OD of PVC pipes are much smaller, and I think it would be true for EMT pipes too. The fittings depend on the tight tolerance of the OD's.
In summary, an EMT pipe (1/2) can fit in more than half of the Sch. 80 PVC pipes (3/4) statistically. The same relation holds for 3/4 EMT pipes and 1" Sch. 80 PVC pipes, with an even smaller nominal gap.
First, it's a neat way to reinforce PVC with EMT inside, or EMT with PVC outside, depending on how you see it. It allows you to use thinner pipes, stronger, probably cheaper and better looking.
More important, now you can make EMT structures using PVC fittings, almost the same way you use pure PVC pipes and fittings. You just need to cut half an inch of PVC pipe, push it into a PVC tee, and use it on EMT.
OK, the PVC tee can slide across an EMT pipe. But this is an advantage. There is less cutting of the EMT pipes. Sometimes you want something that can rotate and slide, which is not easy in PVC.
There are many neat ways to hold the tee in place. Because the gap is so small, you can use most glue so the tee cannot slide. More secure is to drill the tee with a thread maker and tighten the EMT inside with a machine screw. If the tee is load bearing, you can drill through the EMT and put a sheet metal screw in it. The other nondestructive method is to use hose clamps on one or both sides of the tee to prevent it from moving at all.
A 3/4 tee is less than 1/5 the cost of a Maker Pipe Tee.
Sunday, June 18, 2017
A simple bodywash and shampoo that saves you tons of money
It makes sense for cosmetic companies to sell directly ready-made ingredients for personal care products. Green products sell for $10 to $20 a bottle vs $3 in Walmart for the tough-skinned. They have more vertical sales and we save a lot of money. Imagine saving moving the water around in those bottles! Making your own body wash isn't crafty and time-consuming anymore.
SLSA recipe
Water 200g (~ one cup)
SLSA 10 g (5% weight)
Glycerin 20 g (10% weight)
Essential oil 1 drop
Procedure: Dissolve SLSA in warm water. Stir and sit until you have a clear liquid. Add glycerin and essential oil. Bottle it. The clear liquid will turn into a white cream/paste after a few hours. I may be wrong but I think the glycerin "thickens" the solution.
I got a cheap electronic scale with 0.1 g resolution. But for these Chinese products, the accuracy may be +- 1g. So I might have brought one with 0.01 g resolution. The are about the same price. A higher resolution one has less range - can not take a heavy load.
You can find a 1 lb bag of SLSA everywhere, making hundreds of bottles of body wash with it. A bottle of vegetable glycerin is another $10; also it can make hundreds of bottles.
Depending on the hardness of your water, I would use 3% to 5% for body wash. And 5% to 10% for shampoo. The same for hand washing dishes; the glycerin is optional.
But is it any good? It's not as good as Castile Soap plus a lot of glycerin. But I don't feel dry after a shower. The shampoo cleans well for our hard water and oily hair.
SLSA is still an irritant in the same class of SLS and soap. If it takes off the oil of your skin, it can hurt the skin and eyes in high concentrations. Maybe SLSA is more gentle than SLS.
SLSA is an acetate, not sulfate, so hopefully, it cannot be manufactured in the same process as SLS, resulting in toxic contaminations.
The LSA ion is an organic compound with carbon chains; it had to come from living or dead living things. Derived from vegetable oil doesn't tell the whole story. As an organic compound, it is biodegradable in theory. To be eco-friendly, it has to be readily biodegradable. But I have seen no claims that it is degrading fast, which is important because, like most washing chemicals, they are toxic to aquatic lives.
The next project will be ready made chemicals that will be safe for humans and the environment. My requirement is "just add water".
SLSA recipe
Water 200g (~ one cup)
SLSA 10 g (5% weight)
Glycerin 20 g (10% weight)
Essential oil 1 drop
Procedure: Dissolve SLSA in warm water. Stir and sit until you have a clear liquid. Add glycerin and essential oil. Bottle it. The clear liquid will turn into a white cream/paste after a few hours. I may be wrong but I think the glycerin "thickens" the solution.
I got a cheap electronic scale with 0.1 g resolution. But for these Chinese products, the accuracy may be +- 1g. So I might have brought one with 0.01 g resolution. The are about the same price. A higher resolution one has less range - can not take a heavy load.
You can find a 1 lb bag of SLSA everywhere, making hundreds of bottles of body wash with it. A bottle of vegetable glycerin is another $10; also it can make hundreds of bottles.
Depending on the hardness of your water, I would use 3% to 5% for body wash. And 5% to 10% for shampoo. The same for hand washing dishes; the glycerin is optional.
But is it any good? It's not as good as Castile Soap plus a lot of glycerin. But I don't feel dry after a shower. The shampoo cleans well for our hard water and oily hair.
SLSA is still an irritant in the same class of SLS and soap. If it takes off the oil of your skin, it can hurt the skin and eyes in high concentrations. Maybe SLSA is more gentle than SLS.
SLSA is an acetate, not sulfate, so hopefully, it cannot be manufactured in the same process as SLS, resulting in toxic contaminations.
The LSA ion is an organic compound with carbon chains; it had to come from living or dead living things. Derived from vegetable oil doesn't tell the whole story. As an organic compound, it is biodegradable in theory. To be eco-friendly, it has to be readily biodegradable. But I have seen no claims that it is degrading fast, which is important because, like most washing chemicals, they are toxic to aquatic lives.
The next project will be ready made chemicals that will be safe for humans and the environment. My requirement is "just add water".
The quest for a safe and effective hair conditioner
Hair conditioner and other personal daily hygiene stuff rarely have a score of one on EWG. The low scorers are very expensive or simply not available. I have been making compromises between low score and reasonable price.
I have been using Bronner's Castile soap at 50 cents an oz. Increasingly I feel that's too expensive because the kids use it like water. It could be used diluted but that's not practical for kids. Nobody should have to suffer in preparing or using it.
I ran into my wife's SLSA. The time when I tried to homemade things these things aren't that available. After reading the good claims, I got myself a good body wash gel in no time by accidentally. It dawned on me that it only take a few grams for a cup, making it hugely economic even if you use the best ingredients.
I also worried about the preservatives that I need if I DIY. But then many ingredients are self-preserving like salt water, glycerin. I can always add sugar or salt, which are both good for skin if the Internet is to be believed.
At first, I believe in myself and how difficult can it be finding something that is slippery? I have guar gum that feels very slippery. I can turn it into gel using calcium in some pills. I can thicken it by cooking it, resulting in a stable and consistent paste as thick as I like it to be. Yes, it applies well and can emulsify oils you put in. But it did nothing to my daughter's very tangled hair.
I've tried egg, which works a bit but smells. I have tried protein powder to emulate the egg white, which didn't work. I came across blogs claiming that flax seed works the same as off-the-shelf conditioners. It felt much better than egg white but it also did nothing after rinsing off.
In between those natural things, I thought of using what the off-the-shelf conditioners use. I was scared off by the full name of BTMS, which sounded so chemical. Then I settled on the next thing down the list, emulsifying wax NF. It wasn't that good on EWG because the ingredients aren't disclosed (but supposed to be a national standard?). But the other emulsifiers have bad scores. And I'm sure wax alone doesn't do anything on tangled hair.
After reading so many good praises on various suppliers, I ordered BTMS and tried it. I just add 5% melted solid to glycerin and then to filtered water and it works perfectly. And it's so much cheaper than our safer conditioner. That would be the end of story until I read some negative things about BTMS. Worse, there are contradictions that don't inspire confidence in the industry.
BTMS (Behentrimonium Methosulfate) is unacceptable on the Whole Food list of premium products. But it scores 1 on EWG. OK, maybe Whole Food have some reasons that are not on the sources of the EWG database. Then I found out that people are confused because BTC (Behentrimonium Chloride) is on the Whole Food list but has an EWG score of 3, worse than BTMS.
OK, elementary chemistry tells me that when dissolved in water, the Behentrimonium ion does what the Behentrimonium ion does, whether the other ion is Methosulfate or Chloride. And that Chloride ion did nothing much as in common salt. I can understand EWG. If nobody research directly on BTMS, they consider it as limited data or no data. They don't review similar compounds as in CIR, the cosmetics review body. And the data on BTC isn't that good.
And I agree that WF is bullshitting. There is no scientist in charge of the list. If they want to sell a premium product on their shelf, they will make sure that all the ingredients are on the list.
I have been using Bronner's Castile soap at 50 cents an oz. Increasingly I feel that's too expensive because the kids use it like water. It could be used diluted but that's not practical for kids. Nobody should have to suffer in preparing or using it.
I ran into my wife's SLSA. The time when I tried to homemade things these things aren't that available. After reading the good claims, I got myself a good body wash gel in no time by accidentally. It dawned on me that it only take a few grams for a cup, making it hugely economic even if you use the best ingredients.
I also worried about the preservatives that I need if I DIY. But then many ingredients are self-preserving like salt water, glycerin. I can always add sugar or salt, which are both good for skin if the Internet is to be believed.
At first, I believe in myself and how difficult can it be finding something that is slippery? I have guar gum that feels very slippery. I can turn it into gel using calcium in some pills. I can thicken it by cooking it, resulting in a stable and consistent paste as thick as I like it to be. Yes, it applies well and can emulsify oils you put in. But it did nothing to my daughter's very tangled hair.
I've tried egg, which works a bit but smells. I have tried protein powder to emulate the egg white, which didn't work. I came across blogs claiming that flax seed works the same as off-the-shelf conditioners. It felt much better than egg white but it also did nothing after rinsing off.
In between those natural things, I thought of using what the off-the-shelf conditioners use. I was scared off by the full name of BTMS, which sounded so chemical. Then I settled on the next thing down the list, emulsifying wax NF. It wasn't that good on EWG because the ingredients aren't disclosed (but supposed to be a national standard?). But the other emulsifiers have bad scores. And I'm sure wax alone doesn't do anything on tangled hair.
After reading so many good praises on various suppliers, I ordered BTMS and tried it. I just add 5% melted solid to glycerin and then to filtered water and it works perfectly. And it's so much cheaper than our safer conditioner. That would be the end of story until I read some negative things about BTMS. Worse, there are contradictions that don't inspire confidence in the industry.
BTMS (Behentrimonium Methosulfate) is unacceptable on the Whole Food list of premium products. But it scores 1 on EWG. OK, maybe Whole Food have some reasons that are not on the sources of the EWG database. Then I found out that people are confused because BTC (Behentrimonium Chloride) is on the Whole Food list but has an EWG score of 3, worse than BTMS.
OK, elementary chemistry tells me that when dissolved in water, the Behentrimonium ion does what the Behentrimonium ion does, whether the other ion is Methosulfate or Chloride. And that Chloride ion did nothing much as in common salt. I can understand EWG. If nobody research directly on BTMS, they consider it as limited data or no data. They don't review similar compounds as in CIR, the cosmetics review body. And the data on BTC isn't that good.
And I agree that WF is bullshitting. There is no scientist in charge of the list. If they want to sell a premium product on their shelf, they will make sure that all the ingredients are on the list.
So I took the matter into my own hands and try to dig up the scientific data. The most useful one is National Center for Biotechnology Information that contains a lot of databases.
Before that, I got the CIR review of quats in general. Yes, they are not that good in general but there are so many things that can attach to the quats. So I found a reviewed compound with exactly the same structure but the carbon chain is significantly shorter. It's not that good but the bigger molecular weight makes a lot of different; larger molecules are more difficult to penetrate into the skin layer.
I did find two papers in one of the databases, PubMed, that settled the confusion. Bear in mind that the public database is often used by companies to attack and defense opponents. The papers are scientifically sound but the funding sources are not disclosed as far as I can tell.
One paper argued with big data that very few problematic cases are reported over many years. I can agree with that and so I can finish my bag of BTMS feeling at ease. And the damages that a 200 lb person vs a 300 lb person can do are very different.
Unfortunately, the 2nd paper said that the Behentrimonium ion concentration in the sediment off some bay is increasing exponentially over many years. Maybe that's the reason why BTMS isn't used in the conditioners that we have, good or bad.
So, derived from any plant is irrelevant, except for religious reasons that cannot be from animals. You need to find carbon chains somewhere, though killing plants is much better than from fossils. And it's too easy to be an organic compound after heavy chemical processing. An organic compound is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxyen, and nitrogen etc. If it's organic, it is biodegradable in theory. But in real life, BT is organic but accumulates in the environment.
The word is readily biodegradable; a high percentage will degrade in days or months. And if it's a naturally occurring organic compound found in living things, I bet it is readily biodegradable.
And most things like surfactants and quats that change the property of water, such as tension and viscosity, must be toxic to aquatic life. It's like putting you into the atmosphere of some alien planets. If it's readily biodegradable, it may be reduced in waste treatment plants, and won't accumulate in the ocean.
The other thing is preservatives. Most of the chemicals can kill rats in high concentration. You are lucky if they are not preservative themselves. Others are self-preserving like glycerin, a sugar substitute. Since I only make a bottle of two at a time, if the thing doesn't go bad like food, I consider it preserved. And I'm not eating it.
And there is the myth about animal testing. If you put a new invented chemical into a product, you probably test it on animals instead of risking class action. But if you claim free of animal testing, does it mean that all the ingredients in the product are never tested on animals? This is almost impossible. Except for soap, it has been tested on humans for hundred of years, therefore no other test needed.
And the process is very simple. Melt 5% (weight) BTMS in a cup of 10% glycerin in a pan of hot water on a stove. Heat water in the microwave to about the same temperature or higher. Pour water into BTMS and stir. Done. It will be a white cream. The best rinse off detangler. You can add a few drops or a spoon of oil of your choosing. Also, one or two drops of essential oil for the fragrance.
Next time I'll try hydrolyzed guar gum that is like a quat.
One paper argued with big data that very few problematic cases are reported over many years. I can agree with that and so I can finish my bag of BTMS feeling at ease. And the damages that a 200 lb person vs a 300 lb person can do are very different.
Unfortunately, the 2nd paper said that the Behentrimonium ion concentration in the sediment off some bay is increasing exponentially over many years. Maybe that's the reason why BTMS isn't used in the conditioners that we have, good or bad.
So, derived from any plant is irrelevant, except for religious reasons that cannot be from animals. You need to find carbon chains somewhere, though killing plants is much better than from fossils. And it's too easy to be an organic compound after heavy chemical processing. An organic compound is made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxyen, and nitrogen etc. If it's organic, it is biodegradable in theory. But in real life, BT is organic but accumulates in the environment.
The word is readily biodegradable; a high percentage will degrade in days or months. And if it's a naturally occurring organic compound found in living things, I bet it is readily biodegradable.
And most things like surfactants and quats that change the property of water, such as tension and viscosity, must be toxic to aquatic life. It's like putting you into the atmosphere of some alien planets. If it's readily biodegradable, it may be reduced in waste treatment plants, and won't accumulate in the ocean.
The other thing is preservatives. Most of the chemicals can kill rats in high concentration. You are lucky if they are not preservative themselves. Others are self-preserving like glycerin, a sugar substitute. Since I only make a bottle of two at a time, if the thing doesn't go bad like food, I consider it preserved. And I'm not eating it.
And there is the myth about animal testing. If you put a new invented chemical into a product, you probably test it on animals instead of risking class action. But if you claim free of animal testing, does it mean that all the ingredients in the product are never tested on animals? This is almost impossible. Except for soap, it has been tested on humans for hundred of years, therefore no other test needed.
And the process is very simple. Melt 5% (weight) BTMS in a cup of 10% glycerin in a pan of hot water on a stove. Heat water in the microwave to about the same temperature or higher. Pour water into BTMS and stir. Done. It will be a white cream. The best rinse off detangler. You can add a few drops or a spoon of oil of your choosing. Also, one or two drops of essential oil for the fragrance.
Next time I'll try hydrolyzed guar gum that is like a quat.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Review of Parental Control Apps for mobiles and more
I was frustrated looking for a working and useful parental control app for all the smartphones and tablets. Now, after the work is done, I am getting back at some of them. Here is the review:
First, my aim is to monitor and limit usage of the phone when I am not around. I'm not interested in web content filtering because doing it well on the phone will be difficult. The home router and cloud filter are the better choices. My kids won't spend a lot of time away from home and alone.
Project Fi data only SIM
This may be the world's first use of this SIM as a parental control. And this is the hail Mary strike when nothing else works. On the phone of the Project Fi account, you can "remove" the data-only SIM from the account instantly via the Project Fi app. The SIM is disabled instantly. And when you want to reenable the SIM instantly, you can just do the same when you first activate the SIM.
To activate the SIM, you go to fi.google.com/data and enter the activation code that comes with the SIM. That's it. It doesn't matter who orders the SIM. If you activate the SIM on your fi account, it's yours. There is an activate by date about a year in the future. I suppose you can remove and activate the SIM for an unlimited number of times before that date. Just don't lose the activation code.
The data-only SIM works for all phones and tablets that can use a T-MO SIM. Yes, it works for android phones and iPhones too, either locked to the T-MO network or unlocked. Though, you need a normal Fi SIM with talk and text on a Fi approved phone. It may be worthwhile to have a Fi phone for parental control, even if all your devices are with iOS.
On phones, you need either a dual-SIM phone or use a VOIP app. One of the Amazon exclusive phones is a dual-SIM one perfect for kids. For VOIP, the best is Hangout because you can have a phone number like everybody else. Nobody knows you are using VOIP; people dial your number and see your caller ID. In the latter case, it is more awesome as you not only take away all 4G data privilege, but also the ability to talk and text.
Dinner Time Plus
It works but only for Android. Once there was an app on iOS but it was only for monitoring the kids. The one off price model is right, making it the cheapest of all other parental apps. You can set arbitrary schedules to block the phone and you can set time limits for all or individual apps at other times. You can also whitelist or blacklist individual apps. You also have the history of apps the kids use.
The newer apps depend on admin privilege and if you ban the settings app, it would be rather difficult to hack to bypass the parental control.
Screen Time
This one is truly multiplatform, working for Android and iOS. Schedule works and time limit works. But the critical deficiency is that you have only a bedtime schedule and a school time schedule. Unbelievable! The school time schedule is enforced only for weekdays. You can pick the weekdays to enforce the bedtime schedule but you can only have one schedule. Really, I couldn't care less about any other feature requests. I don't see why they cannot do that because they have already done it. Just allow multiple "bedtime" schedules and you are done. The only reason I can think of is that the only programmer had left.
On iOS, there is the device profile similar to admin privilege in android. The profile is protected by the passcode so you should keep the tablet unlocked for kids to use. You should also ban the "deletion" of apps via the iOS restriction options. On Android, they once used a non-approved method to prevent bypassing. You have to load a special version outside of the Play store.
I'm still using it for iPad. Phones are difficult if you can't have enough schedules. iPad's are easier as you don't need it to call home. If you don't have a schedule for the day, you still have time limits.
kidslox
Locking the iPad is a sure thing on arbitrary schedules. But the time limit doesn't work on it. I was told that kidslox need to run in the background to monitor time limits. But first, my ipad 4 doesn't have the multitasking option to enable or disable and the background refreshing option is on. Even if my iPad has multitasking, restarting it or crashing it deliberately would likely kill the app in the background.
OurPact
Looks good but parents are limited to iOS. I didn't even try.
Family Time
Looks perfect. But the pricing and web pages looked like a design by a scammer. Claim discount? You have to pay for the whole year. Free Trial? You have to pay for the whole year still, though you have the first day free! Is that some new marketing strategies you learn from colleges nowadays? I'm so out of touch! Nowhere at the website says how to get a refund before the free trial ends. Pass.
MMGuardian
This is the earlier one and much more expensive at the time. If I know that it is so much cheaper now, I might have tried again. I did go through the 14 day free trial and then on and off after that on the free plan. The problem is - it's two complicated. I just need to monitor what my kids are doing and if I am not around, I want to enforce automatically bedtime and study time. Having time limits and control on an individual app is a plus, allowing a more flexible schedule. The complicated menu when you turn on the app is a big deterrent. Now, things may be a lot different now and it is.
But still, the list of functions is long and the pricing is complicated. Gone are the deal maker training with more useful things added such as GPS.
Think about it, if everything works perfectly, why are the other apps still around?
getScreen
Another cross platform app. But I can't install it on the iPad. It would enter a loop if I already have a device profile (admin privilege) installed. Even if I cleared and uninstall everything, the loop still goes on.
First, my aim is to monitor and limit usage of the phone when I am not around. I'm not interested in web content filtering because doing it well on the phone will be difficult. The home router and cloud filter are the better choices. My kids won't spend a lot of time away from home and alone.
Project Fi data only SIM
This may be the world's first use of this SIM as a parental control. And this is the hail Mary strike when nothing else works. On the phone of the Project Fi account, you can "remove" the data-only SIM from the account instantly via the Project Fi app. The SIM is disabled instantly. And when you want to reenable the SIM instantly, you can just do the same when you first activate the SIM.
To activate the SIM, you go to fi.google.com/data and enter the activation code that comes with the SIM. That's it. It doesn't matter who orders the SIM. If you activate the SIM on your fi account, it's yours. There is an activate by date about a year in the future. I suppose you can remove and activate the SIM for an unlimited number of times before that date. Just don't lose the activation code.
The data-only SIM works for all phones and tablets that can use a T-MO SIM. Yes, it works for android phones and iPhones too, either locked to the T-MO network or unlocked. Though, you need a normal Fi SIM with talk and text on a Fi approved phone. It may be worthwhile to have a Fi phone for parental control, even if all your devices are with iOS.
On phones, you need either a dual-SIM phone or use a VOIP app. One of the Amazon exclusive phones is a dual-SIM one perfect for kids. For VOIP, the best is Hangout because you can have a phone number like everybody else. Nobody knows you are using VOIP; people dial your number and see your caller ID. In the latter case, it is more awesome as you not only take away all 4G data privilege, but also the ability to talk and text.
Dinner Time Plus
It works but only for Android. Once there was an app on iOS but it was only for monitoring the kids. The one off price model is right, making it the cheapest of all other parental apps. You can set arbitrary schedules to block the phone and you can set time limits for all or individual apps at other times. You can also whitelist or blacklist individual apps. You also have the history of apps the kids use.
The newer apps depend on admin privilege and if you ban the settings app, it would be rather difficult to hack to bypass the parental control.
Screen Time
This one is truly multiplatform, working for Android and iOS. Schedule works and time limit works. But the critical deficiency is that you have only a bedtime schedule and a school time schedule. Unbelievable! The school time schedule is enforced only for weekdays. You can pick the weekdays to enforce the bedtime schedule but you can only have one schedule. Really, I couldn't care less about any other feature requests. I don't see why they cannot do that because they have already done it. Just allow multiple "bedtime" schedules and you are done. The only reason I can think of is that the only programmer had left.
On iOS, there is the device profile similar to admin privilege in android. The profile is protected by the passcode so you should keep the tablet unlocked for kids to use. You should also ban the "deletion" of apps via the iOS restriction options. On Android, they once used a non-approved method to prevent bypassing. You have to load a special version outside of the Play store.
I'm still using it for iPad. Phones are difficult if you can't have enough schedules. iPad's are easier as you don't need it to call home. If you don't have a schedule for the day, you still have time limits.
kidslox
Locking the iPad is a sure thing on arbitrary schedules. But the time limit doesn't work on it. I was told that kidslox need to run in the background to monitor time limits. But first, my ipad 4 doesn't have the multitasking option to enable or disable and the background refreshing option is on. Even if my iPad has multitasking, restarting it or crashing it deliberately would likely kill the app in the background.
OurPact
Looks good but parents are limited to iOS. I didn't even try.
Family Time
Looks perfect. But the pricing and web pages looked like a design by a scammer. Claim discount? You have to pay for the whole year. Free Trial? You have to pay for the whole year still, though you have the first day free! Is that some new marketing strategies you learn from colleges nowadays? I'm so out of touch! Nowhere at the website says how to get a refund before the free trial ends. Pass.
MMGuardian
This is the earlier one and much more expensive at the time. If I know that it is so much cheaper now, I might have tried again. I did go through the 14 day free trial and then on and off after that on the free plan. The problem is - it's two complicated. I just need to monitor what my kids are doing and if I am not around, I want to enforce automatically bedtime and study time. Having time limits and control on an individual app is a plus, allowing a more flexible schedule. The complicated menu when you turn on the app is a big deterrent. Now, things may be a lot different now and it is.
But still, the list of functions is long and the pricing is complicated. Gone are the deal maker training with more useful things added such as GPS.
Think about it, if everything works perfectly, why are the other apps still around?
getScreen
Another cross platform app. But I can't install it on the iPad. It would enter a loop if I already have a device profile (admin privilege) installed. Even if I cleared and uninstall everything, the loop still goes on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)