hilda-and-evadne Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 This evening, I've been reading pages of rave reviews of Stardrops, on the forum on www.moneysavingexpert.com - it seems to restore everything to shiny and sparkling clean - I am inspired to buy some and try it indoors but would be interested to know if anyone here uses Stardrops to clean their eglu. Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BERTIE MCSQUIRTY Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Nope - but i would use it if i had an eglu. (use it on the coop though) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I haven't though about Stardrops in years! My mother used to use it. You never see the ads on the telly but at one time Stardrops and Flash were just about the only households cleaners available! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 I do! Stardrops is wonderful stuff! I use it everywhere (used to have a cleaning lady who wouldn't use anything else - she converted me ) I either use that or ecover multisurface cleaner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Is it "green"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Ah, now that's what I'm not sure about and why I've started using a few more ecover products! Be interesting to find out - I'm sure it must be a bit greener than cillit bang and the like! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 14, 2008 Share Posted February 14, 2008 Ah, now that's what I'm not sure about and why I've started using a few more ecover products! Be interesting to find out - I'm sure it must be a bit greener than cillit bang and the like! I think unrefined Uranium is greener than Cillit bang! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Ah, now that's what I'm not sure about and why I've started using a few more ecover products! Be interesting to find out - I'm sure it must be a bit greener than cillit bang and the like! I think unrefined Uranium is greener than Cillit bang! I'll stick to my stardrops!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 According to their website, Stardrops contains the following ingredients:- Water (Aqua) Sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate Alkyl ether sulphate Alcohols C9-11 ethoxylated Bitrex (Denatonium benzoate) solution Perfume Limonene (Dipentene) Bronopol I'll stick to Ecover and my steamer I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jules. Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Does it turn the water white? Do you remember the trhead about Jeyes fluid being poisonous to cats if used on surfaces they can walk on as it is absorbed through their paws? As well as all other cleaners which turn water white- that's what Louise said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Does it turn the water white? Do you remember the trhead about Jeyes fluid being poisonous to cats if used on surfaces they can walk on as it is absorbed through their paws? As well as all other cleaners which turn water white- that's what Louise said. Good point Jules! I'd forgotten about that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 No it doesn't turn the water white. Not sure what all those ingredients are, but non of them look too nasty. It's actually quite mild as it can be used for clothes and general washing up as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 OK - this is what I found: Water (Aqua) Sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate This is an anionic surfactant Alkyl ether sulphate This is an SLES or foamer Alcohols C9-11 ethoxylated Think it's a nonionic surfactant Bitrex (Denatonium benzoate) solution The stuff that makes it taste foul Perfume Limonene (Dipentene) From lemon skin - fragrance, also a degreaser. Bronopol Preservative and antimicrobial So is it the surfactants and SLESs that are harmful? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 OK - this is what I found: ...Sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate This is an anionic surfactant Alkyl ether sulphate This is an SLES or foamer Alcohols C9-11 ethoxylated Think it's a nonionic surfactant So is it the surfactants and SLESs that are harmful? I've looked around a bit on the web, and it seems that surfactants ("wetting agents") and SLES can irritate the skin; but that is true of a lot of other household cleaning products. I am guessing that, provided this is used diluted and everything well rinsed afterwards (and the waste water poured down the sink rather than on the garden), it will be OK. But I am not a chemist of any description! I will probably give it a whirl. ':)' Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajram Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I am a chemistry graduate and can tell you that surfactants are the molecules that surround grease so it can dissolve in water, the most common example of one is normal washing up liquid. I will try to find the safety data sheets on these and chemicals and let you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajram Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I have now registered as a company with Merck chemicals (i can feel the inner science nerd trying to make a comeback) and the only information i have so far is for Bitrex (Denatonium benzoate) solution. The company gives the following info: Harmful if swallowed. Harmful to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. Categories of danger harmful, dangerous for the environment Not sure if this helps, i will keep looking for the others Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajram Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 got some more, Limonene: Flammable. Irritating to skin. May cause sensitization by skin contact. Very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. Avoid contact with skin. Wear suitable gloves. This material and its container must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Avoid release to the environment. Refer to special instructions/Safety data sheets. Categories of danger flammable, irritant, sensitizing, dangerous for the environment -basically not very nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tessa the Duchess Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Does it turn the water white? Do you remember the trhead about Jeyes fluid being poisonous to cats if used on surfaces they can walk on as it is absorbed through their paws? As well as all other cleaners which turn water white- that's what Louise said. I'm quite puzzled by this. I did for a while use a very small amount of Jeyes Fluid to soak the roosting bars in, until the tin ran out. It says on the tin it is suitable for rabbit hutches, poultry houses and equestrian use. I also read on the Practical Poultry site that a lot of people with wooden hen coops use Dettol to clean them, apparently very good at deterring red mite, well Dettol turns water white. So as I say I am puzzled. Tessa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyren Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 got some more, Limonene:Flammable. Irritating to skin. May cause sensitization by skin contact. Very toxic to aquatic organisms, may cause long-term adverse effects in the aquatic environment. Avoid contact with skin. Wear suitable gloves. This material and its container must be disposed of as hazardous waste. Avoid release to the environment. Refer to special instructions/Safety data sheets. Categories of danger flammable, irritant, sensitizing, dangerous for the environment -basically not very nice I'm a biologist, not a chemist, but I'm familiar with terpenes because I'm sensitive to them - chamomile and even lemongrass teas have a strong sedative effect on me! Wikipedia says: As the main odour constituent of citrus (plant family Rutaceae), d-limonene is used in food manufacturing and some medicines, e.g., bitter alkaloids, as a flavoring, and added to cleaning products such as hand cleansers to give a lemon-orange fragrance. See: orange oil. Limonene is increasingly being used as a solvent for cleaning purposes, such as the removal of oil from machine parts, as it is produced from a renewable source (citrus oil, as a byproduct of orange juice manufacture.) Limonene works as paint stripper when applied to painted wood. I think it basically depends on whether it is being used as a fragrance (low concentration) or a solvent (high concentration). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajram Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 I would agree on the effects being dependant on what it is used for...it is all relative to the concentration used. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hilda-and-evadne Posted February 15, 2008 Author Share Posted February 15, 2008 I have now registered as a company with Merck chemicals (i can feel the inner science nerd trying to make a comeback) and the only information i have so far is for Bitrex (Denatonium benzoate) solution.The company gives the following info: ... Cool, thanks for that. got some more, Limonene: ... It does seem to depend on what concentration it is being used at, and whether produced synthetically or as an essential oil. The synthetic version is extremely concentrated: it can be a paint-stripper. On the other hand, the essential oil version is used in cosmetics. Apparently, d-limonene occurs naturally also in mango (I LOVE mango), nutmeg and black pepper. Interestingly, it seems to be bad for (male) rats. On a web site devoted to rat and mouse fanciers, I found that "d-limonene and some other chemicals bind to a naturally occurring protein (alpha2u-globulin) in the male rat's kidneys", and over time that protein builds up and causes cancer. That caught my eye because I live in London where, you may have heard tell, you are never more than 6 feet from Rattus norvegicus. (Building my chicken run, I am putting into practice everyone's tips for making it difficult for rats to get in.) Rachel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowy Posted February 15, 2008 Share Posted February 15, 2008 Yes I read that bit about male rats! Could have it's uses then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
