Distilled White Vinegar For Rust Removal

I previously (possibly a couple years ago now) shared a post listing safe/unsafe aquarium rocks. Here's that post: https://www.reddit.com/r/bettafish/s/fUop8CNFNQ Some of that info was inaccurate, and I'd like to clear up misinformation, as well as offer what to do if you already have any of the ones that are toxic to your ecosystem in your tank, and how to test for yourself. 🟢 Category 1: Generally Safe (Inert) These stones are stable silicates or oxides. They will not dissolve, leach toxins, or alter your water chemistry (pH/Hardness). Agate & Jasper: All natural varieties (Avoid artificially dyed "neon" stones). Alexandrite / Chrysoberyl: Highly stable. Amazonite: Stable feldspar; safe in its common form. Aquamarine / Beryl Group: Includes Emerald, Morganite, Heliodor, Bixbite, and Goshenite. All are safe silicates. Dumortierite: Hard and inert. Garnet: (Almandine, Spessartine, Uvarovite, Rhodolite, Hessonite). Extremely stable. Iolite: Non-reactive. Labradorite / Moonstone / Sunstone: Stable feldspars. Polished versions are perfectly safe. Moldavite: Natural glass; 100% inert. Obsidian: Natural volcanic glass; 100% inert. Prehnite: Stable and water-safe. Quartz Group: Amethyst, Citrine, Smoky Quartz, Rose Quartz, Clear Quartz. Ruby / Sapphire: (Corundum). Extremely hard and chemically inert. Sodalite: Generally safe, though may dull slightly over years in acidic water. Spinel: Very stable. Staurolite: Inert silicate. Sugilite: Stable silicate. Tanzanite (Zoisite): Stable and safe. Tiger’s Eye: Polished only. Fibers are replaced by quartz and cannot leach. Topaz: Hard and inert. Tourmaline: (Black, Green, Pink). Chemically stable. Vesuvianite: Stable silicate. Zircon: Highly resistant to weathering. 🟡 Category 2: Caution (Water Chemistry Changers) These are not "toxic" but are reactive. They will dissolve or oxidize, altering pH, hardness, or clarity. Boji-stones / Moqui Balls: Iron-based; will rust and may crumble. Calcite / Selenite: Soft minerals that dissolve, raising pH and GH significantly. Celestite: Slightly soluble; can raise water hardness. Fluorite: While the substrate brand is processed, the raw crystal can slowly leach fluoride. Hematite / Magnetite / Markasite / Pyrite: Iron-based. These will rust, creating orange films and potentially lowering pH. Kunzite / Spodumene: Lithium-based; very slow to react but can alter chemistry. Lapis Lazuli: Contains calcite and pyrite/sulfur; raw pieces can leach a sulfur smell. Lepidolite: Contains lithium; very soft and can flake or dissolve over time. Psilomelane: Manganese oxide; can affect water clarity if it degrades. Shale: Safe unless it is "Gas Shale," which can leach hydrocarbons/oils. Smithsonite: Zinc carbonate; will dissolve and raise pH/Zinc levels. Soapstone: Very soft; can crumble and create "dust" in the water. Stilbite / Ulexite: Both are highly soluble; Ulexite can actually "melt" away in water. Sulfur: Pure sulfur will drastically lower pH and can be toxic in high doses. Variscite / Wavellite: Phosphate minerals; can slowly release phosphates, potentially fueling algae blooms. 🔴 Category 3: Toxic (Avoid) These contain heavy metals or hazardous fibers. They are lethal to shrimp, snails, and sensitive fish. ☢️ Metal & Poison Hazards Copper-Based (Lethal to Inverts): Ajoite, Atacamite, Aurichalcite, Azurite, Bronchantite, Cavansite, Chalcantite (dissolves instantly), Chalcopyrite (Peacock Stone), Chrysocolla, Conicalcite, Cuprite, Dioptase, Gem Silica, Malachite, Mohawkite, Turquoise. Lead-Based: Galena (leaches lead as it oxidizes), Vanadinite, Wulfenite. Arsenic-Based: Adamite, Realgar. Mercury-Based: Cinnabar. Antimony-Based: Stibnite. Nickel-Based: Garnierite (Falcondoite). Uranium-Based: Torbernite (Radioactive). 🌬️ Asbestos & Fiber Hazards Asbestos-Based: Actinolite, Serpentine, Tremolite, Pietersite (Raw). These are only safe if heavily polished and sealed in quartz; raw/rough specimens release hazardous fibers. 📋 Maintenance Summary If you already have stones from Category 2 in your tank: Monitor pH/Hardness: If they rise too high, remove the stones. Water Changes: Increase frequency to 25% weekly to dilute any leached minerals. Invert Check: If you see shrimp or snails dying/acting lethargic, remove any Category 3 stones immediately and perform a 50% water change. How to test stones if you are unsure: The Vinegar Test: Fizzes = Raises pH. As simple as putting a couple drops of distilled white vinegar on the stone you'd like to test. The Hardness Test: If you can scratch it with a penny, it will likely dissolve in water. Some stones that would not be okay in their raw form may be safe when highly polished - always perform this test to be sure. The Color Rule: Bright blue/green usually means Copper. Bright red/orange can mean Mercury or Arsenic. A general guideline, but some crystals can be bright colors too. Again, perform a vinegar and a scratch test to be sure. Shout-out to u/cardiologistfit5319 for the heads up on some of the inaccuracies - somehow I'd missed about the corundum family. submitted by /u/SkylarMac to r/bettafish [link] [comments]

There is a group of cleaning ladies that got together circa 2009 and formed a cooperative to use safe cleaning products - for their health and their clients ( WAGES: Womens Action to Gain Economic Security) Feel free to copy and share their cleaning formulas / recipes that were added to over time. https://preview.redd.it/k8gfkjj36wqg1.png?width=785&format=png&auto=webp&s=2af92bd460a931a6d1b3f38a69ed0a5d592a8851 Also, here are some other popular recipes for making your own non-toxic cleaners from the book Clean House, Clean Planet: Rust Remover: Sprinkle a little bit of salt on the rust, squeeze a lime over the salt until it is nicely soaked in lime juice. Leave the mixture on for two or three hours. Use the leftover rind as a handy scrubber. Rust is gone. Unclog drains: Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda in and around the drain opening. Follow with a cup of white vinegar. Repeat if needed and finally flush with hot water. Oven cleaner: Sprinkle water inside oven, then add baking soda. Let sit overnight and scour with a plastic sponge. Tile/linoleum floors: Dissolve 1-2 teaspoons of dishwashing soap in 3 gallons of warm water. Mop floor with this solution; to rinse – follow this procedure with 1 cup of white vinegar in 3 gallons of cool water. Wood floors: Dissolve 3 tablespoons of baking soda and 1 cup of white vinegar in 3 gallons of warm water. After mopping, wipe dry. Furniture Polish: Use one part white distilled vinegar and three parts olive oil. Add a little natural lemon oil (not the synthetic kind) and you’ve got a great polish! ALL purpose non-toxic cleaner recipe: 2 T distilled white vinegar, 1 tsp Borax powder detergent, 1 1/2 Cups of warm distilled or purified water, 1/8 Cup liquid dish soap. Mix the vinegar and borax in a 16 oz. spray bottle. Fill the bottle with water and swirl to dissolve the vinegar and borax. Add the dish soap last. Use as you would any all purpose cleaner ADDITIONAL Homemade Cleaners https://preview.redd.it/81jkvcs18wqg1.jpg?width=680&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ac13e5086457cdcf0293bcdb90bc33ab45c84641 DIY All-Purpose Cleaner Recipe 1/4 cup vinegar 12-20 drops essential oil 1 tsp castile or phosphorous-free dish soap or washing soda 2 cups boiled or distilled water Fill cleaning spray bottle with 2-4 cups (see below for variations on this recipe based on strength desired) distilled or boiled (cooled) water. Add all other ingredients. Shake well. submitted by /u/theatrenearyou to r/CleaningTips [link] [comments]

I wanted to try this out on a carbon steel skillet to see if it would work. I used a 5” Cast-A-Way carbon skillet as my test pan (I also have their 8” and it works great). Rust bluing was a process used extensively on firearms in the 1800’s to increase the corrosion resistance and durability of steel components. Unlike high temperature “bluing,” where the part is heated until it turns blue, rust bluing results in a thicker, more durable layer of black iron oxide, also known as magnetite. The process relies on forcibly creating a surface layer of red rust and then submerging it in boiling distilled water to turn the red rust into magnetite. For anyone else who wants to try, I included my protocol below. There are plenty of videos online (mostly gun related) that describe this process in detail. This protocol uses food-safe materials (would not recommend using commercially available kits with toxic components). I think it turned out pretty well, although it’s hard to say how much cooking I’ll be doing with a 5” skillet… The color is a deep blue black before seasoning, and turns almost black after seasoning. The last few pictures show a comparison to my other CS pans. This process was only used for the interior of the pan. Is this necessary for cooking? No. Is it time consuming? Yes. Is the final color a deeper blue than "heat bluing"? Yes. Was it fun? 100%! Materials: Acetone (100%) Rust solution (4 Tbsp of 3% hydrogen peroxide, 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar, 1 tsp salt), recipe from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7lXeT2qzCi0. Prepare in a non-metal bowl or you will rust the bowl. Blow dryer Distilled water Glass containers for mixing rust solution Cotton balls Nitrile gloves Steel wool Protocol: (1) Strip seasoning by simmering in tomato sauce for ~10-15 minutes. The metal should look clean and shiny. (1a) (optional) Mechanical surface roughening: Use stainless steel chain mail, scotch-brite pads, and steel wool to increase the pan’s surface roughness. (1b) (optional) Acid etching: Simmer in vinegar for 10-20 minutes until the metal takes a dull gray appearance. Ideally this increases the surface roughness further. (1c) Wash, rinse, and dry the pan. (2a) Degreasing: Use nitrile gloves to avoid fingerprints. Wipe the surface with cotton soaked in acetone to remove any trace amounts of oil. Oil will interfere with rust formation and cause uneven patches. (2b) Apply rust solution: Wipe a thin coat of the rust solution on the pan using cotton balls. Not much is required here, just a thin, uniform coat. Allow the pan to rust for 10-30 minutes. Accelerate the rusting process by using a warm blow dryer and holding over a simmering pot of water. Do not let water vapor condense on the pan while cold or it will form rust dots. The goal is to create an even coat of red rust. The process is complete when there is an even layer of red rust on the surface. (3) Dry the rust: Use a blow dryer to evaporate any liquid left in the pan. (4) Boil in water: Prepare a boiling kettle of distilled water. Pour the boiling water into the pan and bring to a gentle simmer. Filtered water is probably okay but distilled water is allegedly better. Hard water may interfere with the process. (5) Convert red rust into magnetite: Allow the pan to simmer in boiling distilled water for 15-30 minutes until the red rust turns black (magnetite). It looks like magic when this happens. When complete, pour out the water and briefly let air dry. (6) Remove the loose magnetite: Use steel wool to “card” or scratch off the loose black “velvet”. Avoid pressing too hard and focus more on broad strokes. Continue wiping until no more black velvet comes off. Test by using a paper towel. Avoid introducing oil or fingerprints to the surface. Note: If you press too hard with the steel wool, it is possible to remove all of the magnetite. Also, soak the steel wool in acetone a few times to remove any potential factory oil on the wool. (7) Repeat these steps (2-6) for a total of 5-10 times until the desired finish is achieved (degreasing, rusting, boiling, carding). With each cycle, the light spots should fill in until a deep blue/black color is achieved. When finished, wash the pan thoroughly with soap and water. (8) Season using any preferred method. In this process I used 3 coats of grape seed oil in the oven. (9) Just keep cooking! submitted by /u/blue_spruce_26 to r/carbonsteel [link] [comments]

So, I’ve been battling with my shower mold for over a year now, and it’s consuming my life. To preface, I use a squeegee after every shower and then go over it with a microfiber cloth to remove any excess water. I also clean a section of the shower at a time, a couple times a week while I’m letting my conditioner settle in. This has been an attempt to try and mitigate mold, but alas here we are. I’ve tried everything (besides bleach - I know that’s a no no) I have tried my hand held steamer, I’ve tried distilled white vinegar, I’ve tried a baking soda paste, I’ve tried the Meyer’s Vinegar Gel Cleaning Spray per a Reddit tip, and nothing works. Currently, I am using a combo of Dawn Dishsoap and Branch Basics Oxygen Boost. (Another Reddit Tip) I feel like this helps only a little bit to make it less visually apparent, but by the next day, it’s back. I really want to paint my tile using the Rust-Oleum shower tile paint since I have a vision for the bathroom, but don’t have the funds to rip out the tile and redo. However, I feel like that is not a good idea to do until I can get this figured out. I have posted photos with and without flash, and some of the cleaning products I use for reference. Any knowledge and advice is greatly appreciated! I should also preface that I prefer to use as little harsh/dangerous chemicals as possible when it comes to cleaning, but I’m open if it’s a unanimous suggestion. submitted by /u/Illustrious-Barber25 to r/CleaningTips [link] [comments]

Friend sent me this, thought about sharing with this group. submitted by /u/LIS1050010 to r/selfreliance [link] [comments]

submitted by /u/Last_Discipline1775 to r/electricians [link] [comments]

For me, this is the GOAT of Blades. If it lasts my entire life, I would be happy. This Knife was a huge investment for me at the time, about $425, which is about a middle of the road “steal” I suppose with how crazy marked up some of them are. I’ve had this knife for about 4 years now and it has been the best knife of my life. I originally was very nervous of carbon steel but it has become my best friend. Naysayers will say i destroyed the knife with my process but ultimately this has just been what works for me. When I first got this, it looked like a mirror it was so polished. Oxidized very bad between the humidity, and my initial learning to wipe it constantly. However, I learned of some cool methods. First off, it is a breeze to sharpen and for regular use, holds it edge well. I take my knife to a splash and go 2k stone, work the tip and the blade. The blade is 30/70 so on the left side I do 3 strokes, to 7 strokes on the other side. The angle is also larger obviously on the right 70% side, while I hold the knife lower to the stone for the edge on the left 30% side. After this initial sharpening. I will use a small polishing stone to take off and reset the patina on the entire blade. Taking off this first layer reveals the carbon steel beneath and with a quick alcohol wipe, I prepare to dip it in a tall, skinny stock pot. it’s very narrow so it fits the edge perfectly for a 270mm and doesn’t use too much liquid. Bringing White distilled Vinegar to a boil on the stove, I drop about a TBSP of salt in (this helps the process, the reaction.) I dip the blade in the boiling vinegar and let the reaction happen for about 2-3 minutes. remove, rinse and wipe off in cold water. then back in for another 2-3 dips. afterward the whole knife is very dark, and a little uneven in darkness. I’ll take a 4K stone and sharpen/strop it. I can see the edge again when i do this so that the line of the edge you can see. finally i take a finer grit polishing stone, like the small rectangular gray stones that fit in the palm of your hand, and I’ll gently even out the patina. The forced Patina saves me a lot of headache from oxidation. Whether it’s the knife rusting, or the onion oxidation, I basically don’t have to worry about it while working as much. Finally, I hit it with a touch of mineral oil. The whole thing, Handle, knife and Sheath. Best Workhorse knife out there if you can get a good deal on it. It’s luxury and comfortable, while also being extremely versatile and precise. It feels literally like cutting with a Laser-beam or light saber. I was vegetable heavy in the Restaurants I was at. But I’ve used it for fish and plenty of meat. Certainly my favorite knife as a “cook.” (I use a fillet and Scimitar for my butchery duties, but I have to stop myself from grabbing this for everything.) Doesn’t matter how ridiculous it looks doing it, Brunoising a Shallot never felt so good. submitted by /u/_joyous_boyous_ to r/TrueChefKnives [link] [comments]

So I have a part with some rust on it, and I put it in some distilled white vinegar for roughly 24 hours and when I came back to it, the vinegar was still crystal clear and the rust wasn’t any closer to coming off. None was even loose. Did I do something wrong? According to my internet search results, it should have worked. submitted by /u/LadyConeflower to r/vinegar [link] [comments]

Step 1: Empty Your Wiper Water Tank First, make sure to drain your wiper fluid tank completely, ensures that any old water inside in tank. Step 2: Remove Hard Water Stains To clean hard water stains from the windshield, I use Domex acid. Pour a small amount of Domex directly onto the dry windshield. Use a sponge to spread it evenly across the surface. Let it sit for 2–3 minutes (do not let it dry). Wipe it off using a kitchen wiper or rubber squeegee. Note: Avoid using water during this step. it may cause smearing or even rust the metal parts around the windshield. Step 3: Final Cleaning with Homemade Solution Now that the tough stains are gone, finish it off with a homemade cleaner: Mix: (50% White Vinegar+40% Distilled Water+10% Vim Liquid) Spray this on the windshield and wipe it down with a microfiber cloth. This removes any remaining haze or residue and gives a streak-free finish. Tip: You can use this solution instead of any store-bought cleaning liquid at home and on windshield too. Step 4: Use Distilled Water for Wipers Refill your wiper tank with distilled water (battery water). It’s free from minerals and won’t leave stains or buildup. In my area it’s 40-50rs for 5liter bottle. Tip: During heavy rain, pour a bit of this solution on your windshield for amazing result. Avoid using harsh water in your wipers and stick to this routine once in a while—not daily. You’ll notice a big difference in visibility, especially during monsoons or dusty drives. submitted by /u/Environmental-Fan111 to r/CarsIndia [link] [comments]

Made a post a few weeks ago about running across a deal on a 2006 Yamaha R6 that had just been sitting in a guy's shed for almost 20 years. I knew the tank was rusted, but that was about all the information I had. I bought it, trailered it to my father's shop and have been working on it on and off for the last couple of weeks. The major issue was the fuel tank, which had maybe a quart or two of gas sitting in it the entire time it has been parked. I removed the fuel pump, which was caked with rust and gummed up fuel. The wires on the fuel level sensor were falling off and the pump was obviously dead. I had ordered a replacement pump, but was unable to find a fuel level sensor except for one from AliExpress that didn't list my year model, but did fit R1s and the R6S from the same year. It looked identical, so I ordered it. However, before it arrived, I found a deal on a whole unit with a working pump on eBay and went that route instead. After doing some YouTube research and reading some forums, I decided to seal the tank and fill it with distilled white vinegar and left it sitting for a week to dissolve the rust. This worked great, and once I emptied the tank, I pressure washed the remaining loosened rust out, then neutralized the vinegar with distilled water and baking soda. I dried the tank with a heat gun and then used POR-15 metal etching chemical, dried it again, and then sealed the tank with POR-15, just following the instructions. After 4 days, I reassembled the tank and fuel pump, installed a new battery and tried to start the bike. It would turn over, but would not start. I did a lot of reading and video watching and found out that I could test each individual fuel injector via the bike's onboard diagnostics. Upon doing so, I found that 5 of the 8 were not working properly. I disassembled the bike to gain access to each injector's electrical connections (you don't even have to remove them), hooked some leads to each of them and the battery and tested each of them to see if they would engage. They all worked, but apparently needed that direct power to get them moving again. I reassembled and ran diagnostics again and this time was able to hear all of them opening during the tests. I tried to start again, but still got nothing. I disassembled again and decided to install new spark plugs (NGK CR10EK if anyone cares). Without a couple universal joint adapters for my ratchet, this would have been an impossible task as the plugs for cylinders one and four are at such a weird angle, that they would be difficult to access with the small amount of space. After what seemed like forever, I got those installed and reassembled. This time it fired right up, shot a piece of corn out of the exhaust pipe, sputtered and died. I gave it a minute or two and tried again, applying a little throttle and it stayed running, smoking from the exhaust (burning the remaining dead gas in the fuel lines I would imagine) and eventually coming to a healthy idle. The smoke dissipated and I was left with a purring inline 4. I plan to change the oil, attempt to clean and lube the chain before buying a new one and install a tail tidy today. Hope everyone enjoys my little write up and some of the pictures I took. submitted by /u/Evincarr to r/YamahaMotorcycles [link] [comments]

Step-by-Step Process for How to Clean a Sous Vide Circulator Effectively Gathering the Necessary Supplies Before getting started, it’s important to have all the materials ready to clean your sous vide circulator effectively. You’ll need: White vinegar or citric acid (for descaling) Mild dish soap Soft cloth or sponge Toothbrush or small brush Clean water Bowl or container large enough to hold the circulator Towel for drying Having these items handy helps streamline the cleaning process and ensures you don’t miss any important steps. Unplug and Cool Down Your Sous Vide Circulator Start by unplugging the circulator to ensure safety. Allow it to cool completely if you’ve recently used it. Cleaning a hot appliance can cause burns and damage your equipment. Never submerge the main unit in water unless the manufacturer explicitly states that it’s waterproof. Keeping these precautions in mind protects both you and your sous vide circulator. Remove and Clean the Water Bath Container If your setup includes a separate water bath container, empty it after cooking. Wash the container with warm water and mild dish soap, scrubbing gently to remove any food particles or residue. Rinse thoroughly and dry completely before reassembling your sous vide station. This step prevents bacterial buildup and ensures fresh water for your next cooking session. Detach and Inspect the Circulator’s Heating Element and Circulation Guard Some sous vide circulators have removable components like the heating element or circulator guard. Carefully remove these parts according to the manufacturer's instructions. Visualize areas where mineral deposits or food scraps could have adhered. Inspect these parts for any buildup like calcium deposits caused by hard water. Identifying problem spots helps target your cleaning efforts efficiently. *Shop Sous Vide Here - https://hownow101.github.io/SousVide *​ Descale Using White Vinegar or Citric Acid** Mineral buildup, especially in hard water areas, can damage or reduce your circulator’s performance. To descale: Fill a container with equal parts white vinegar and water, or prepare a citric acid solution as per package instructions. Submerge the heating element and circulation guard in the solution, if possible. Allow them to soak for 20 to 30 minutes to break down the mineral deposits. Use a toothbrush or small brush to scrub away loosened deposits gently. Rinse all parts thoroughly with clean water to remove vinegar or citric acid residues. If your circulator isn't detachable for soaking, fill your water bath container with the vinegar solution and run the sous vide circulator at 140°F (60°C) for 30 minutes. After this cycle, empty the bath and rinse thoroughly with clean water. Cleaning the Main Unit Exterior Wipe the main unit's exterior with a soft cloth or sponge dampened in warm, soapy water. Avoid excess moisture near electronic controls or the power cord connection. Focus on removing any splatters or food grease from the surfaces. After wiping, dry the area with a clean towel to prevent water spots. Clear the Circulator’s Water Intake and Outlet Check the water intake and outlet areas for any debris or blockage. Use a toothbrush to gently scrub inside openings to ensure unobstructed water flow. Clean water circulation is vital for maintaining precise temperature control and cooking results. Preventing clogs also prolongs the life of your sous vide circulator. Dry All Components Thoroughly After cleaning, dry each part carefully. Use a towel for external surfaces and allow removable parts to air dry fully before reassembling. Residual moisture trapped inside can cause rust or damage electronic components over time. Proper drying also prevents mold or mildew buildup in your equipment. *Shop Sous Vide Here - https://hownow101.github.io/SousVide *​ Reassemble and Store Properly** Once all parts are dry, reattach any components you removed earlier. Store your sous vide circulator in a clean, dry place where it won’t be exposed to dust or moisture. Keeping your device stored properly between uses helps maintain its performance and extends its lifespan. Frequency and Tips for Maintenance Cleaning Regular cleaning after every few uses keeps your sous vide device running smoothly. For best results: Perform a descaling routine once a month if you use the circulator frequently. Always empty and dry your water container after each use. Use filtered water to reduce mineral buildup. Check the manufacturer’s guide for any specific cleaning instructions or warnings. By incorporating these steps into your sous vide routine, you’ll ensure consistent cooking results and maintain the device's effectiveness. Clean equipment is safer, more hygienic, and more reliable, making your sous vide cooking experience enjoyable and hassle-free. Tips and Best Practices to Maintain Your Sous Vide Circulator for Long-Term Use Proper Cleaning Techniques for Your Sous Vide Circulator Maintaining your sous vide circulator involves regular and thorough cleaning to keep it working efficiently over time. After each use, it’s essential to remove any food particles, mineral deposits, or residues that could affect the device’s performance or contaminate future meals. A routine cleaning regimen helps preserve the circulator's accuracy in temperature control and extends its lifespan. Start by unplugging the device and allowing it to cool completely. Remove the circulator from the water bath and detach any removable parts, such as the water bath container or clamps, if your model includes them. Wipe down the exterior with a soft, damp cloth and mild dish soap to clear away any grease or spills. Shop Sous Vide Here - https://hownow101.github.io/SousVide *​* For the immersion part—the heating element and pump housing—use a soft brush or cloth to gently clean the surface. Avoid submerging the entire unit unless the manufacturer's instructions permit it. Pay attention to the inlet and outlet vents where water circulates; these can accumulate lime scale or debris over time and impair function. Dealing With Mineral Buildup and Scale Mineral buildup from tap water is one of the most common issues affecting sous vide circulators. Hard water leads to calcium deposits that reduce heating efficiency and might cause damage in the long term. Descaling the circulator regularly is crucial for optimal performance. A popular and effective method is using white vinegar or citric acid. Fill a container with a mixture of one part vinegar to three parts water, then run the circulator in this solution at 140°F (60°C) for about 30 minutes. This process breaks down mineral deposits safely without harming the heating elements. After descaling, run the circulator through clean water cycles to rinse out any residual vinegar taste or odor. Avoid using abrasive cleaners or harsher chemicals, as these can damage the delicate parts of your sous vide device. Storage and Handling Tips to Preserve Functionality Proper storage is just as important as cleaning in maintaining your sous vide circulator. When not in use, store the device in a dry, cool space to prevent moisture buildup or dust accumulation, which can clog pumps and vents. Shop Sous Vide Here - https://hownow101.github.io/SousVide *​* If you live in an area with hard water, consider using distilled or filtered water in your sous vide baths. This practice helps minimize mineral deposits and reduces the frequency of deep cleaning. Handle the unit carefully during removal and setup. Avoid sharp impacts or twisting motions which could damage internal components. Support the circulator firmly when moving it to prevent accidental drops. Regular Checks and Maintenance Practices Scheduling routine maintenance checks on your sous vide circulator ensures early detection of any issues. Inspect power cords and plugs for any signs of wear or damage. Check the fan vents and motor areas for dust buildup, and clean these gently using compressed air or a soft brush. Keep the impeller and pump housing free of food particles or shellfish debris, which can clog the system and decrease water circulation. If your model allows, remove and clean the impeller periodically according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Best Practices to Extend Sous Vide Circulator Lifespan Use the right water temperature. Avoid exceeding the maximum recommended temperature because high heat can degrade seals and internal components. Fill water baths adequately. Insufficient water can cause overheating or uneven cooking, placing unnecessary strain on the device. Run the circulator for a few minutes before adding food. Preheating the water ensures even temperature distribution and stable device operation. Avoid running the sous vide without water. Dry operation can severely damage the heating element and pump. Follow manufacturer guidelines for part replacement. Regular replacement of seals, gaskets, or impellers can prevent breakdowns. Keep software and firmware updated. If your circulator includes smart features, ensure updates are installed to optimize performance and troubleshoot bugs. By integrating these tips and best practices into your routine, you ensure that your sous vide circulator stays in excellent operating condition for years. Taking the time to properly clean, descale, and handle your device means it will continue delivering precise and delicious results, enhancing your cooking experience every time you use it. Conclusion Keeping your sous vide circulator clean is key to ensuring it works efficiently and lasts for years. By following the step-by-step process outlined, you can easily remove mineral buildup, food residues, and bacteria that might affect your device’s performance. Regular cleaning prevents clogs and keeps your water bath safe and hygienic for every cooking session. Shop Sous Vide Here - https://hownow101.github.io/SousVide *​* Beyond cleaning, adopting simple maintenance habits will help your sous vide circulator stay in top shape. Always use filtered water to reduce mineral deposits, empty and dry the water bath after use, and store the circulator properly in a dry, cool place. These small steps minimize wear and tear, reducing the risk of damage or malfunction. Additionally, checking the manufacturer’s recommendations for cleaning frequency and methods ensures you don’t accidentally harm the device. By integrating cleaning and maintenance into your routine, you’ll enjoy precise temperature control and perfect cooking results every time. Taking care of your sous vide circulator not only protects your investment but also keeps your kitchen running smoothly. With these practices, you’re set to savor delicious, perfectly cooked meals with less hassle and worry about your equipment’s health. submitted by /u/KnowNow101 to r/SousVide101 [link] [comments]

Looking for advice on safely removing several small stains from my great-grandmother’s 1920s wedding dress! I’m not 100% sure what the fabric is but I think it’s a woven cotton. I’d love to at least lighten the stains (pictured) or remove them fully if possible - no one’s sure what they are, since they’re about 100 years old! I do NOT plan to soak it, as I don’t want to risk the color bleeding from the embroidery or rust the small metal snaps on the side. I have distilled white vinegar, baking soda, hydrogen peroxide (3%) and mild dish detergent all available to use, but am wondering if a specialty product like a Eucalan wash might be the best bet. What would you try first? Anything I should be careful to avoid? I’m nervous to do any damage to such a neat heirloom! THANK YOU!! So far my only vintage restoration projects have been quilts that just needed some nice long OxyClean soaks, and I know this is a totally different ball game. submitted by /u/billnye-scienceguy to r/VintageFashion [link] [comments]

http://www.guntechtips.com/bluing/bluing.htm Another good site for tips on home bluing. Bluing, like any other finishing process is all about the prep work. If your prep work isn’t of good quality, no amount of effort or time at bluing can make the parts look good. The parts should be completely stripped and polished bright and shiny. The better you prep, the better the result. A nice bluing job after a complete and high-quality prep job looks very nice. *Warning: These chemicals are very alkaline. That is high on the PH scale. If any amount gets on the skin, it will burn it (Vinegar can help stop the burning). If it gets in the eye, you are blind in that eye instantly! No Dr. can help you. The eye is blind. You must use a face shield and/or goggles at all times and be super careful! Don’t be careless. Don’t get distracted. Pay close attention to what you are doing the entire time. Heed this warning. I cannot stress it enough! * *Ken Mays procedure and Homemade Hot Blue Formula* All "bluing" is really blacking. The blue shine is due to additional chemicals such as manganese that are added to the mix. They are usually less abrasion resistant than blacking and perforce are thinner to give the blue refraction. They are a lot fussier to do and the results vary more than straight blacking on different metal alloys and heat treatment in my experience. I generally use a lye, fertilizer mix that gives the hardest blacking I have ever seen and it’s so simple anyone can do it, plus the ingredients are available at the hardware store rather than paying UPS hazardous shipment fees. The mix ratio is 5 lbs. lye (sodium hydroxide) to 2 1/2 lbs. ammonium nitrate (fertilizer), to 1 gallon distilled or clean rainwater. (No rainwater from polluted industrial cities or collected off a roof which can have impurities from the roofing material, gutter and down-spouts. Get rainwater collected directly into a plastic or non-reactive container and free from industrial pollution.) Here is the balanced chemical equation. NH4NO3 (aq) + NaOH (aq) → NaNO3 (aq) + NH3 (aq) + H2O (l) Reactants: NH4NO3 – Ammonium nitrate Other names: Nitric acid, ammonium salt Appearance: White/grey solid that is often sold in small graduals NaOH Names: Sodium hydroxide Appearance: White, waxy, opaque Products: drain cleaner NaNO3 – Sodium nitrate Other names: Peru saltpeter Appearance: White powder or colorless crystals NH3 Names: Ammonia Appearance: Colourless gas H2O – Water, oxidane Other names: Water (H2O) Appearance: White crystalline solid, almost colorless liquid with a hint of blue, colorless gas Granular lye can be ordered online from pluming sites or soap making sites or found in some home stores, hardware stores and plumbing supply stores] and ammonium nitrate fertilizer (at least 30%). Make sure you are buying actual ammonium nitrate; many brands today are made from urea or some other source. https://ammoniumnitrateforsale.com/ (Possible source of high quality amonium nitrate. I have used this to great effect) Make sure to not use tap water. Buy distilled or use clean rainwater. Some claim that rainwater works best. If ammonium nitrate is not obtainable, sodium or potassium nitrate can be substituted at close to the same ratio. (See below) To keep the concentration of nitrate equal to the original formula (ammonium nitrate), you have to use 6.25 percent more if you are using 16-0-0 nitrate of soda is used, which is sodium nitrate. 26.5 percent more if you use potassium nitrate stump remover. Also, with sodium nitrate, the temp. boils at a lower temp. 253 to around 265-270 max operating temperature as opposed to 290. Mix outdoors as lots (and I mean LOTS) of ammonia gas evolves and will rot your lungs out if you sniff it. (Not an issue with sodium nitate recipe) Wear goggles as this stuff foams and bubbles like mad. There will be a very violent exothermic reaction. Mix in an iron pail (not galvanized). [I use a 16qt enameled stock pot.] Once mixed and operating, the bath, will have no off gassing, but the vapors are corrosive so don't do it in your gun room or machine shop. Use plenty of ventilation. [I added water first, then added 1lb of lye and alternated with fertilizer. Add slowly to avoid boil over. Also, use a full-face shield and a respirator that will filter out ammonia. It’s good to do the initial mixing outside until the ammonia is done off gassing. After mixing, the solution will be over 100 degrees, even with no heat source, due to the heat of the reaction. EXOTHERMIC. I like to do this outside. The bath operates at 275 to a max of 290-degree F. I find 295 just a bit too hot. It can cause a red slag, or smut, to build up on the outside of the blued surface and must be wiped off after boiling. Remember that thermometers are not perfectly accurate. It sometimes takes a bit of experimenting to get the temperature correct. If you don't have a thermometer, heat until a sample part will just sizzle cold water. [I use a steel deep fry thermometer. Make sure the one you buy will reach the bottom of your pot without touching. This is the hottest part of the pot. Many thermometers only go in about 4 inches. This may explain why my solutions works better at lower temperature readings on my thermometer. I also use a propane deep fryer kit. Takes 15 to 45 min. depending on the steel and how dense a film you want. [I removed my gun after 20 minutes.] With nickel steel you will find it takes longer and the temp might need to be just a bit higher to get a good blue. This will be seen with guns like the nickel steel versions of the Winchester Model 12. Some smiths get the temp as high as 325 for nickel steel. Too hot, however, and the solution is ruined. Suspend the parts with steel wire to keep them away from the bottom and sides of the pot. Ideally you want to have a vigorously boiling solution surrounding the parts on all sides. If they get into a hot spot, you will often see red smut on the parts, or it may impart a plum color to the blue. Small parts can be strung together with iron wire or placed into a steel basket. After you are done, take parts out, put them in cold water for 10 minutes then rinse in clean hot water or boil them in hot water for 10-15 minutes. [I like to have a smaller pot of water near boiling to rinse the parts. This is the best way to wash away the lye, which will begin to congeal as it cools. Lye left on the parts will cause rust later on. Don’t skip this step. Dry and oil. I like Marvel Mystery oil. Brownells makes an oil specifically for this but it’s expensive. You are ready to go. If you don't like the depth of color after it's dry, after you boil the parts, and before you oil it, just put it back in the bath and cook it some more. The bath will do 10 to 15 jobs before you have to add about 1 lb. lye to a 5-gal bath to make up for boil off. Add water as required to keep the concentrations correct, but this does not seem critical. You MUST add enough water at bath cool down, to more than make up for boil off or it will solidify, and you can't re-melt easy. If you add too much, it will just boil off next time. [This stuff takes several hours to cool back down. Once it gets hot, it really stays hot for a while.] Make sure the parts are clean before you suspend them in the salts. Any oil will ruin the bath and job. Boil parts in TSP, Oakite, 909 or such first. I found some TSP at Home Depot. Acetone or Simple Green is used to good effect by some. I like non chlorinated brake cleaner. Be sure to cold water bath everything before the parts go into the bluing tank. Be sure you have wiped away any water spots, or they will show up under the bluing. Store in glass or plastic jugs between use, if it crystalizes, it is shot. (At least it will take a bit of effort and heating time to get the crystals back into solution.) You do not have to plug the barrel bore as the magnetite film is harder than the steel and, if anything, should improve it. Possibly a little chemical milling too. I have made test coupons and put them in an open beaker of water for a month with no corrosion. Even light sanding will not break down the surface. If you do plug the bore, pressure can build up inside the barrel and pop out the plug violently. This can cause the bluing solution to splatter all over, which is obviously not good. (See warning on page one.) Helpful Tips The homemade salts are great for nearly anyone doing small jobs -- it is very quick and economical to heat only 1 gallon of salts, blue the parts, and shutdown in less than an hour start to finish. I have not had bad or funky results with the homemade recipe. It works great even though I have not intentionally abused the process to find all potential pitfalls. If the item is clean and prepared properly the lye will finish "degrease" the part while the solution is heating up. I have even added parts that were degreased with Simple Green, quickly bead blasted, and then added to the salts and still gotten good results. I am not sure how many sessions I will get but it is nice to know the salts are inexpensive and there are no hazardous shipping fees or large quantity minimums needed or wasted. Pitfalls With the recipe the sodium nitrate salts will boil @ around 253 degrees Fahrenheit. Note the boiling point is directly related to the amount of water, as the water boils off the salts will slowly increase temperature and if allowed will fail to blue. Too hot and the color is more of a red/bronze. Do this and if the salts get hotter than around 330 degrees the high temperature will destroy the salts. The salts will blue in a temperature window in the 253-280 range. With sodium nitrate the temp. boils at a lower temp. 253 to around 265-270 max operating temperature. (275-290 for ammonium nitrate recipe) Use carefully ladled distilled cold water to drop the temp back down, don’t add water to parts in the boil. (Use a steel dipper ladle. Carefully add or you will have solution and water spatter all over!) Plan ahead and allow 20-30 minutes to boil. So, if the salts start boiling at 275 degrees after 30 minutes the temperature will rise even higher and risk failing to blue or worse overheating and turning the steel red/bronze then eventually destroying the salts. At first boil around 253 degrees (275 if ammonium nitrate is used), put your parts in the mix. As the temperature gets above 275 (290 with ammonium nitrate recipe.) Sometimes the reading will need to show higher due to inaccuracies on the thermometer and if the thermometer doesn’t go deep enough into the solution. Use a ladle and slowly add cold distilled water. It will bubble and steam, so allow the salts to enter the ladle to avoid spewing fluids. Dump it in and it will splatter hot alkaline lye everywhere, get it in your eyes and you’re blinded (No doctor can help you at this point! You are permanently blind. I use a face shield and goggles to avoid permanent loss of vision. Does it seem like hyperbole? It’s not. Be careful!) If the mix gets on your skin, even the slightest amount, you will know it, to stop the burning neutralize it with white vinegar. I pour it in a towel and wipe the area and instant relief occurs. If you have too much water, it will boil below 253 (below 275 if ammonium nitrate is used) degrees. Too much and it boils at a higher temp. Just keep boiling it until it gets to above 253 (or 275) degrees, boiling the excess water off then, put your parts in at the correct temperature range. You can use TSP in boiling tap water to degrease parts. Don’t touch the surface with anything other than fresh clean white paper towel, the faintest oil will give an uneven color. Disposal is a big issue for any of these salts and neutralizing the sodium hydroxide can be done with vinegar, water, and a PH test kit. I have heard of people putting the results down the drain, but I will not recommend disposal methods except to say consult the local waste disposal or sewer authorities and follow their rules. I consider disposal costs to be part of the job and I would not consider illegal disposal an option. I may do more experiments with future batches. Steel is the only metal I let come in contact with the salts. I stick to steel or non-reactive materials for everything. I know some people say stainless steel would work fine, but I do not use it for the pot -- some say the pot can be stainless, but others say it can affect the results. I find the enamel pots work great and are not that expensive. Aluminum will destroy your salts with a quickness and makes hydrogen gas, not wise around an open flame-boom! The enamel pots do ok but the glaze is eaten off fairly quickly and will need replaced. For the cost of two pots a black steel half tank from Brownells can be bought for around $50. The tank will need a batch and half of salts to fill the tank a little over half full. The depth of the blackening color increases with more time in the bath and a repeat session can be done if there are touch-ups or to add more/depth of color. I found the exact same results from the process, and it matches perfectly even after sanding, filing, bead blasting, etc. I scratched a part and just filed off the scratch, did a quick bead blast, and returned to the salts and reblued the exposed steel until it matched the rest of the part. If I cover the heated salts and turn off the heat it stays hot for quite a while so I can bring it back up to boil in 5 to 10 minutes for rework or additional sessions post inspection/cleanup on the first run. I prefer to watch the pot while it is going, so I never leave it unattended while doing cleanup. (Not circulating the salts can produce an uneven color. I agitate it and move the parts, hanging from an untreated wood square rod and use a mild steel rod-not galvanized to stir the hot salts.) The ingredients and process are so simple nearly anyone can make it. If you can make instant coffee, you can make this bluing recipe! SHOPPING LIST: Chemicals: (5) 16 oz or 18 oz containers of Sodium Hydroxide (lye), Recommended Brand: Lewis Red Devil Lye Drain Opener (100% Lye). It must say 100% lye. Drain openers that explicitly say 100% lye are acceptable, however, any drain opener that does not say 100% lye will not work! Lewis Red Devil Lye is a very common item so it should be available at a local home center, hardware or grocery store. The package is an 18oz container that costs about $3.19. I used Santeen drain cleaner in 2018, that I bought at Menards. As of June 2020, they still carry this brand. (It has been brought to my attention that Red Devil Drain opener is no longer available.) After a bit more research I did find that tech-grade sodium hydroxide is still available for sale at a variety of places with the most common being those that supply the homemade soap and candle making hobbies. I went ahead and ordered 10 lbs. and with shipping it still only came out to $3.00 a pound which is comparable to the Red Devil lye if it had still been available. I (food service lye is the cheapest at around $3/2lbs) (1) 4 Pound Box/Bag of Sodium Nitrate (Nitrate of Soda), Recommended Brand(s): Bonide Nitrate of Soda Fertilizer, Dragon Nitrate of Soda Fertilizer, Hoffman Nitrate of Soda Fertilizer. This item is Sodium Nitrate and comes in 4lb bags or boxes. Garden centers and hardware stores carry this or can get it. It is listed as containing 16-0-0 or 15-0-0 Nitrate Nitrogen. If you prefer, you can order online by using a search engine such as google.com, froogle.com, shopping.yahoo.com, or bizrate.com to search for "Nitrate of Soda" and you will find merchants that sell it from $6.49 for 4lbs to $14.95 for 8lbs. I used ammonium nitrate fertalizer. 34-0-0 https://ammoniumnitrateforsale.com/ Ammonium nitrate 34-0-0 is supposedly better than of nitrate of soda 16-0-0. (Sodium nitrate or ammonium nitrate or potassium nitrate when used with lye, sodium hydroxide, to make bluing salts) Use almost the same proportions. 2.5lbs of ammonium nitrate and 5lbs of lye. With the nitrate of soda 16-0-0 use 6.25 percent more fertalizer and with potassium nitrate stump remover use 26.5 percent more stump remover. (Hi-Yield nitrate can be purchased at the Macon feed store and shipped.) (2) 1 Gallon Containers of Distilled Water. Some people have no trouble with tap water, but I think it must be distilled so it does not contain minerals and it is available at every grocery store. I prefer to keep track of the water I add to the salts. Good clean rainwater can also be used. No acid rain or water that comes off a roof! Too many contaminates. Equipment: (1) 16 Quart Graniteware or Enamelware Stock Pot/Seafood Steamer Pot (size works great for pistols). Do NOT buy aluminum. I have seen the enamel type of pots available online and in camping supply stores. I purchased from http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com for $19.95 plus shipping. Other containers of a similar size that are steel or black iron will also work. Mills Fleet Farm in 2018 had 15.5-quart steel/porcelain pots that are enameled. (1) Propane burner and propane tank setup. I purchased a Turkey Fryer setup. You can select any setup and the aluminum or stainless pot will work great for post bluing cleaning/boiling to remove the salts. Most of these setups include a pot, thermometer, and the burner with regulator and cost from $30 to about $50 from home centers, hardware stores, or online. I have used the stove but mixed the ammonium outside on the grill burner until the ammonium gas stops coming out. The salt vapors will eat aluminum, whatever your heat source, insure it has generous ventilation. Clean up the area with towels soaked in vinegar-neutralizer, clean that with water. Stainless steel is not recommended. It imparts a color variation. The stainless in the thermometer and the ladle-mixing cold water back in to reduce the boiling point all seem to have no detrimental effect. (1) spool of ductile black iron/steel wire. Must be steel and appear either rusty or black. This is found in many home centers and hardware stores. Dip the wire into a degreaser to remove oil and diluted muriatic acid bath to prep for use. (obtained at ACE hardware as well as the TSP degreasing powder-added to boiling tap water) (1) steel stir stick for mixing ingredients and stirring the bath to get the salts into solution when re-heating. Can be found in home centers and hardware stores. Select a piece 18" to 24" in length, 1/8" diameter to 3/16" diameter. You will know when the salts are ready when the stir stick starts to blue. (As you mix in the Nitrate the rod will turn a gorgeous dark color when it gets hot enough. One idea I have had is to use a new steel stick each time. That way you will know when the salts are hot enough to blue steel. If it blues the stick, it should be close to where it blues the gun parts. Variations in metallurgy notwithstanding.) (1) 2-gallon plastic container with lid. Available at home centers in the paint department for storing the bluing salts between uses. Let the solution cool, then scrape out the pot and put the salts and solution into the pail. Don’t put your salts away without slowly adding-ladling cold water back in to drop the temperature and prevent a rock-hard block to deal with the next time you plan to hot blue) SAFETY: Lye is poisonous, corrosive, and can cause severe burns if not handled carefully. The heated solution can burn you. Follow all safety warnings for the chemicals and the equipment and always mix in the recommended order out of doors in adequate ventilation. Never breathe the vapors, stand up-wind or at a safe distance when possible, and protect your eyes from the vapors or splashes. Rinse any solution from skin immediately. (Wipe the skin with vinegar/neutralizer-DO NOT get this in your eyes, it’s worse than acid. It will permanently blind you! See the pattern here? I cannot stress enough that you must protect your eyes.) MIXING: (All mixing should be done outside in good ventilation). Use a metal 16 Quart Steamer Stock Pot. Setup the heating source (propane turkey fryer burner). Add 1 gallon of water into the pot. Use a scale to measure five pounds of lye into a container. Slowly add 1 cup at a time to the room temperature water. Stir with a steel stir rod until each addition is dissolved into solution. If you add too much, it will clump on the bottom and be more difficult to dissolve. Continue to slowly add the lye -- the solution will heat up and there will be some fumes as the lye dissolves into solution. Avoid breathing fumes and go slowly with the mixing. (The lye will heat up to about 150+ degrees without a heat source.) Place the pot of lye solution on the burner and start heating until the solution is warm. (It’s pretty darn warm already.) Use a scale to measure 2 1/2 pounds of the 34-0-0 Fertilizer into a container. 6.25 percent more if 16-0-0 sodium nitrate is used instead of ammonium nitrate. 26.5 percent more if potassium nitrate stump remover is used. Slowly add the fertilizer to the lye solution in the pot, stirring gently and allowing it to dissolve. As the temperature comes up closer to the boil, the fertilizer will go into solution. Congratulations, you have just mixed your bluing salts! STORAGE: If you are not planning to use the salts immediately, turnoff the burner and allow the solution to cool back to near room temperature. When the solution is not hot or too warn, you can pour the liquid into a plastic storage container and scrape the crystals to loosen and add them to the plastic storage container too. Rubber gloves and a plastic scraper help to completely clean out the crystals in the pot. Wash the residue from the pot with plenty of water to dilute and rinse it away. BLUING: Heat the solution until it reaches a minimum of 253 to 265 degrees F (Higher, like 275, if ammonium nitrate is used) and is vigorously boiling. Suspend the parts to blue using the steel wire to suspend them from a rod or piece of wood across the top of the pot. Let them remain in the boiling solution for 20 to 30 minutes depending on the steel and the depth of finish desired. Allowing the parts to stay in contact with the pot-creates hot spots, try and keep the parts just below the surface-the hottest level of the boiling salts and I use untreated wood to adjust the height of the steel being blued.) When you remove the items from the salts, they are very hot. Place them into hot but not boiling water for about 10 minutes to flush the salts out of any threads or captive areas. Dry and inspect. If the item is not blackened to your satisfaction or there are areas where it is not even return it to the solution and let it go longer. When final color is reached and the part is washed of all salts, completely coat the part in oil (WD-40, Gun Oil, Marvel Mystery Oil). I have also submerged the parts in warmed oil overnight before hanging them up and letting the excess drip off. I have not seen adverse effects from wiping down the parts and admiring the beautiful black finish immediately. (For small parts with many nooks, I use an ultrasonic cleaner and hot water to cleanse the salts out. Be very careful of nooks-holes and barrels. The hot metal will vaporize water and vent steam wherever the up end is pointed) TECHNICAL ISSUES: Items can sometimes be covered with a soot -- this seems to be caused by excess heating, usually the result of letting the part sit on the bottom of the pot where the burner is elevating the temperatures. Other times, it just seems to happen for unexplained reasons. Underneath the soot, the finish is black, so let I always let it run and remain patient. After removing from the salts, I place the part in a warm water bath and use a paper towel, rag, or a toothbrush to scrub off the soot. It will scrub or rub off and the finish underneath is usually very nice and black. Pipe cleaners will remove soot from small holes or screw threads. Once the surface looks clean, you can either return it to the salts for a few minutes or continue in a full hot water rinse, dry and oiling process. (The toothbrush works well; I will also wipe with white paper towel to check the color depth. Irregular, mottled or too light put back in the salts for an extra 10 minutes or so.) Items that do not blue or appear plum colored usually need a little more time in the solution. Various steels blue differently, and contaminants on the surface can lend a hand in making the process go funky. Usually, a good degreasing and return to the solution, use of a slightly higher temperature or a longer time will get them black. Too hot and the bluing process will slow, the heat rises, and the color turns more red bronze. If you have touch-ups or areas with defects that you want to fix you can return to the solution after corrective measures and a degreasing. I usually do touch-ups immediately while the salts are still running so I can assure the results come out the same. If you add lots of parts to the solution, it seems to take a little longer than when doing smaller bit of parts or touch-ups. Ken Mays has more extensive experience with the original formula. Practical use is the same, but his recipe and mixing is different because ammonium nitrate fertilizer has several negatives: First, it gets attention from the FBI, and you can end up "a person of interest". Second, when adding it to the lye, copious amounts of concentrated ammonia gas are produced, and ammonia is very dangerous to living things! After his salts are mixed and working things are the same as what I am using, although he reports his solution boils at a higher temperature. Experiments with the temperature may be needed. In my experience these are the temperature ranges in degrees Fahrenheit. Sodium nitrate-Nitrate of soda 253-275 Ammonium Nitrate up to 285 or 290. Much higher and I have gotten a red slag or smut build up on the outside of the bluing. 290 might even be pushing it. I start by getting the solution boiling at around 260 and drop in the parts. As water boils out the boiling temp gets higher. I generally don’t let it get above 285 by using a steel dipper to slowly add distilled water. Thermometers are not perfectly accurate and this needs to be kept in mind. Also remember that how deep the thermometer is in the solution and where in the pot it is placed will also affect the temperature readings. I like to soak the parts in Marvel Mystery Oil for at least two days. I completely submerge them. Somtimes I will duct tape a hand warmer to the plastic pail. Heated oil works well. The reaction is still going, as there is some off gassing, and the oil keeps water away. Bluing is a bit tender for the first day or two so, it’s better to wait a while before reassembling and using the firearm. Rubbing the parts down with bit of mineral oil and brown paper bag can even out slight shade differences and deepen the bluing. 000 steel wool and mineral oil has been used by some. Either way one needs to treat new bluing with care. CLP, Lucas, Hoppes or G96, which is what I like, can then be applied just like one would to any gun. With reasonable safety measures an awesome dark black oxide (“known as bluing”) rich color can be obtained. The salts can be reused. I know some who have gotten as many as 15 guns done with the same batch. Give yourself a good half-day to do this. It is not an effort to be rushed. The Bluing Procedure is Simplicity itself. It consists of the following basic steps after the gun has been polished. 1 - Clean the properly polished gun and parts in Dicro-Clean 909™. Or degrease somehow. 2 - Rinse and scrub in cold, clean water. 3 - Immerse in mixed and heated bluing salts solution for 15 to 30 minutes (I have done as long as 45 to get a nice deep black oxide finish). 4 - Rinse and scrub in cold, clean water. 5 - Rinse in hot, almost boiling, water. 6 - Immerse in Water Displacing Oil. 7 - Apply optional “after-treatments”, if desired Hint: If you take the gun or parts out of the bluing solution to check them, don’t do it for long. The salts can dry on the gun or parts. Then, when you are done, you will have spots on the metal. If you take them out of the bluing solution to check them, put them in the cold water so as not to dry out the salts. Then if they are not ready put them back into the bluing solution for more time. STEP-BY-STEP BLUING PROCEDURE per Brownell’s for those interested. SUSPEND PARTS IN FRESH 909 CLEANING SOLUTION to remove all dirt, grease oil and crud. “Cleanliness is Next to Godliness” - Always! Operating Temperature: 180° F. Immersion Time: 10-1 minutes. RINSE CLEANED PARTS in flowing Cold Water Rinse Tank. Scrub parts thoroughly with soft brush to remove all traces of Dicro-Clean 909 Cleaning Solution. Work rapidly. Immersion Time: Not to exceed 2 to 3 minutes. SUSPEND RINSED PARTS IN THE OXYNATE NO. 7 BLUING SOLUTION. Optimum Operating Temperature: Vigorous rolling boil at 292° F. Typical Time in Bluing Solution: 20-30 minutes. RINSE BLUED PARTS in After-Bluing Cold Water Rinse Tank. Agitate and swish parts around thoroughly to remove all traces of Bluing Solution. When parts have cooled to room temperature in the cold water, carefully examine for blemishes, discolorations, flaws in bluing. SUSPEND RINSED PARTS IN HOT WATER TANK to remove all final traces of Bluing Solution/Salts. Operating Temperature: Vigorous boil. Immersion Time: -10 minutes for simple parts; 1-30 minutes for complex parts. (Some water sources damage/lighten/remove new bluing with long immersion. Watch carefully. Or. 5B. SUSPEND RINSED PARTS IN B.O.N. TANK instead of Hot Water Rinse Tank. Mixing: 6 oz. (by weight) to 1 gallon water. Operating Temperature: 130° to 140° F. Immersion Time: With intermittent agitation, 30-4 minutes. Transfer to Hot Water Tank and complete Step. SUSPEND HOT RINSED PARTS IN WATER DISPLACING OIL. Transfer the parts quickly to Water Displacing Oil Tank and plunge into tank, agitating vigorously for a minute or so. Allow parts to cool immersed in the Water Displacing Oil. Use full strength. Operating Temperature: Room Temperature; recommended 68° F. min. to 90° F. max. Do Not Heat Oil. Immersion Time: Until cool; typically, 40-60 minutes, to allow maximum displacement of entrapped water.77 or “CURE”. Remove from Water Displacing Oil Tank and hang on rack over tank to allow excess Oil to drain back into tank. Because new blue is very tender, minimum handling recommended for 24 hours to allow blue to “cure”. When cured, wipe excess oil off parts with soft cloth and reassemble gun. submitted by /u/Express-Pie2738 to r/guns [link] [comments]

Ball Cap Cleaning Primer ver. 3.75 (updated) 2/2/23 Part Two A Suitable Work Surface. Washing your hat in the sink is best. However, make sure to clean it out first that includes scrubbing the inside surfaces of the sink in case you drop it. You don’t want any food particles ruining your progress. I’ve washed caps on the lid of a washing machine, by the side of a creek, and the upper concourse restroom in many an arena. This is due to too many idiots spilling beer and throwing food and having to do emergency cleaning in a restroom sink during the 7th inning stretch. And yes I do, in fact, know the most reliable restroom sink is located in EVERY major sports and entertainment venue in every arena or stadium or comic-con I’ve ever visited for emergency gear cleaning!! I will assume you are at home, so the kitchen or laundry sink is a convenient place to clean your cap, but the kitchen table, a TV-tray or even the garage workbench, are all fine work stations, just clean it off first and if not the sink place a clean towel down to keep the work surface from getting too wet or filthy by the cleaning process. Scrubbers. A few small clean wash cloths are the minimum standard for cleaning supplies. You will need a few to use for gentle cleaning, setting a few dry ones set aside for later. I like to use microfiber cleaning towels, but facial wash cloths will also work. It is best to have a dry, clean clothes brush to start with. This will enable you to dry brush your cap to remove any loose dirt, dust, and soils before using cleaning agents. Any firm bristled, clean, dry, cleaning brush will also work to do the pre-cleaning of your cap. An old soft toothbrush is the oldest laundry cleaning standby. A nail brush is also a reliable scrubber for a hat. However, but personally I use a variety of soft, medium and firm bristle laundry/dish scrubbers on hats, carefully, as per the situation and part of the hat. I use a stiff grout brush to scrub the hat sweatband, which deserves the most attention (you need to scrub it particularly well, and often more than once), so I start, then finish, at the sweatbands. But more on that in a sec. I also have a palm-sized dish/pot scrubber for most of the hat especially inside the bowl as larger handled scrubbers are cumbersome on the inside. A popular cleaning tool for hats is a brush made to scrub suede & nubuck leather shoes. As many sneaker collectors are also into caps, this is a helpful tool to use on hats as well. Basins Something to hold your cleaning agents in; a few small bowls, shallow cups or glasses to hold your cleaning agents, as well as a small bucket or pail to hold lukewarm water, if you are not using or near a sink. And make sure you have enough room for everything within reach. Cleaning Agents; Any laundry detergent you already have on hand that is safe for the fabric of your cap is fine to use. When using powdered laundry detergent, mix 1/8th a cup of it with one cup of very hot water and stir to dissolve it, then let it cool before using. If you have liquid laundry detergent, use a ¼ cup at a time. If it’s especially dirty, replenish your cleaning agent as needed. When you get used to cleaning caps after a few times, then you will know the amount you will need to use to minimize waste. A very small amount of dish soap may suffice in a pinch, but let's assume you have laundry supplies. Your Shaping Form. During cleaning, a shaping form is used to help shape the hat. It is helpful to put your hat into a more rigid surface to make it easier to scrub, if needed and especially for post-clean drying of the cap to help it return to its original shape. I’ve used plastic bowls and colanders as a backing surface to scrub the inside of the hat bowl. This should be the main focus of cleaning as the inside of the bowl contains all the parts that touch your head. A small pot or bowl the diameter of your hat, a coffee tin, or a rolled-up towel, will all work well as a hat form. As I am a size 7¼ I use a mini basketball (7” in diameter) as my preferred hat shaping form. On To The Cleaning Process; When I wash a lid, I break down the cleaning into its 4 parts: The sweatband, the inside of the hat bowl, the outside of the hat’s panels, and lastly, the bill) separately, especially if you know or suspect the bill is cardboard. And again I attack the sweatband more than once. Dry Brushing Your Cap Using a dry wash cloth, toothbrush, or clothes brush, dry brush your cap inside and out. This will remove any loose dirt, dust, lint, and soils. This will get rid of anything that you could embed in your hat during the cleaning process. Remember to get the space where the bill and the bowl of the cap connect. Also, get the inside of the sweatband. You'd never guess how much dirt, dust, and lint, are trapped in those two parts. After dry brushing, rinse the hat, inside the bowl and out, with warm to hot water. Hold the bill in your hand to avoid getting it wet for now. (Remember to check for colorfastness under “Is The Hat Colorfast?" above first and check the bill see “The Bill” above.) After brushing and rinsing off the heavy dirt, it's time to start cleaning! Get a small bowl and add your main cleaning product in it; Dip the brush or cloth you are planning to use in the detergent and attack that sweatband! I use a stiff brush made for tile grout, but a toothbrush will work and is an old standby. Again, I clean that part more than once, so rinse after a thorough scrub and you can tell if more elbow grease or a stain remover plan, are needed. Now it's time to scrub the inside of the hat bowl, especially the front panel. On plastic mesh “trucker hats” be careful, and if you are worried about breaking the mesh with the scrubbers you have, use a damp cloth soaked in your cleaning agent and gently wipe the mesh clean. Then rinse the mesh with lukewarm water, or use a clean rag soaked in lukewarm water and gently wipe the mesh clean, with two to three passes. Then allow it to air dry. Also make sure to clean the back snap or other fastener, but avoid if it's leather (Best to use saddle soap or a high-quality leather cleaner. Ones made to clean shoes are a smart call after cleaning the rest of the cap). As for the outside panels, you will want to use something to give it a firmer surface to scrub it; placing a salad bowl or even a small pot inserted into the bowl of the hat will help in scrubbing and during the drying process to help stand it up for shaping. I use a mini basketball (6-7" diameter) to shape my hats. I place the hat into the ball and turn the sweatband out to scrub it once more. For the main outer panels, use the firm bristle brush on the panels, but avoid any and all embroidered or screened logos. For these parts, it’s best you use that old toothbrush, a damp cloth soaked in your cleaning agent, or even your finger, which will help you gently clean them. Rinse well in lukewarm water. Repeat the process on the logos as needed. Special Care For Corduroy Corduroy hats were popular along with corduroy jeans skirts and jackets. If you never seen or wore it before, corduroy feels almost velvety and looks as if it is made from multiple cords laid parallel to each other with an empty channel between each cord. (The “cords” in corduroy are called “wales.” BTW). Most corduroy is made of cotton or wool but because of the wales special care is needed if you plan to clean a dirty corduroy lid. My Grandma, who taught me to wash my own clothes, always said that corduroy should be washed inside out to protect the more delicate textured side of the fabric, keeping the wales looking good. Again checking if it and or the embroidered logos are colorfast (see “Is The Hat Colorfast?” above), the best way to wash corduroy in the gentle cycle and inside out, but that’s out for oblivious reasons, the risk of a cardboard bill, so I advise you do your best to avoid getting the bill wet (I’ll help with that is a sec.) For handwashing my old corduroy Levi's as a kid, she taught me that you should first soak corduroy jeans in warm water for white Corduroy and cold water for dark corduroy, then gently spot clean with a toothbrush. DO NOT scrub the material too harshly. Never attempt to remove excess water by wringing corduroy, as this could twist and ruin the wales. If this worries you then you might want to try cleansing it using with “The Rubbing Alcohol Method” as explained above. If you are willing to spot clean using detergent and water, don’t get the bill wet unless you are 100% positive the bill is plastic, and clean it with “The Rubbing Alcohol Method” above. If in doubt, take it to a quality dry cleaner; they'll know how to care for it. Check Yelp reviews if you never used a dry cleaner for your lids, but it will cost you. Either way of cleaning, and especially if you have a lot of corduroy lids, get a quality clothes brush to straighten out the wales, and you can use it to keep all your caps looking good and lint free! Using A Stain Remover If stained, you may wish to use a stain remover safe for the hat. Read the instructions about how long to let it sit for the stain in question; mud, heavy sweat stains, blood, food, hair care products/dyes, make up, and oils like cooking or motor oil/ industrial fluids are the leading suspects in hat stains. After you have applied your stain remover, let it sit according to instructions for the stain, and then rinse well. For heavy stains you may have to repeat the process and scrub more aggressively as required, especially on the sweatband. The majority of us who deal with stains on our wearable collectibles will recommend Dawn Platinum Dishwashing Liquid since it actually removes 80% of stains better than most other stain removers, especially greasy stains such as food or oils. Apply sparingly, like a stain remover above, rub gently onto the stain, and let set for about 15 minutes and rinse well. For heavy stains you may have to repeat the process and scrub more aggressively as required. For Heavy Stains; For heavy stains you may have to repeat the cleaning process and scrub more aggressively as required. If, however, your cap still has some stubborn stains, then it's time to up your stain remover game. I like to mix up some old fashioned stain paste. This one was handed down from my grandma: Get a small glass, jar, or bowl and add; ½ cup baking soda,1 tablespoon salt1 tablespoon hydrogen peroxide, Stir, or shake well if your container had a lid, then add just enough VERY hot water to mix this into a thick paste. This can be toothpaste consistency or thicker, as needed. Allow the mixture to cool to the touch, then with a toothbrush, or other suitable scrubber, gently scrub the stain, let it sit for at least half an hour, then continue to wash as usual. For heavy stains you may have to repeat the process and scrub more aggressively as required. The OxiPase method is also a time tested method for Jersey Collectors to spot treat stains or around autographs and fragile jersey logos and patches. To make OxiPase; Get a small glass or bowl and put in 1-3 tablespoons of OxiClean and add just enough VERY hot water to mix this into a thick paste, to toothpaste consistency or thicker as needed. Allow the mixture to cool. With your brush, or even your finger, gently scrub the stain. Let stand for 15 minutes or longer, but do not allow OxiClean to dry on the fabric. Rinse well. For heavy stains you may have to repeat the process and scrub more aggressively as required. Rust Stains Often hat collectors would “Bling out” their lids with lapel pins, I do this as well. For the most part every lid in my personal collection has a pin collection that often cost more than the original cost of the hat they are sitting on! Also and on many modern hats the back fastener would use a metal buckle and a metal grommet to tuck the excess Of course the main drawbacks of either are two-fold; Tiny holes in your cap. Rust from sweat in contact with metal staining your lid. The pin stick and pinbacks, back in the 80s and 90s were often copper based and would turn green with sweat just from wearing and metal buckle of course are often touching your hair or scalp, so now you got rust stains since you took off the pins to clean your hat. OxiClean is not recommended for use on rust. Oxygen is a an essential contributor to rust, and a major ingredient in OxiClean. Spot clean pinhole rust with plain white vinegar applied directly on the stains with a toothbrush. Let sit for at least 5 minutes then rinse with a damp washcloth repeat as needed and let sit longer. Remember to do both the main panels and the inside of the hat. If the stains are stubborn you may need to use a rust stain remover like Whink Rust Stain Remover,Iron OUT Rust Stain Remover, or Carbona Stain Devils #9 Stain Remover, Rust & Perspiration. For metal fasteners use plain white vinegar applied directly on the metal parts using a toothbrush or a dampened rag and scrub until the rust is removed, rinse with a water soaked cloth, then dry the metal parts immediately if possible. To mitigate rust stains use a barrier between your pinbacks and your head, the original cardboard inserts, or other commercially available sweat barrier to block sweat from touching the pins. For metal fasteners, apply a thin coat of oil, like canola oil or 3-in One oil or WD-40 with a Q-Tip. Dap the oil with a Q-Tip and coat the fastener with a thin coat of oil, wait a few minutes then wipe off the excess with a dry paper towel. Reapply as needed especially in wet weather seasons and high humidity. Odor Removal If your lid still smells of sweat, you need to upgrade to a stronger cleaning agent or use an odor removing product as part of your routine and/or a laundry sanitizer like Clorox Laundry Sanitizer or OxiClean Laundry & Home Sanitizer that you can mix with your detergent or a pre-wash spray and use it after cleaning your sweatband,. I use Lysol Laundry Sanitizer post-sweatband scrub; I mix a capful of this with a 32oz of water and place it in a condiment bottle with a small opening and pour it throughout the sweatband and allow it to sit for 30 minutes (this is used in the rinse cycle and must be left for at least 15 minutes before using) and simply let it dry. If using regular OxiClean or OxiClean White Revive (for white sweatbands. Dark colors use regular or OxiClean Dark Protect) and try using a boosted version of the standard OxiPaste solution; To make a boosted OxiPaste; Get a small glass or bowl and put in 1-3 tablespoons of OxiClean with one tablespoon of your cleaning detergent or stain remover or half a teaspoon of dishwashing liquid and add just enough VERY hot water to mix this into a paste, slightly less to toothpaste consistency or thicker as needed. Allow the mixture to cool. With your brush, scrub the solution into the sweatband. Then let stand for 15 minutes or longer. Do not allow OxiClean to dry on the fabric. Rinse very well. I use OdoBan Multi-Purpose Disinfectant And Cleaner as my go-to all-purpose odor remover and disinfectant on shoes, work clothes and upholstery as it will also remove mildew from that towel that fell behind the sink, and the gallon size can be mixed down into an air freshener! OdoBan is available at Walmart and most hardware stores for about $10 a gallon. For heavily stained hats, and I’m talking one step up from ruin, the extreme last resort is a full on OxiBath for your lid; To Prepare An OxiBath; The directions come directly from OxiClean’s page, and I add my own tips to avoid warping the bill if you suspect it’s made of cardboard. Find a large enough bowl, plastic pail, bucket or other container large enough to hold your hat’s bowl (I rig a lid soak to avoid submerging the bill if I think/suspect it’s made of cardboard, if you KNOW it is plastic you can submerge the whole thing.) Fill the included blue scoop to Line 2 and mix with ½ to 1 gallon of VERY hot water, and stir it until dissolved. Fill Line 4 for extra tough stains. Allow the solution to cool to the touch, then soak the hat in the solution to remove stains from the sweat band, and the hat brim, for 1-6 hours. Some stains may require more time to dissolve. For most effective results, soak for 6 hours. You may need to give really badly stained caps a 2nd soak with a thorough scrubbing to get rid of any embedded soils in between soaks. However, do not allow OxiClean to dry on the fabric. Rinse very well. For this some setup may be required if you are worried about soaking the bill; Using a stick, a clothes hanger or other suitable object to act as a crossbeam to go across the top edge of your pail, attach a heavy binder clip or strong clothespin to the edge of the bill and using a string to attach to your cross beam, suspend the bill so it doesn’t get submerged, but please note if you get the waterline very close some “wicking effect” does take place and a small amount of the solution will crawl up to as much as ½ an inch above the waterline. Advanced Whitening Technique Of course most owners of white clothing that wash them themselves have asked “Is chlorine bleach really the best way to whiten whites?” Generally, the answer here is DON'T! First, most whites state on the care tag “Don’t use chlorine bleach.” Manufacturers are moving away from chlorine bleach as a whitening agent and even the commercials show their products are geared more for disinfection and mold and mildew removal on non-porous surfaces. The second is, NEVER use straight chlorine bleach as a stain remover; Without cleaning gloves to protect your hands, While wearing non-expendable/dark clothing, Use in spot treating indoors and/or without onion cutting goggles! Your best bet is the old school way my grandma taught me to make a “thick bleach Mix;” Mix bleach to cornstarch and water to thicken. It's a DIY bleach gel, but apply outside!! The following is an advanced tip: do not use on hats or any other clothing you care about until you have tested on weeds to ensure consistency before attempting on anything you care about. Bleach Mix; one cup of cold water5 tablespoons cornstarch.5 tablespoons regular chlorine bleach In a saucepan, mix together one cup of cold water and 5 tablespoons cornstarch. Stir continually over medium to high heat until the mixture thickens. Once your mixture is thick and near pasty, let it cool completely to the touch. Transfer to a plastic or ceramic mixing bowl. NEVER add chlorine bleach to metal pans or bowls! Stir in about 5 tablespoons regular bleach VERY CAREFULLY to avoid splashing until this gets to a thicker than toothpaste consistency Add to a “squeeze bottle” preferably one with a cap. Apply in small pea-sized dollops and scrub with a toothbrush to spread the mixture to the sweatband or other white parts of your lid, one section or panel at a time. I’d avoid front panels or parts with logos until you get the hang of using this to your satisfaction. Ruined a jersey trying this the first time. Had to use a fabric marker to repair the damage. DON’T MAKE MY MISTAKES!!) Rinse with cold water until the smell is eliminated, but a odor remover that works for me to neutralize chlorine is white vinegar. Pour as needed and let sit for 10 minutes then rinse and let air dry. The vinegar smell will evaporate. The Hat Bill Using a clean, flat surface, like a towel-covered table or the top of the washing machine, it's time to clean that bill. Same technique, dry brush first, dip your cleaning tool in your cleaning solution, clean the bottom first, then the top, stain remover as needed. Try not to soak the bill with your cleaning agent, if its cardboard. To rinse, if your bill is cardboard, get a clean wash cloth or microfiber cloth and soak it in lukewarm water, and wring some of the water out, then gently wipe away the cleaning agent. Repeat this process until the cloth comes away clean and no more residue of your cleaning agent appears, then allow to air dry. Plastic bills, rinse well with lukewarm water. Reshaping/Reflaten The, Now Clean, Bill As to help keep its shape/refasten baseball cap bills, I use a Perfect Curve Cap Washer, this brand has two “bill shaping modes,” flat and medium curve, you can find bill shapers on line if you prefer a heavy curve, but I keep my bills flat. An old school way to flatten cardboard bills is get two pieces of wood/brick/heavy books and wraps them in foil or wax paper, then sandwich them together around the bill like you are stoning that brim for its cardboard crimes until it confesses its sins! There are several kinds and brands of bill shaping tools on the market. Feel free to use the one whose curve you prefer. Drying The Hat You will need to place your hat in a well-ventilated area to air dry, ensuring that the hat's location to dry can get wet, as it is going to drip, so I think it is best to let it dry outdoors out of the sun. If drying indoors place under a large bin to catch the dripping water. Again a small pot or bowl the diameter of your hat, a coffee tin, or a clean, dry rolled-up towel will all work well as a hat form. As I am a size 7 ¼ I use a mini basketball (7” in diameter) as my preferred hat shaping form. Shaping Still Needs More Work If it’s still a pancake after cleaning and drying you may want to think of steaming your hat or starching the panels on the outside only. First you need a form to help shape your hat. See “Your Shaping Form” above for ideas. If you have a clothes steamer, this is easiest; Follow the steamer’s directions (especially the part about using distilled water and cleaning it out afterwards) and work one panel at a time to smooth out the creases until you get the desired results, and then let the hat dry with it on the form to keep its shape. In the case of a regular or mini iron; same basic principle, but you should have a spray bottle filled with clean water to lightly mist your hat with to iron the panels. For some people, they may want to use spray starch to help the hat keep its shape. Follow the starch manufacturer's directions; spray light coats and work one panel at a time, outside panels only, until you get the desired results, then let the hat dry with it on the form to keep its shape. Tossing Your Lid In The Machine Washing If you think your lid can survive a dip in the tub, the most effective way to wash a baseball cap is in a washing machine; If parts are stained, pre-treat any stained areas with your preferred method before washing. (see “Using A Stain Remover” above, especially on the hatband) If you’re tossing other laundry in with it, limit the amount of clothes that go in with the hat, or like me only wash your machine-safe caps with other like-colored caps. Put your cap in a pillowcase or reusable mesh undergarment Laundry Bag to protect it. These are usually for delicate underwear or other delicate clothing to protect them from rubbing on washing machine’s inner parts. Use one bag for each hat. Even when washing white hats, use a non-chlorine bleach laundry detergent. You may even want to add a laundry booster like baking soda or OxiClean. Set the machine to a cold or lukewarm water, gentle cycle. When using OxiClean, mix according to instructions for the load size and add to the wash. Instead of putting your baseball cap in the dryer, let it air dry as per “Drying The Hat” above as dryers can get too hot and cause the hat to lose its shape and possibly even shrink. Take this opportunity to reshape as mentioned above (“Reshaping/Reflaten The, Now Clean, Bill” and “Shaping Still Needs More Work”) Storing Your Now Restored Hat I have used clear plastic boxes and standard cardboard boxes to store lids, a trick a friend taught me if you are the kind of collector to store every cap individually: Take a “representative” lid (if you have a fitted hat to represent your hat size) and find cheap plastic bowls to place inside them. Walmart has some 50¢ salad bowls that fit in my rather small hat size of 7¼ as well as the dollar store, or even some old bowls at a yard sale that you can easily wash to place in your caps when placing in single boxes. A clean dry rolled-up towel in each cap as in the cleaning process above will also work. When storing a lot of hats in something like a tote box, the standard "shipping bowl fold" as they arrive at the cap shop is recommended, but for me or keeping your collection organized, it would be helpful to separate the hats based on a few things; Team, design, color, heavy curved vs Flat Billed vs Snaps, etc. A trick I learned for long term storage/moving: Add a few dryer sheets to each box (if storing singles, one sheet each box) to help keep your lids smelling fresh and mitigate that “new tote plastic smell” Hope this helps you all out. submitted by /u/HockeyBabble to r/snapbacks [link] [comments]

Here was the process: Removed the drawers; Shop vacuumed the drawers and frame; Dusted all surfaces, drawers, and the interior of the frame with dry microfiber towels Cleaned every surface with Simple Green; I allowed the cleaner to sit for 5 minutes, wiped them down with dry microfiber towels, rinsed using a spray bottle filled with water, dried with microfiber towels Sanded all surfaces to be painted with a 5” orbital sander hooked up to my shop vacuum; Started with 120 grit sandpaper and finished with 240 grit sandpaper; Vacuumed the dust out of the frame and the drawers Dusted surfaces with tack cloth, then microfiber towels dampened with water, then dry microfiber towels Sprayed surfaces with with white primer (I used Rust-Oleum American Accents 2X Ultra Cover Flat Spray Primer in White); 4 cans of spray primer used Sprayed surfaces with metallic pink spray paint (I used Rust-Oleum Universal Pearl Metallic Spray Paint in Champagne Pink); 10 cans of spray paint used Smoothed painted surfaces with 320 grit sandpaper attached to a handheld sanding block Wiped surfaces with tack cloth and then dry microfiber towels Applied 3 coats of General Finishes High Performance Water-Based Topcoat in Satin; I thinned the topcoat 3:1 with distilled water and used a 3” synthetic bristle paintbrush to gently apply the polyurethane, lightly sanding between coats 1 and 2 with 350 grit sandpaper and wiping them down with dry microfiber towels Cleaned brass hardware by boiling each piece in vinegar on a stovetop for ~5 minutes, removed tarnish with #0000 steel wool, polished with a 100% cotton cloth Reassembled dresser; Project complete! Bonus pic of Waldo investigating the dresser. submitted by /u/definitely_aware to r/DIY [link] [comments]

20 Years in the Navy and I've had stuff in storage in a northern state (shed on family property) and in a southern state (government paid storage), and have cleaned out non-climate controlled storage units for family... so I've seen stuff exposed to hot weather and cold. I recently retrieved all that stuff, and since I'm going through it, I figure I'd share my lessons learned. I'm sure others will add to this. Hopefully, it's a good discussion. 0- Downsize You don't need everything, only store what you can't take wherever you're going that actually has some value to you. Give stuff away that will expire. Estimate how much the stuff you have is worth versus how much it will cost to store it. Maybe you have family/friends that will let you keep stuff in a room/shed for free, maybe you have to go out and get a locker, either way you don't need to keep all that. 1- Clean & Dry Mold is your enemy. You find fuzzy white stuff or maybe green or worst case slimy black on things you didn't think would happen; "oh, I only used it for a little while" or "I only wore that hat one day"... Nope, if you're lucky, it just goes into the wash when you pull it out, or maybe it can be wiped off. Having to wash stuff after unpacking is such a waste of time. Especially if things rust from the oils in your hands. Use distilled vinegar to wipe off hard surfaces (plastic), mineral oil for wood furniture, and wash clothes; other things as best practice recommends. Maybe use some kind of gun oil on your metal stuff... rust is a pain and spreads and stains other things. 2- Clearly Label Label as you go, ideally write on a piece of paper to the side and set it on the top just inside. Best practice is put like type things in a box/tote, then you can label with a single word or short phrase. Label all sides, I can not emphasize how useful this is, especially if your label falls off. Duct tape, permanent marker, and clear packing tape on top is a winning labeling bet. 3- Segmentation Plastic bags like gallon plastic bags are good, but you need to put silica gel packs in every one of them if you go this route. 4- Drying Agent Silica gel packets, or if you've got the supplies you can make something similar using baking soda and coffee filters (fill it about 1/4 cup, fold over the edges, and staple shut; if it doesn't close use less baking soda). 5- Dryer sheets Unscented or low scent, maybe one per tote depending on what you're storing. Yes, everything had an old dryer sheet smell, but I encountered no mold on anything that had those in there. 6- Plastic totes Unless you're going to put stuff in a climate controlled storage, avoid cardboard boxes unless you can be certain the place is dry and they spray for insects and trap/prevent nuisance animals. Don't overfill them. Stack them heavier on the bottom. Don't stack them too heavy. Cracked totes means stuff gets inside, or your treasures could fall out. 7- Packing and padding Bubblewrap lasts for years inside totes, and some foam just becomes powder. You can mix clean clothes/towels/blankets between valuable items, but make sure to wrap them smartly. 8- Weatherproofing If you're using totes, get some of that weatherproofing single-side-sticky foam used for doors and windows and put it between the seal where the top of the tote closes on the lid. 1/4" was thick enough so long as the lid was closed tightly. 9- Securing Check your totes for holes. You can cheaply cover them with duct tape on both sides, press the tape together through the hole to make a better seal. If you use totes like the Greenmade 27Gal that has the little holes in them for locks, use zipties to hold the lids down securely. If you have a normal tote, get duct tape and not the super cheap stuff or the super rugged stuff, just the average regular duct tape. Tape across the lid and down the sides to hold the lid down. Optionally, if you have enough of it, wrap it under the lip and have it make a seal from the bottom to the top, not as important if you weatherproof and the tote has a good enough clip holding it closed. 10- No food for long-term storage Yup, I put coffee and Vegemite and other things that I thought would keep a long time from various travels... thankfully, I did segmentation because all that nonsense smelled horrible and went in the trash. 11- Some things don't need to be in totes. Hang bicycles by the frame. Wood needs to lay horizontally and gapped for airflow. Furniture can be separated by cloth, but don't use something you want to reuse. 12- Elevate and separate Air flow underneath and between containers is important. Pallets work well for this if you can get them. 13- Stacking Don't stack totes more than they can support; maybe you need to build a rack to hold a wall full of storage. Made this mistake, and several of my "unbreakable" totes cracked. 14- Sheds need to vent If you have a climate controlled space, then it's not your typical cheap shed, and you probably don't have to worry about this... however, whether they're wood, metal, or plastic, they need to vent. Do some research for your area and find out what's best. I came back one year to all sorts of critters made a home in my shed: ants, squirrels, mice, and wasps! I thought, never again! So I made certain all the cracks were filled. Probably wasted like 4 tubes of caulking (probably more). The next year, I came back to mold everywhere. Moisture had gotten in and didn't have an easy way to get out. Vents with covers to reduce critters coming in is fine so long as the shed breathes. I had to throw away and burn furniture that I had since college. Thankfully, all the plastic totes just needed a wiping to be good. 15- Cost/Benefit Just want to reemphasize the first item. Do some math, find out what you have, and whether it's worth storing. If the storage locker is $60/month and you're using it for one year, that's $720 gone forever (if no tax) If you buy a shed, and plan to store things there for five years, see how much storage in your area costs, it may be cheaper to build a shed than rent one at that point. So, you know how much that storage is... consider whether the stuff you're putting in there replaceable for the amount you're spending? This is a personal subjective decision, I hope you make the right one. Edit: I've been touching up grammar. 16- Remove batteries Alkaline batteries rust and seep, corrode contacts, and just leave a nasty mess. Lithium batteries, just remove them if you can. Depower ones you can't (let the energy fizzle out by leaving it on). But really, putting any batteries into storage when it's not climate controlled is probably a bad idea. Edit 2: 17- Store it only if you'll retrieve it Flippers-hate-this-one-trick; don't be that person who leaves a life's worth of stuff in a storage unit and pays more than it's worth to lose it all in an auction to someone who came at the right time. Kinda like the 1st and 15th, but think about whether you really want it after you've stored it for months/years; and if you do, set up autopay, and get a notification at least monthly when it's paid. submitted by /u/MadDogFenby to r/LifeProTips [link] [comments]

I forgot to tell my sister to remove the keychain on my Owala before she washed (handwashed) it, I haven't been home for a few weeks because I've been on a trip and when I got home I realized the keychain started rusting and it ended up staining my lid 😞 It's not very evident in the photo I took after I tried everything that I will be stating below but it still looks very obvious in real life. I looked up some guides to clean rust off silicone and so far I've tried •Dish Soap and Warm Water some guides suggested using hot water, but I'm worried it might end up warping my lid. Do you think it would be safe to try that? It ended up removing some of the staining but not completely. •White Distilled Vinegar and Water I figured this would be safe to try since I regularly wash my Owala with a mild vinegar+water+dish soap solution every few weeks anyway. It ended up removing a lot more of the rust stain than the warm water trick so I tried soaking the stained portion in vinegar overnight but it wasn't able to completely remove the stain There's one more trick that I haven't tried and that's Soaking the stained area in hydrogen peroxide overnight I haven't done this yet because I haven't used peroxide on my bottle before and I'm not really sure how it will react. Additionally, I think peroxide has a really strong odour and I'm worried the scent might cling to my bottle. Has anyone here ever used hydrogen peroxide on their bottle before? How was it? Actually, has anyone here ever had rust stain their Owala? Were you able to get rid of it? How did you get rid of it? Please help this Owala girlie in need 🤕 submitted by /u/CactusCocktus to r/Owala [link] [comments]

Read that distilled white vinegar is good for removing rust spots on clothing. None of the supermarkets or Bunnings sell it. I’m located on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. Any ideas where I can buy distilled white vinegar? submitted by /u/whimsicaloldwombat to r/australia [link] [comments]

So to follow up on this post, a few people asked me about Death Guard culture and I promised I'd follow up with a post today. Ta-dah, here's the post. Keep in mind this is very much my personal view (backed up with excerpts) on the DG since they're written... inconsistently to say the least. So, what are the Death Guard beyond stinky Chaos Astartes? Warning: Long as Fuck ​ Cultural Influences So it's pretty clear that most Legions take some healthy inspiration from real conflicts and civilizations. The Ultramarines are transparently Roman, the Thousand Sons are a vague hodgepodge of Egyptian and other Levantine/Middle Eastern cultures. The Death Guard don't really have one transparent source to draw upon however. It's clear that they at least draw some influence from the hellscape that was World War 1 with their grindingly slow frontal marches, their candid disregard of the Geneva Convention, their usage of inhumane weapons like phosphex, gas, poisons and more. Their focus on sheer endurance and resilience. They represent the death of warrior culture and honour, replacing it with the almost Darwinian mantra of "win by any means necessary". Though I think it would be dangerous to tie them to any one particular culture and instead they represent a conglomeration of nations and the horror which that war invokes. Aside from that, they're an ever so pleasant mix of Grimdark barbarian fantasy and Chempunk. Most Death Guard names sound like they're pulled directly from a "DnD Barbarian name generator". Packed to the brim with guttural sounds and consonants. Either that or they're called shit like "Phlegm Lord the Smelly" but I tend to ignore the latter. Examples: Vorx, Kledo, Garstag, Gremus, Malig, Huron-Fal, Thagus Daravek. ​ Homeworld: Barbarus As we so often see, the making or breaking of a legion is often found on their homeworld. It defines their culture, their specialization and often their future. Curze's was doomed to regress, the Lion's was caused to splinter, Lorgar's was destined for corruption. Nowhere is this more prevalent than on the shrouded world of Barbarus. The people of Barbarus were enslaved for millennia by their mutant Overlords. It's hard for me to convey just how beaten down these people were so I'd really recommend reading this excerpt I posted previously to get an idea of just how absolutely fucked it was. It's the planetary embodiment of inevitability. It was never about the struggle to survive on Barbarus, it was the sheer hopelessness that seeped into every inch of that miasma soaked hellhole. Every aspect of the planet was purposefully designed to instil constant reminders of one's powerlessness and inevitable painful death. One expected to die in a horrible way and to be proven otherwise was a macabre surprise. You survived another day but for what? Another day of sucking in poison-filled air. Of farming out a meagre existence on dead soil. Of hoping the Mountain Lords don't take your eyes and skin for their newest twisted experiment. Of futile hope that the monsters that lurk in the mist aren't hungry tonight. Mortarion found the most oppressed, hopeless, wretched humans in the galaxy and gave them hope. He gave them purpose. He trained them. Taught them how to make weapons and how to fight like an army. He taught them not to fear. He gave them hope. But above all else, he inspired fanatical loyalty in the population of Barbarus, even before they ascended to become Astartes. After that, so many wonders. There are walls, made not of mouldering mud bricks but of stone hewn from the mountain’s heart. There are blades polished to a keen edge. There are plates of hardened leather, stitched together and caulked, that form a shell tough enough to turn the blunt knives of the Pale armies. In strongholds that rear up from the storm-lashed shoulders of the high peaks, masks are fashioned that siphon the worst of the poison from the air. The smiths – men and women from the valleys, now housed in these fortresses – work incessantly, stopping only for sleep and sustenance, dragged from weary indolence and imbued with an almost fanatical enthusiasm. Vorx recovers fast. He is taken up, fed and given lodgings with other boys. They train him, hardening his muscles and turning his wiry frame into a steel-trap instrument. Most of those in the gathering armies are young. They all look much the same – hollow cheeks, concave stomachs, blackened lips and eyelids – but they get stronger the longer they stay here. One day, being taught how to use the long harvester’s scythe in combat, he asks for the name of the newcomer, the one they are already calling the Deathlord in honour of his prowess in battle. ‘Mortarion,’ said his instructor, Flaunn, a thick-legged woman from a deep coomb on the far side of the high ranges. ‘Never let him hear you say it – it was given to him by one he hates.’ ‘Why not choose another?’ ‘You do not choose a name,’ she says, cuffing him. ‘It chooses you. Now prepare, or I’ll cut you at the elbows.’ So Vorx did not change his own name to mark his passage into a new life, even though it was given to him by a slaved and cowed people, and it followed him out into the stars. All those who passed the trial of the Legion after him kept their marks of subjugation as a reminder, and as a warning. But that time is to come. For now, he is learning, soaking up knowledge and distilling it into something he can use. He picks things up fast. At first he did so to crowd out the thoughts of home from his mind, but that instinct is soon replaced by learning for its own sake. He finds that his memory is superb, and he catalogues the armouries, the inventories, the types of armour and the number of troops in every division of the Deathlord’s burgeoning army. Mortarion himself knows things that cannot have been learned on this world, Vorx suspects. He uses terms such as ‘cohort’ and ‘maniple’ that sound strange on their lips. Vorx learns that the world has a name, Barbarus, though he does not discover where it came from and surmises that Mortarion has called it this as a result of something like contempt. Of course, the intellectual leap involved in naming a world anything other than ‘earth’ or ‘world’ implies that there are other such places of a similar scale. There is no evidence for this, and Mortarion has not proposed any such hypothesis. But it makes the gathered people think. It makes them imagine a time when the courses of all the valleys might be known, and then charted, and then conquered. It makes them think of a time when the whole of their reality might be consolidated, locked down under the banner of the Deathlord, and where the mists will no longer harbour nightmares. It makes them think that, one day, the shadow of the Old Night will be lifted forever. It makes them think that a new age of unity might dawn for them all. ... Vorx looks up briefly to see Mortarion, at the forefront as always, laying about him with his blade, hurling the scrawny Pale aside with every mighty blow. He sees him standing taller by an arm’s length than the greatest of them, indomitable and unbreakable. The mountain peaks rear up on all sides, but none of them looks as solid as he does. Vorx does not yet know what manner of being Mortarion is. He will not discover it for many years. It does not matter. In that one glimpse he sees all that he needs to know – that the Deathlord is one of them. He has been poisoned by this world, bled by it, and still stands tall. Alone of all of them, he could rise higher into the thick acid clouds of the uttermost heights, but he remains down here, gradually giving them the means to go with him, one day. This is a choice for him, one he did not have to make. The people of the valleys had no choices, had forgotten how to even consider an alternative, but under him they are learning again. Vorx knows then that he will follow Mortarion unto death itself. He will fight for this master wherever and whenever he is commanded to, and this shall be his only and lasting purpose. Unification, Chris Wraight This is why the Death Guard will trudge through blistering bolter fire unflinchingly. It's why they'll take any method of victory available to them. They have experienced the utter terror and helplessness on poisonous Barbarus and they will never return to that state. They endured that, they rose above it. They have seen the very worst the galaxy has to offer and they came out stronger. It's why despite the Heresy, the corruption of Nurgle and 10,000 years of war, they still remain united under Mortarion's rule. He saved them from that planet and that debt can never be repaid. ​ Mortarion freed them from that. This is what Dragan and the other latecomers will never properly understand. Vorx is not a blind fanatic, and understands that the primarch has weaknesses, but he will never forget that first act of liberty. Unless you had tried to scratch a gasping living on the stinking white soils of that hell world, unless you had actually witnessed what the mountain lords could do with impunity to the cowering mortals and unless you had seen what the Deathlord had done to free them, you could not truly comprehend. That was why the Death Guard had never fractured, for all the sniping efforts of that semi-feral Typhus and the many other rogue warlords and pirate-kings. The originators of the Legion are still grateful. They will never forget. And Vorx is one of them. Lords of Silence, Chris Wraight Though it must be noted that Vorx is a fanatic among fanatics. The reality for most of the legion is likely a more tempered version of the above. ​ Combat Only the Death Guard could manage to pull off what the Death Guard do. You didn't send the DG to tactically secure a world while ensuring productivity remains optimal like the Ultramarines. You don't even send them when you need a world cowed into submission like with the World Eaters or Night Lords. You send the Death Guard when you need an enemy eradicated. They did not build empires or garrison worlds, they only destroyed what was before them in a slow, determined, unstoppable tide. Like a malignant tumour spreading across the galaxy, ruining all in its wake. In the midst of the Great Crusade's (relative) idealism, you had Mortarion and his boys unapologetically acting like it was the middle of the Long Night. They did not care for morality. They did not care about problems. They did not care about methods. Once they had their target they would march straight over it. They advanced inexorably through the most inhospitable and toxic terrain, wearing battle-damaged Power Armour, waving no flags or standards, calling out no war cries. Regardless of what you did, it wouldn't stop them. You could sear their flesh and rend their armour but they'd just keep coming. All while artillery pounds your cities, gas floods your trenches, poison destroys your seas and phosphex burns your civilization. And then they're upon you with the artistry of a butcher. There's no honour duels or valiant last stands, just a slow grind back into the dirt as they finish their work with point-blank bolter work and hacking chops of their scythes and gladii. More often than not, your spirit would break before the Death Guard had even reached you. The slow realisation that there's nothing you can do to put these monsters down. That hope is futile. That your life is forfeit..... if you're lucky. They would liberate the galaxy and nothing would get in their way. And that was before Nurgle got to them. They're borderline unkillable after the fact. Now for a few excerpts before, during and after the Heresy to show their combat method and how it evolved. ​ Great Crusade ​ Istvaan 3 - even after getting Virus bombed, shelled and attacked by the rest of their legion, the loyalist DG still hold out ​ Siege of Terra The advances had certainly slowed across the entire battlefield. Ganzorig was now inside the perimeter, the signals told him, but only after paying a ruinous price to reduce the outer defences. Qin Fai was struggling, trying to maintain momentum against the defensive concentrations strung across the southern ramparts. The intended linkup of forces had yet to happen, fracturing the assault and leaving vulnerable points all along the line they had always known that breaking the hard external shell of the space port would be the easiest part of the exercise - the ordu's expertise lay in such shock-attack moves, and Perturabo had done a typically thorough job of smashing up the fixed defensive architecture. Now they were into the defence in depth, the endless series of energy-soaking firefights to clear out chamber after chamber. Even the Amber spearpoint, blessed with some of the greatest warriors of the ordu, found the going tough, the Death Guard could soak up tremendous punishment before turning around and doling it right back. Their reactions may have been slowed, their souls withered, but they were still fearsomely intelligent, staggeringly committed, wading through volumes of incoming fire that should have blasted them into flying clouds of ceramite flecks. A formation of Terran Armoured Malcador's roared past him then, throwing up waves of sludge as they rushed the lines. Their battle cannons boomed in sequence, obliterating a high screen of ironwork behind which a battalion of Death Guard was dug in hard. Enemy armour responded, hurling back chem-shells and phosphex mortars. When those exploded, the already seamy atmosphere became choking and translucent, a swimming soup of poisons that gnawed at every armour-seal and tox-filter. White Scars infantry charged up in the wake of the tanks, firing bolt pistols one-handed, staying close to prevent the Traitor Marines from closing on the vehicles. Lascannon fire lashed out from high up in the galleries, drilling into the corpulent flanks of plague-ridden enemy tank hulls. A squadron of jetbikes screamed along after the volleys, their underslung bolters spitting. It was still too slow. The far end of the chamber was eight hundred metres off, lost in tox-clouds, with stubborn defensive redoubts all the way along it. At this rate, it might take days of slaughter just to reach the far enclosure. ... ​ He couldn't protect them all. However hard he fought at their head, however much he tried to shield them from this enemy, his warriors died. The newbloods would throw themselves at the Plague Marines, their bladework immaculate and their fervour exemplary, but they would still come up short. You could punch their hides with bolt-shells, you could sever their sinews with tulwar-strikes, you could pepper them with frag-charges and mortar-blasts, and still they would come back at you, again, again, their impassive green lenses glowing in the deathly gloom, never complaining, never shouting battle cries or denunciation, just existing, as impossible to eradicate as despair itself. The best weapon was speed, and now that momentum was falling away, leaving them open to the grind of attrition. Fury could only achieve so much against an enemy like this. They were never roused to anger, never provoked into rashness. Feints never drew them on, diversions never deceived them. The only tactic left seemed to be an equal and opposite willingness to suffer, to take them on on their own terms, to stare into those seamy, rheum-addled eyes and hold your ground right until the pale lights had been extinguished and the next one beckoned. The Siege of Terra 6: Warhawk, Chris Wraight - The White Scars take on their rivals for the first time since the corruption took hold. M42 - straight out of a horror movie ​ "Gifts" To carry on with the corruption from the previous few excerpts, the Death Guard have a somewhat paradoxical relationship with their God. Many have become devout over the centuries. Mutations are gifts to be looked upon as a sign of favour yet they still sap away at the soul and the body. They degrade but this is to be welcomed, not spurned. So what actually constitutes as a gift and how are they viewed? Excerpts en masse covering 4 people seem to cover most of the viewpoints: ​ Vorx: Gigachad Death Guard zealot from old Barbarus. Genuinely the most interesting Astartes in the universe. He welcomes the changes even if he acknowledges they do have downsides. ​ He is beginning to remember now. He is beginning to piece things together again. Is he slower now than he once was? The Little Lord (Nurgling) starts to lick the blood from his cracked ceramite. Of course he’s slower. Everything is slowing down, congested, like running through water. That’s the Gift, of course. That’s one of the great objectives. Vorx turns on his heel, patting the Little Lord absently. ... He (Vorx) works his way down a long spiral stair, wheezing as he goes. His lungs are half full of fluid, and he cannot help but think it a poor Gift. Then again, he has thought other Gifts were poor in the past, only to discover their genius much later. ‘Forgive,’ he says, speaking softly to the Little Lord at his elbow. The tiny daemon giggles, then farts liquidly into the crook of his armour. That counts as forgiveness, probably. ... Vorx no longer sees information flowing across the interior of his helm as he did in the distant past, because his visor substrate is now a part of his face. So his visual field is a complex thing – a psychological layering of true vision, machine overlay and dream projections, spiked with electrical impulses from what was once a tactical broadcast implant. He cannot close his eyes, which are lubricated by a steady trickle of moisture from capillary glands. When he sleeps, it is merely a haze of torpor marching with vivid, eyes-open dreams. These are the ways we exemplify the lessons, he thinks. These are the ways we shape the old faith. ​ Dragan: The main counterpoint to Vorx. He's a new blood originally from the Imperial Talons before he was corrupted in absolutely mind bending circumstances. He's full of piss and vinegar. He's slowly accumulating Gifts and mutation but they've yet to wear him down to complacency. He strives for change and he wants to cleave to the path of Abaddon and Typhus. Vorx admires Dragan's attitude and skill, seeking to nourish it. All while realising that Dragan will eventually betray him and sink into decay with time. ​ They face one another for a moment. Vorx is the larger, his bulk engorged like millennial layers of ocean silt, added to every year, but old now, worn into defiance by many, many lifetimes in old service. Dragan is leaner and his body is marked by fewer Gifts, but he is famished for the conflict that will earn them. 'We are separated from the fleet,’ Dragan tries, cleaving to his line. ‘It will have dispersed by now,’ says Vorx. He moves closer to Dragan. ‘There are no choices, champion. It looks that way now, but believe me, there are none. We are being shown an empty sky. That is a temptation. You see the chance for glory, to follow the mortal warlord, to carve a name for yourself. Resist it. Resist the Despoiler’s call. We have our orders. We make for Ultramar.’ ... Others, like Dragan, are turncoats and renegades, refugees from distant Imperial Chapters and warbands. Somehow, though, over time, they all adopt the taciturn habits of Mortarion’s own. They stop issuing war cries. They slow down. They let their armour grow thicker, their organs merge, their skin creeps upwards into the filigree of their equipment interfaces. Joining the Death Guard is like sinking into a deep, cold ocean – the substance of it seeps inside, sooner or later, down into every crack and orifice, and you lose the things that once made you what you were. At least, that is his destiny. For Dragan, the process is not yet complete. He still has his skin. He still has three lungs. He can remove his helm, if he wishes, and his tongue is not yet the length of a man’s arm. He can feel the rot within, chewing at his bones, making the old tattoos on his chest itch, but it has not yet become endemic. He considers Vorx, whose mind has become soft, and he looks at Slert, or even Naum, and a part of him still shudders and wishes to put off those things a little longer. ... You hate what you were, he understands. There is no greater zealot than the convert, he knows. And yet he has no true faith, not like Vorx or Philemon, just a desire to exert strength, to use the Gifts he has been given, to become greater. It is not about the faith, for Dragan. It is about vengeance for a life he cannot remember. It is about dominance over a species he has cut all ties with. It is about pride, amid a Legion that barely understands the notion. He wonders, sometimes, if he picked the right set of traitors. ​ Garstag, a Death Guard terminator. Probably the most "Death Guard" out of everyone mentioned. A viewpoint from an "average Joe" of the legion. Views the gifts as practical. Views morality as optional. He's just there to get the job done. Perhaps he even takes pride in them. ​ But they are fighting a losing battle. The very environment is raised against them – glowing tentacles burst from the foaming water, grasping at their legs and arms. There are Little Lords in the rafters, and they throw themselves at the warriors with snickering abandon, chewing down on power cables and armour joints. Every time a fighter has to shake one off, it gives time for Garstag’s brothers to close in and finish the task. Terminator plate gives them a huge advantage, and this is no standard Tactical Dreadnought armour – like everything else, it has been changed, expanded, thickened and mutated. Brannad has a curl of sucker-encrusted hooks for a right arm, writhing like a nest of serpents. Artarion has a fanged mouth snapping over the barrel of his heavy bolter, which is linked to his body by permanent strands of glistening mucus. Garstag himself has the greatest of the Gifts – a chainsword of living talons, crackling with corposant and dripping with ever-renewing toxins. ... And now we see what happens when the Gifts go too far. Naum is a Dreadnaught who is ravaged with gifts beyond the point of sanity. ​ Vorx had even considered sending a party to seek out Naum, though he is glad now that he didn’t. Naum would not have understood the situation at all. Naum is a tortured soul, for all the Gifts he has been given, and that is a great pity. ... He hears a sound – a faint hurr-hurr, sunk down, hissed through such clogged oxygen arteries that respiration must surely be an impressive achievement. Dragan halts, taut as a hamstring, looking into the wall of darkness. ‘Unsleeping,’ he calls out, and the word echoes from the columns and the vaults around him. For a long moment, punctuated only by the heavy drum of his heartbeats, nothing. Then, far off, at the end of this great hall, something moves. It is bigger – far bigger – than it ought to be, even for one of its cursed kind. Solace is a fecund place, stuffed with rotting meats and nutrient-rich fluids, its airways viscous with the changing harmonics of the daemonic. All things grow here, sucking in the fungoid and the decaying, slowly becoming just another tumour on the face of this withered ship-corpse. The thing moves, shifting one massive leg, and Dragan sees the expanse of dark-grey flesh spilling over the joints and cables. There is more of it than there was, the last time. Every time it grows a little more. A pair of tiny eyes blink. Those eyes are the worst thing, sunk within a harrowed face, almost entirely lost behind a nest of rusted cabling. They are red, wholly bloodshot, with matte-black irises. They do not focus well. They seem almost independent of one another, as if the mind controlling them has begun to lose the last grips of control. ... Naum blinks again. Lines of dry brown staining run down his chin, and there is a stray human finger there, dangling from his collar on a last thread of sinew. ‘Am I asleep?’ Naum asks. ‘You know the answer to that,’ says Dragan patiently. This wretch ought to be asleep. All of his kind ought to be chained down, locked away, dosed with soporifics and dream suppressants, only roused when their prodigious killing power is required. Others of his order do as they are supposed to, staving off complete madness through the blissful imposition of tranquillisation and only having to contend with the horror of living for those few brief hours of bloodletting. But Naum does not sleep. Something went wrong with him, and now he cannot. He has been awake for a long time – for more than nine thousand years, so they say. Given that, the fact that he can speak at all is something of a miracle. One sent from the god, no doubt. ‘Eat… you?’ Naum says, licking bony lips with a black tongue. Dragan can see that he has been weeping a lot. ‘Make planetfall here, Naum,’ Dragan says calmly. ‘The casket is waiting. Then you can eat all you like.’ For a moment, Naum does not respond. He does not understand. His colossal body, with its growths and its metal struts and its swollen armour plates, shifts uneasily. Dragan wonders what on earth he must be experiencing. Existence on this ship is already like a dream, or a nightmare – for Naum, the boundary between states has long since ceased to exist. All that remains is a fog of pain, of sensations he no longer has names for. There is endurance, that is known. Some feats within this Legion make the mind turn, some expressions of that old capacity for resilience, but for this – this – there are no words. Not that Dragan knows, anyway. What is left in there to endure? What remnant of an old willpower still burns away, refusing the siren embrace of complete insanity? Condensation runs down Naum’s outer shell. In the dark, he flexes power claws bigger than Dragan’s whole body. Ancient bone shards click, rotting flay-skirts rustle. The eyes blink, once, twice, squeezing tears down wrinkled, ash-dry flesh. Then the black gums are exposed – something like a smile, or the dream image of one, semi-remembered and blurred by the fog of being. ‘Show me,’ he says. ​ Numerology and Obsessions The Death Guard hatred of Witchcraft was well known but they've always had a streak of the occult about them. Perhaps seeded into them by Nurgle, perhaps a twist of fate. I doubt it's a coincidence that 7, Nurgle's sacred number is a lynchpin in their studies. Since Barburus the Death Guard have had an obsession with numbers. Crop rotations that were vital to survival. The only way to ensure a meagre yield of food on their poisonous homeworld. Then the Great Crusade arrived and the obsession deepened. Both from Mortarion's orders and the neccessity of good book-keeping considering their intensely attritional style of warfare. Even from the early stages of the Heresy, gifted Death Guard could catch glimpses of the future through the patterns. They're essentially Data Analysts on warp-infused steroids. Mortarion knew that Horus was a sacrificial pawn before all others. After the Death Guard's fall, seeing into the future using Numerology became the norm, as did other obsessions. ​ ‘That is what the calculations tell me. Vorx wants to know what to do next.’ ‘He could try. Making his own decisions.’ Philemon laughs. ‘These are but guides.’ The crow hops weakly from one claw to the other. ‘Even before we sent. You the Destroyer Hive, you cleaved to this occult. You counted and. You computed. That was never part. Of what was intended for you. Now it has become. Manic. Stop it.’ Philemon puts the parchment away. ‘Too late. You changed us alright, but you never get exactly what you want.’ A Death Guard Tallyman speaks to an entrapped daemon. As the millennia pass and the corruption deepens, each Death Guard tends to become more morose. More prone to obsession. Less driven and more prone to indulgence. Vorx for example, has the wonderful hobby of recording the name of everyone he has ever killed. All he wants to do is chill in his Plague Mansion with his beastman butler and ponder the mysteries of the universe. Eventually when Vorx dies, that book will inscribe his own name in it on the final page and become a powerful chaos artefact. ​ For the first time in a long while, Vorx is satisfied. Occasionally he thinks of another life for himself, one confined to Hope’s Revenant, where he remains closeted with the books of numerology and the gardens, free to contemplate the Truth and explore its mysteries. He has never given in to it, but believes that the entire Legion shares this morose tendency. The greatest of them (Mortarion), after all, has been indulging it for ten thousand years. ... ​ Vorx glances at one, the vellum rustling as the quill wobbles across its surface. Tophar. Mandravaxon. Járnhamar. None of those words mean anything to him. They may do in the future, or they may not – it does not pay to listen too closely to the outputs of bound instrumental daemons. He pushes his way towards a pulpit at the far end of the chamber. A single book lies open on its inclined surface, untroubled by the attentions of vermin. Its hide is as white as bone, and its pages as thick as a finger. It is impossibly huge, that book – if looked at from certain angles it seems to go on forever, sinking deep into the library’s mouldy floor, although from most aspects it is no thicker than the rest of them. He reaches for a metal quill standing in a dusty sleeve and dips it into a well of viscous ink. He holds it over the blank parchment and collects himself. Then he begins to write. Slowly, carefully, he traces out tiny letters in immaculate Standard Gothic, of a grammar and idiom commensurate with the early Crusade. The first thing he writes is a name – Brother-Sergeant Caias Meldonia, Squad Taxis, Fourth Company, the Emperor’s Blades. He pauses, remembering the face. Location: Attamar, outer reach spinward, system marker 45-56-3. A faint smile crinkles across his sore-clustered lips. The action had been prosecuted well. We were on the outward march from Kletan. He fills in more details, always in the same manner, not lapsing into Barbaran or Mourtaig, the debased vernacular of the Plague Planet, or even current-era Gothic. This record was started at the very commencement of his career in the Death Guard and has been continued in the same vein ever since. When he finishes the entry, he carefully adds the date approximation according to both the Terran system and Chronolattice, a scheme of his own devising that maps events to a more fluid set of points underpinned by warp dynamics. It is more accurate, at least from a number of important points of view, although it has peculiarities of its own – whereas the Imperial system becomes more inaccurate the further one is from Terra and the further in time one is from the nominal baseline event, Chronolattice works forward to the end of the universe, a constant Vorx names T, for thanatos, and becomes more reliable the closer the apocalypse comes. He takes time to cross-reference the entry with previous ones. He adds the relevant numbers to several interlinked grids, drawing the numerals with exactitude. Once done, he tallies certain esoteric relationships and determines if significant patterns have emerged, then logs them in a third set of ledgers. Then he repeats the process with Ammunition Loader Silv Klood, resident of Attamar orbital station IV. Less is known about that death, for the stature of the victim was minuscule, but he records all that he has been able to determine, for completeness is a virtue. He has many hours of work ahead. The raiding season has been long, and he has much blood on his hands from it. He labours methodically, giving each entry just as much care as the first ones. The first biographies were written ten thousand years ago. This chronicle, this record of deaths served at his hand, stretches back to the dawn of the Imperial Age. For all Vorx knows, it may be the most complete history of any kind still intact. Inquisitors would sacrifice entire systems to retrieve it, if they only knew of its existence. More than one petty daemon has been spun into instantiation purely as a result of symmetries picked out on the pages. Others of the Neverborn have come to Hope’s Revenant and tried to consume the book, believing its contents might elevate them within their crowded and jostling pantheon, but the library is carefully guarded with ether traps and honey pits, and Vorx has designed many subtler defences to confound them. The book has no title. Or, to be more precise, the book’s title is also its contents. The final entry will be his own. Such psychic accumulation of killing generates a final artefact – when Vorx dies, the last page will complete itself, capping the immense and winding account of a soul’s extension beyond all mortal tolerance. On that day, the tome will close, turned as if by unseen hands. The symbols will arrange and sift, the numbers will slot into new positions, and its fusion of occult symbology will reach apotheosis. It will be the final legacy of uncountable lives, stored and cross-referenced, counted and totalled, a product of magnificent uselessness. This is Vorx’s great act of spite towards impermanence. He is smiling as he writes it, and the passage of time slows, dilates, warms up. ​ Culture The Death Guard culture at its core is a paradox of concepts that are balanced on a knife's edge. Devotion and self-loathing. Joy and despair. Humour and reverence. Endurance yet weakness. Acceptance and denial. Change and stagnation. Passion and apathy. Despite the common "happy Nurglite" stereotype, the Death Guard really don't tend to match that mantra, leaving it more for the daemons. The majority of them are dour doomsday cultists who view hope as the galaxy's most pervasive and evil lie. The Death Guard were once Mortarion's unyielding legion. A symbol of grim hope in a galaxy of monsters. They sought human liberation from the predations of the warp at all costs. But then they were betrayed. They became puppets of the literal God of despair. Those who could endure all were tortured for an eternity in a deathless, timeless hell until they eventually broke. Until their father took a Faustian bargain to end their torment and embrace all that they once despised. Victims of their own philosophy, they would always struggle with the fact that they were too weak. They once fought to be a symbol of hope and the liberators of humanity from the warp. Then they became the heralds of stagnation and decay. They tell themselves, desperately, that hope is the enemy and it's a mercy to quench it. It's a benevolence to corrupt the galaxy as resistance is a painful, if admirable futility. How does one deal with that change? Poorly, is the answer. Some just accept it. It can't be undone. They move forward like they always have. Some are devoted to their new cause and life like Vorx. Evangelists who embrace their new cause and God wholeheartedly. There's others who care little for the old culture of Barbarus or Mortarion, cleaving to the path of Typhus and Abaddon. Then there's the sadists within the ranks who view their new sorcerous powers with glee. Who revel in causing pain and suffering across the galaxy. Yet all of these factions and everything in-between still remain united under Mortarion's rule from the Plague Planet. They are still his Unbroken Blades. His Death Guard. submitted by /u/mobby123 to r/40kLore [link] [comments]

Has anyone tried this as a cleaner, disinfectant, or skin product? And if so what were your results? I'm new to it. Note: if you're just looking for a low waste disinfectant, Hope Podz (Canadian) may be a better alternative for you. I'm going the DIY route because this replaces 5ish products for me, so buying one machine up front isn't too bad, and I'm able to borrow some other items from friends/parents. --- How I found it: I've recently heard about it as a skincare ingredient for "maskne" (mask acne, which I currently have a lot of as a healthcare worker). However, the more I looked into all the products the more I realized the face products were all exactly the same. Not only that, but with more research all HOCl products are similar. I've never heard of it before and it seems pretty awesome with potential for low waste, so here's a post of everything I've learned about it. I'm mainly excited because I've been on the hunt for low waste skincare products (specifically, stuff to help with my eczema, rosacea, dandruff, and acne) and low waste disinfectant, and this seems to have potential for all those. I ordered a machine to DIY it, so this is the information I'm trying to keep track of. Note that many of the DIY kits come with measurement recommendations, I just got one which doesn't. What is it: An electrolyzed mix of water, acid, and sodium to make HOCl. Typically products are around 150-800ppm (eyelid on the lower side, industrial disinfectant on the higher), between 4-6 ph, and a percentage of 0.01 to 0.08% in water. It is not the same as ionized water, bleach, or hydrocloric acid. It is not salt water or like vinegar. It works to disinfect, works on bacteria and viruses, and is even food safe. It does not clean, however. What seems neat about it: * All based on literature, not product claims, this is off the top so not providing sources as I go. I can grab them if anyone is interested in a particular area. Kills viruses and bacteria (approved by WHO and Health Canada for covid after 1 minute of contact, though some studies show it works in seconds). 0.05% and 200ppm was the concentration used in the study they referenced. Actually beneficial for skin, as it's something which is already present. So it does not typically lead to dermatitis, allergic reactions, irritation, or other negative reactions. No harm in breathing it in. Despite being a disinfectant, it works very well for healing and a variety of skin conditions, including rosacea, fungus (as an additive/preventative, not a replacement for treatment), acne (particularly due to sweat or friction, such as mask acne), psoriasis, and eczema. This is largely because it reduces the inflammation response and removes undesirable bacteria (staph is a common one with acne) while supporting most healthy bacteria (unlike other disinfects which kill the good and the bad). It's frequently prescribed for a variety of eye issues (ex. a sty or rash) in wipe or spray form, used in medical settings for wound debridement, burns (don't recommend this for home use, it's important to know at what point of the burn to use it), and is recommended for use with piercings. Some evidence to support it helps with wrinkles and scarring (didn't look into this too much, so I'm not sure about the method of action). Is non toxic and non flammable. So it's safe for use around pets/children and with pets/children, and doesn't have some of the risks of alcohol. You don't need to use gloves with it, and in fact it's even skin and food contact safe. It can even be gargled (though evidence doesn't support this as doing anything in the long run as your "bad" mouth bacteria gets back to normal after an hour or so). Doesn't stain or bleach most surfaces. When home made, it uses very basic ingredients that are easily bought in bulk (water, white distilled vinegar, pure table or kosher salt) so doesn't require purchasing anything unusual or extra, and only requires a very small (tiny) amount of salt and vinegar. It does require a HOCl generator if not purchasing pre-made. It effectively replaces hand sanitizer, deodorizers, stain removers, enzyme sprays, disinfectant spray, cleaner, hydrogen peroxide (as a wound cleaner), floor cleaner, mirror cleaner, bathroom cleaner, and niche products like mask sprays (wait for it to dry before wearing your mask - damp masks aren't as effective) and skin spray to help with redness and inflammation. It can also work to clean skin if needed in a pinch (though again, doesn't remove fats or waxes well). Due to the price this isn't necessarily cost affordable, but I'll get into the DIY below. Pro or con, it only last about 2 weeks when home made, and can start degrading after one week based on the ph of your water (more alkaline the water the shorter it lasts, if I have that right). It is most active between ph of 4-6, outside of this ph range you should avoid using it, as it was either made improperly or it has lost it's disinfecting properties. What it's not useful for: Degreasing. A great degreaser can actually be created by using a different ingredient instead of salt using the same process. But HOCl itself is not great at degreasing. It's not abrasive and has no accelerants, so it doesn't clean anything without a bit of elbow grease (it does disinfect without elbow grease if the surface can be covered). It can be used with baking soda or other physical scrubs when cleaning. It's not going to replace your dish soap or detergent, as it's only a mild cleaner. Doesn't remove old set stains. It behaves like water, so it does need to be wiped up after usage in most situations. For example, you wouldn't want to leave it sitting on wood. It won't harm your skin being left on any more than water would, so it might dry you out if you don't moisturize properly. It's not a replacement for hydrators (moisturizer) if you deal with dryness. While there is evidence to support its use with fungi, there isn't any research on its use with thrush (yeast infections) in humans, however it is possibly useful. I wouldn't suggest douching with it, but could be something to talk about with your doctor if typical remedies haven't worked. Not good with metals - as an acid it is corrosive and will lead to premature rust unless it's removed quickly. As a disinfectant, it works like most. So you need to make sure whatever you're disinfecting is thoroughly covered, sat for a moment, and then it's wiped or dried off. It's not harmful to leave it on most surfaces, but it doesn't fast dry like alcohol based cleaners. It doesn't require wiping to work on covid, but the surface needs to be thoroughly covered. So as a hand sanitizer, this means leaving your hands damp for 60 seconds before drying them off somewhere, which might reduce it's utility if you're drying your hands on your pants which have been exposed to the virus (for example). Though research shows it can kill covid in seconds, the recommendation is one minute. It's not totally zero waste, as you're either buying it in bulk or you have the machine and strips to make it. As a purchased product it's not that cheap. The machine (generator) ranges in size from a spray bottle to a gallon water pitcher, though there are also larger industrial versions. There are versions which supply little capsules of salt and vinegar so you don't have to mix it, but these also only last for 2 weeks and are quite wasteful. So, if you're looking to DIY it's best to have a small scale (0.00 grams), as it's small amounts we're dealing with, and a ph and chlorine measure sticks (borrow a couple from a friend, you likely only need 2-3 while you get used to the measurements). Not a fix for all skin conditions. It tends to help because skin often has a lot of unhelpful bacteria and inflammation, but this doesn't address the cause for everyone. It apparently has a light chlorine smell. Note that it is not the same as chlorine bleach. So, as a bulk product it's not too bad waste wise, but expensive. However, it can also be created pretty easily with a generator and some items in your cupboard. I decided to buy a generator since it seems multifunctional. DIY How To (at your own risk, do your own research first!): I'll provide an update after I've had a chance to try the generator. They range in price from $40-250, and come in a variety of sizes. Essentially you mix 3 ingredients, water, non-iodized salt, and vinegar. It electrolyzes it (note the bubbles coming off during this time are not good to breathe in - keep it away from children and pets while brewing - same room is ok). This is what I've gathered from combing the internet. Youtube and facebook have some good resources, though I've mostly kept to research. Some language: HOCl = Hypochlorous Acid, what we're trying to make ppm = parts per million, used in measuring free chlorine. Free chlorine is how we measure the HOCl in the water to see if there's enough of it to work. Under 100ppm is not effective and over 250ppm is more potent than what we need. However free chlorine also measures hydrochloric acid, which we don't want. The balance between hydrochloric acid and hypochlorous acid (this is the one we want) can be guessed by the ph. pH or ph = a scale to measure acid and alkaline of products. It ranges from 0-14. 0 is very acidic and 14 is very alkaline. Stomach acid is a 1, water is a 7, drain cleaner is a 14. We're looking to make something that is slightly acidic, around a 4-6. The ph of the water changes how the salt and water bond in the generator, so you'll get different products at different ph levels. Using water and sodium electrolyzed, if it is more acidic (lower than a 4), there is more hydrochloric acid which is corrosive to human skin, and if it becomes too alkaline (higher than a 7) there is more acetic acid (hydrochloride), and higher than a 13 we get more sodium hypochlorite which is bleach. So, if we keep around a 5 ph we know that 99.9% of the mixture is HOCl and water and it is safe, non toxic, non irritating, non corrosive, and beneficial for human skin. Items and explanations: HOCL generator: This is what electrolyzes your mix and turns water, vinegar, salt into HOCl. To super simplify, it uses electricity to bind salt and water molecules together. As above, based on the ph of the water we'll get slightly different combinations of products in the water. Measuring strips: one for chlorine ppm and one for ph. Borrow some from a friend who has a pool or a grow-op. You won't need them on an ongoing basis, just the first few times while you learn the water/vinegar balance to get to a 4.5 ph before electrolyzing the mix. Water: Base of the mix. HOCl only makes up a tiny percentage (tested by ppm). Everyone's tap water has a slightly different ph. Usually it's around a 7, which is too alkaline to make HOCl. If we made it as is, we would get more acetic acid in our water which we don't want. Vinegar: White distilled vinegar. This is an acid is used to lower the ph of water, as water is usually a little too high (you can use other acids, this is just an accessible one that works). Vinegar will lower the ph and make the water more acidic, ideally you want a ph of 4.5ish before you electrolyze the mixture so it's around a 5.5 ph end product. If your water is already acidic then you may not need the vinegar. Sodium: Non-ionized non-coated plain salt is what you need, ie. kosher or plain table salt. No additives! This increases the chlorine parts per million because it makes up the HOCl by combining with water molecules. Even .1 of a gram of salt can make a big difference in the end product. Higher ppm = more free chlorine (ie. more HOCl) = more potent. General rule of thumb is 150ppm for face, 250ppm for general use, and 500ppm for bathroom. The end product can be diluted with water to lower the ppm. This can also be useful if you only have a small generator but want a larger batch of mix, so you could make a smaller mixture of 500ppm and then dilute it in a larger batch of water. An example recipe would be (pulled from the internet, use at your own risk): 1 liter of tap water 1 gram non-iodized salt 1 tsp vinegar ​ Add water to generator. Test your water ph. If above 4.5 add a little bit of vinegar until it has a ph of 4.5. Mix salt until dissolved in the water. (Once you have a better idea of the amount of vinegar to add, it is usually faster to dissolve the salt in the vinegar and then mix that into the water.) Electrolyze. for most generators you will require 2 runs of it to get to 200-250ppm. Typically 10-15 minutes. More passes = more ppm = more powerful. So you may want 500 ppm for the bathroom, but only 150 ppm for the face. Adding more salt (tiny amount) has a similar effect. Test ph (4-7, 5.5-6 ideal for disinfecting) and ppm (200-500ppm). If ph is below a 3 or above a 7 best to safely dispose of it and try again (4-6 to be safe). If the ppm is below 100 it is a relatively inert/inactive substance and won't do much of anything. Treat like water. If the ppm is above 600-800 you may wish to dilute with water. Test ppm after diluting. Most tap water stays consistent, so once you know the general measures you don't need to keep measuring ppm and ph every time. I've heard higher ppm can be less stable, but I haven't found proper sources for that or what that means practically speaking. Has anyone used it before? Does it fit in with low waste? submitted by /u/notexcused to r/ZeroWaste [link] [comments]

Back in AD&D the idea of a cantrip was very different from how 5e treats them. Back then, a cantrip was a minor magical effect that was used mostly outside of combat, to facilitate roleplaying. I really loved these and I think its a shame that they've vanished. Most are kind of silly, some are strange, and some are very strange! So, here's a list of cantrips from the old days. I hope you find some use for them! USEFUL CANTRIPS Bath: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: One creature, large or smaller. Giants may need several such cantrips. This cantrip causes the caster or the willing target creature to enjoy similar benefits of a nice bath with warm, soapy water. The target must be nude to employ this cantrip and receive full benefits; otherwise dirt and odors from clothing may simply reapply themselves to the skin. Thus, by casting this cantrip, external body odors are eliminated from the target. This cantrip, however, will not clean one's clothing, nor freshen one's breath or clean one's teeth. If the caster is well trusted, even a dumb animal may benefit, such as one's mount (horse or other) being cleaned and bathed, a pet (dog or cat or other), etc. This cantrip does not actually use soap or water but simply removes the offending soils, excess oils, and odor causing substances as effectively as soap and water. Thus, one could wash vegetables, for example, and not leave a soapy residue. The cantrip usually doesn't bother target creatures (as a cat might be bothered by a real bath). Substances that will not readily wash off with warm, soapy water will also not be well affected by this cantrip. Skunk spray, for example, will not be completely removed, but the cantrip may help, and several applications will begin to take its toll. Blue Light: (Conjuration) Area of Effect: 3-inch diameter sphere This summons a blue light and illuminates a 5' radius area with an eerie blue light as long as the caster concentrates upon it. It will not affect Darkvision, nor cast reflections outside its sphere of illumination. The caster may read by this light, but may not do battle, cast spells, or in other ways devote too much concentration elsewhere other than to maintain the illumination. In any event, the duration is no more than one hour/level. Breath: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 10x10x10 or 1,000 cubic feet This cantrip will summon air to the caster if there is some available with 100 yards/level. Poisons in the air will not be summoned, but only nitrogen and oxygen will be brought forth. Such air will fill the area around the caster up to 1000 cubic feet (enough air for one man sized, resting creature, to last 24 hours before the carbon dioxide build up would be sufficient to kill him, assuming no other air source is handy and the room or cavern or whatever is hermetically sealed). Any other non-magically summoned poisonous air already in the vicinity of the caster will be removed on a one-to-one basis (by volume). If the mage fell into a pit of methane, this may save the caster's life. Trapped in a cave in or sealed in a portable hole or other hermetically sealed room, it may prolong it. It will not, however, affect dragon breath, Cloud Kill, Stinking Cloud, or other such spells. On the other hand, the cantrip may simply freshen a room's air, removing smoke and lingering odors and replacing them with fresh air from outside. Brush: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: One mouth and its contents. This cantrip removes foreign materials from one's teeth, gums, and tongue, removes plague and bacterial build ups, tarter, food particles, and helps eliminate bad breath. Furthermore, a flavored residue may remain in its place (minty, cinnamony, or plain). Finally, this residue may even slightly strengthen teeth. Such a cantrip may be employed on friendly animals. Used once per day, it is so effective it will prevent cavities and gum diseases such as gingivitis. It will not, however, reverse the effects of preexisting cavities. Chill: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 cubic foot Nonliving, non-magical liquid or solid materials may become up to 40F degrees lower in temperature (not to be lower than 32F). The duration is instantaneous and then nature reigns. i.e. the target will warm up or cool down as normal from that point due to ambient temperature. Thus, a tepid or warm drink may be chilled to a frosty temperature. Clean: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: 4 square yards This removes heavy soils, dirt, and similar material from the area of effect such as floors, walls, dishes, windows, a pile of vegetables, etc. The total material removed may not weigh more than 50 lbs. This material does not vanish, but will be collected in a container provided by the mage (a dustbin for example) or piled up where the mage so designates within the 10' range. Color: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 cubic yard This brings color to an object. It may restore faded colors or add a tinge of new color. Even hair or skin may be so colored. If cast upon a non-creature the effect will last for 30 days before fading back to the original color. If cast upon a willing friendly domesticated creature (such as a dog, horse, etc. that trusts the caster and not any old animal on the street or in the wild), the effect will last for one day/level of the caster. If cast upon unwilling or unfamiliar living targets, they receive a +2 bonus to their Saving Throw. Success negates the effect, failure indicates the color will only remain for one day. Dampen: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 cubic yard, 27 cubic feet (no dimension to be less than 1-foot) The area of effect will be permeated by a fog-like dampness that will leave all materials within moist and damp to the touch, hard to set aflame, or in other ways limp with moisture. Parchment may be ruined, inks may run, and powders may cake, for example. Items or creatures within can still be seen, but their details may be obscured in this light fog. At the end of the cantrip's duration, the moisture will quickly dissipate and evaporate as normal. Depilatory: (Alteration) Area of Effect: Special selected areas on one creature up to the entire creature, or one object This cantrip is used to shorten hair and/or fur up to and including shaving it clean off in the desired areas (head, face, legs, body, body parts, etc.). If used to remove all hair from a selected area, it does this so well it will be 6+1d6 days before the hair will start to grow back (one individual need not roll this each time, but only once. It will be assumed for that individual whatever they rolled is typical of them. For example, a particular woman rolls 8 and thus this cantrip always removes the hair from her legs for 8 days each time it is cast on her legs. Anther woman's hair may grow faster, so she should roll for herself, etc.). If targets are unwilling recipients, they will get +2 to their Saving Throw. Success negates the effect. This cantrip will also remove peach fuzz on a peach, make a small patch of carpet bald, etc., or do similar things to hair and fur like materials one could do with time, a scissors, and a razor. Drink: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 quart The mage holds his hands in the shape of a cup and utters the words and summons (from the nearest, freely available source) fresh, pure, water. Even a tainted or poisoned source will do as only the water is summoned and not the impurities. Unless pure water is available within 1 mile/level of the caster, the water is rather tasteless (distilled), but provides up to one quart of the required liquid. If NO liquid (or frozen) water (fresh or otherwise) is within 1 mile/level, the cantrip has no effect. As always, spells attempt to bring forth the easiest source, so a friend's water skin is not easy since water in the possession of a creature would get a save. The cantrip will first search for other sources before it even attempts to affect such a "owned" source. Dry: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: 1 cubic yard or 27 cubic feet This will dry out the area, render wet or damp clothing dry, parchments crisp, dry up small puddles, dehydrated mud, etc., and in other ways drive off excess moisture. It is especially good for drying herbs and spices or dehydrating meats and fish, vegetables, and fruits. It has no appreciable effect on the inner or natural levels of moisture of living creatures or living tissue, though it may dry off their wet clothing, skin, and/or fur after an unfortunate dunking in the river, for example. While the area must be inside the 1 cubic yard limit, the actual amount of water driven off can be no more than 1 cubic foot (about 8 gallons). This cantrip has no affect on other liquids (pure alcohol, mercury, etc.). Dust: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: 10' Radius or 300 square feet This will remove lose, fine dust and grit from exposed surfaces such as floors, shelves, walls, etc. The material (often mostly comprised of flakes of dead skin and hair) is removed to a handy dustbin within range or piled up where the caster wishes within range (10 feet). The removed material may not exceed 10 lbs. in weight. Care should be exercised while dusting delicate works of art (paintings, frescoes, etc.) as this cantrip may remove fine plaster or flecks of paint if not concentrating on the task at hand. The duration is instantaneous and normally takes no supervision, but if the mage concentrates on the task and oversees it for one-turn/10 square feet, no damage will come to fine objects. Exterminate: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: 1 small creature (1 Hit Point or less and no creature with more than animal intelligence). OR, a flat area of 20 square feet or less may be erected. The mage may actually kill a small creature of animal intelligence or less (no save) that normally has 1 Hit Point or less. (One could NOT kill a fighter currently at 1 Hit Point, for example). Thus a fly, mouse, small rat, beetle, bat, etc. may be killed if it is within range. The mage must be able to see it ? OR - must be within one foot of it and be able to discern it in some manner. 'I can hear it behind this wall right here.' This spell will have no effect on enchanted beings. If an invisible wall of 20 square feet or less is erected (such as in a door way, open window, or tent opening), creatures effected by this spell will be killed as they come in contact with the wall if they fail save vs. spell. If they make save they will simply be turned away as if hitting a pane of glass. Thus, flying and crawling pests may be kept away. This spell will have no effect on summoned or enchanted creatures (such as a swarm). Extract: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: 1 small object This cantrip will give a surprising strong, sudden yank when directed at a small object within range. There is no direction or control to the object after the initial yank, and it may fly almost in a random direction. Thus, one may yank a small book off a table or shelf, a mug off a table, or even pull a single nail out of a board. This cantrip may be used on WILLING targets (or domesticated animal) to quickly yank a rotting tooth out of their mouth. Yes, it hurts like hell, but it is usually worth it to be free of such a cavity. Fire Finger: (Alteration) Area of Effect: 6-inch line (one half of a foot) This cantrip causes a 6-inch jet of flame to spring from the caster's finger causing easily combustible objects to ignite. It lasts 6 seconds. The aura of living creatures (of more than animal intelligence or more than 1 Hit Point) can ward of its effects (no damage). The cantrip is handy for starting campfires and the like, or even sterilizing daggers and needles. It is better than Spark, for example, in that it may set aflame harder to burn objects, but worse than Spark, in that it has no "within 10-foot" range and must be used up close. Flavor: (Enchantment) Area of Effect: One object or 1/2 cubic foot This cantrip may greatly enhance the flavor of food, perhaps even making bland gruel taste like lobster bisque. Naturally, some people may still not like this flavor. The chosen flavor will reflect the caster's desires and all that eat the flavored food or drink the flavored liquid will taste what the caster intended (unless they make save vs. spell). The more radical or even obvious the change, the more likely it will be perceived as the actual food would normally taste. If this is only a slight enhancement (bland gruel to slightly better gruel or the like), no save is permitted. Moderate changes will afford the taster a normal save vs. spell, and if they succeed, the food will taste as it normally did without the enhancement. If a fantastic enhancement is used - going from a bitter poison to undetectable poison, or bland gruel to lobster bisque - one will get up to +4 to their save vs. spell to detect it (before swallowing). This spell will not affect magical things, nor will it affect wholesomeness. Spoiled food is still spoiled - and will still make one sick - and a poisoned drink is still poisoned. Of course these things may go unnoticed for a time. After the duration expires (one hour/level), the food's normal flavor returns. If consumed before that time, no notice is taken (unless it was spoiled or poisonous). This cantrip, due to the forced saving throw even for willing creatures, is not as good as other cantrips such as Spice, but that cantrip may require some measure of cooking skill so one does not over spice their food. The Flavor cantrip requires absolutely no skill along these lines. Freshen: (Enchantment) Area of Effect: One object or 1/2 cubic foot This will bring freshness to things like beer, milk, meat, raw vegetables, and the like. It may restore freshness to drooping, cut flowers or herbs. Though it will remove the taint of SLIGHT spoilage, it is not as effective as Purify Food & Drink. The freshness will last only a single hour. If the object is consumed before then, no ill effect will come as the duration expires. If cast upon a creature normally harmed by such spells as Purify Food & Drink, they are NOT immune to this cantrip and will receive 1d4 damage if they fail a normal saving throw vs. spell. Gather: (Alteration) Area of Effect: 1 square yard but no more than 1/4 cubic foot Numerous small items may be gathered, picked up, or stacked into neat piles. Nails, nuts, coins, papers, etc. are fine examples. One wonderful application of the cantrip may sort items if their differences are readily apparent to the caster. For example, a pile of gold and silver coins can be so separated, just as grains of salt and pepper may be. The caster must be able to readily see this however. He could not, for example, separate the fine gold dust amid the black dirt as it is too well hidden, nor would he be able to separate platinum coins and silver coins unless there was something else besides a difference in metal (i.e. one may be much bigger than the other). Each application of the cantrip will separate out one type of item (all gold coins OR all copper coins, etc., and leave the rest). In essence, if the caster could do it by hand and without special equipment if he had enough time, this cantrip will handle it in less than a minute (even water and a pan while panning for gold is considered special equipment). Humus: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 cubic foot This spell gathers dirt and organic materials, moisture, and bacterial ingredients within one mile/level of the caster and places the mixture anywhere the caster wishes within range. This is humus, the black, enriched soil excellent for growing plants in pots or gardening. Of course, the mage may use it however he wishes, but it is usually for growing things in pots and window boxes. If no such materials are within 1 mile/level, the cantrip has no effect. Polish: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object or set (like a pair of boots). Up to 1000 square feet. This will smooth and bring luster to objects of wood, metal, stone, leather, or ceramic. The object must first be cleaned by hand or by the Clean cantrip. The smaller the area or object, the better the job. Several applications may be required to 'sand' rough wood down to such a smooth finish. Salt: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One object, up to 4 square yards, up to 30 gallons. This spell actually summons salt (Sodium Chloride, NaCl). It salts food for flavor, covers a patch of nasty weeds or an icy walkway, will help salt fish or meats, etc. It is assumed the caster can control this and bring in the desired amount of salt up to the limits, and thus may be able to preserve a barrel of fish (30 gallons or less) for example, or lightly salt his steak. The summoned salt is permanent since there is no duration on this cantrip. Shine: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object, up to 100 square feet. This will remove tarnish, rust, corrosion, and similar substances from the desired object. (Note, removing rust, for example, will not restore the metal; it only gets rid of the rust). The cantrip will bring objects capable of it to mirror brightness. It is excellent for cleaning coins, gems, and jewelry, and if done before sale may even slightly affect the evaluation of the object (make it a bit higher (no more than 5%)). Smoke Puff: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1-foot diameter cloud This creates a cloud of colored smoke (caster chooses the color of blue, gray, yellow, red, orange, white, blank, pink, purple, or green) to appear within 10 feet of the caster, and it will behave as smoke would (ascending and dissipating, usually, or flowing with the prevailing air currents). Spark: (Alteration) Area of Effect: a tiny area, fist sized This cantrip excites and agitates one small, nonliving, easily flammable substance to kindling temperature. Thin, dry wood, parchment or paper, candle wicks, torches, oil slicks, lanterns, and the like may be so ignited and set aflame. The object must be within 10 feet of the caster and not held at all unless held by a willing target. If no gaseous oxygen is in the area to support the flame, the cantrip will have no effect other than an instantaneous spark of light. Spice: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One object, up to one square yard, up to 5 gallons (food for a dozen people) This cantrip actually summons a suitable spice (pretty nifty). Thus ginger, pepper, oregano, paprika, bay leaves, garlic, parsley, etc. can be summoned, but only one spice per casting, and the caster must choose which one and how much up to the limits, so knowledge of cooking or cooking skills will help. The spice will remain, however, only for one hour/level unless consumed or used in food preparation before then. Thus, one cannot stock up on spices, sell them (honestly), or in any other way keep them around except if they are consumed or used to mix with other food, so the mage must really summon them as needed. The cantrip is particularly effective for always having that one elusive ingredient, but even a good cook who employs this cantrip will have most of their spices as normal and from normal sources if they can get them (or it may take several applications to do a good job). Sprout: (Alteration) Area of Effect: 1 cubic yard This will cause an acceleration of growth in plants, particularly with respect to the germination of seeds. It will make young, new plants grow about one inch, cause buds to flower, unripened fruits to ripen (or ripened fruits to over ripen). Stitch: (Alteration) Area of Effect: Special This will produce similar results to the work of a seamstress for about 20 yards of cloth or 2 yards of leather. The sewn seam is no stronger or weaker than a normal hand sewn seam. It may be used to repair old work or create new work. If cast immediately it may save the trouble of casting it nine successive times later on. Sweeten: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One object, up to 1 gallon. Similar to the Spice cantrip, except the summoned material is a sweetener such as sugar, honey, or even syrup. Up to one gallon of material may be sweetened (it does not summon a gallon of syrup, for example, but may sweeten a gallon of liquid). The sweetener so summoned has no duration. Tanning: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One pelt of size M This cantrip will help remove blood and bits of flesh from the hide or fur of a recently skinned animal, and further treat the surface with tannic acid to cure it and prevent rotting. The pelt of one medium or man sized creature may be so treated. Two or more applications will be required for larger pelts. Tie: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object This will cause thread, string, cord, rope, or even cable to make a knot around a similar object or a fixed object within range (10 feet). The knot will be a square knot, half hitch, running bowline, or whatever sort of knots the mage could tie by hand if he could easily reach the object. If they have no knowledge of knots, a granny knot will be tied. Thus, this cantrip is primarily to tie hard to reach things together, though they must still be within 10 feet of the caster. Boot laces may be so tied, but if some unwilling target is wearing those boots, they will get a Saving Throw at +2. Untangle: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object, up to one cubic yard Similar to Tie, this works on finer material like thread, hair, small grasses, causing them to become untwisted and free of tangles. It may be used to good effect on wind blown hair and will leave such hair free of tangles and looking rather well brushed or combed. Warm: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 cubic foot Nonliving, non-magical liquid or solid materials may become up to 40 degrees F higher in temperature (not to be higher than 212 degrees F, so you may not boil water, (at one atmospheric pressure, anyway)). The duration is instantaneous and then nature reigns. i.e. the target will warm up or cool down as normal from that point due to ambient temperature and conditions. Thus, a cold liquid (cold tea or coffee, for example) may be warmed to a higher temperature. Even a bath may be warmed, though 1 cubic foot only, and then its heat will spread out according to normal laws of physics. This cantrip could easily turn one cubic foot of snow or ice into water (assuming such material was at least -8 degrees F or warmer to begin with in order to reach its minimum melting temperature). Wash: (Abjuration) Area of Effect: 1 set of clothing. This cantrip will remove odors and stains from one garment or a series of small garments (enough for one person's outfit and under cloths). Particularly dirty or smelling garments (such as sweat and blood soaked leather padding in armor) may take up to 4 applications to totally remove the odors and stains. Naturally, the garments cannot be worn at the time of washing. Wrap: (Alteration) Area of Effect: 1 cubic yard A strong sturdy wrapping comes forth and wraps around small targets - a bit of herbs, a heap of coins, a bundle of cloth. The wrap is of excellent quality and may even be waterproof. The wrap may be opaque, translucent, or clear (caster's choice). A living creature may not be so wrapped. The wrappings are easily opened by hand (they may NOT be "willed" open by the caster just by thinking about it). The wrapping material is permanent (i.e. will not wink out at duration's end), but such material may selectively be biodegradable, though it may take a decade or two to fully degrade, or be more durable, taking centuries to degrade. If the caster wishes, old wrapping material may be used again (it is essentially automatically cleaned) or, they may use the cantrip to deliberately dissipate the wrapping material. This is not simply a matter of will, but one of using a cantrip. Finally, it should be noted this cantrip wouldn't vacuum seal an object. However, one may further employ Vacuum (the opposite of Breath ) to create such a vacuum, and the wrap is strong enough to maintain this vacuum. REVERSE CANTRIPS Curdle: (Enchantment) Area of Effect: One object This does more than curdle milk, but will also hasten the spoilage of most items such as cut flowers, and many foods and beverages that can naturally spoil with time. It is not as effective as Putrefy Food & Drink, however, but its duration is permanent. Compare Freshen. Actually, if one knows how, one may make cheese from milk using this cantrip, but a knowledge of this skill is not imparted simply from learning the cantrip and must be learned separately. Dirty: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 4 square yards The opposite of the Clean cantrip, this will soil, spot, and sully walls and floors, dishes, garments, etc. A handy source of dirt or mud must be available and in range to do a good job, for if this spell must summon such material, only 1/4 to 1/2 the same area may be so sullied. Dusty: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 10' Radius or 300 square feet This will cause a fine layer of dust and grit to settle, or a residue of grime to build up in the area of effect if such debris is handy. If the spell must summon the material, only 1/4 to 1/2 the area of effect will be so dirtied. Hairy: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object or creature This cantrip will cause a willing or domesticated creature's hair or fur (or object) to grow from 2 to 12-inches of new hair or fur or fuzz. The smaller the area, the longer the growth. Unwilling creatures get +2 to their Saving Throw. Success negates the effect. Such objects must be naturally hairy or fuzzy. One cannot have hair grow on rocks, for example. Knot: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object Similar to Tie, this will simply make the knot a tangled mess and difficult to untie (taking 2d4 rounds). This will not affect taut items (like a bowstring) or magic items. The knot will, however, not accidentally slip apart for at least 8 rounds, so one might climb down a rope knotted to a post if quickly done. Ravel: (Alteration) Area of Effect: Special If a non-magical garment or object has a lose thread, this cantrip will unravel it and cause it to come apart. Compare Stitch. Sour: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One object This will cause the target food or drink to take on a vinegar-like taste. It can spoil wine, beer, pastry, etc. Of course, it can also summon about a pint of vinegar for normal purposes too. There is no duration on such a summoned liquid, and food or drink spoiled in this manner will not return to freshness. Spill: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One container up to a gallon, but no more than 10 lbs. This will simply over turn such a container within range. A character or creature may not hold the container, but sitting next to them is ok. Tangle: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object, up to one cubic yard Similar to Tie, this works on finer material like thread, hair, small grasses, etc., causing them to become twisted and entangled. It will take 3d4 rounds to untangle such a mess unless one doesn't care if they damage the material. Tarnish: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object The reverse of Shine, objects normally affected by oxidation such as tarnish, rust, corrosion and the like will quickly be so affected. Unlock: (Conjuration) Area of Effect: One simple lock This cantrip will open the simplest of locks (such locks would give your normal rogue a good laugh and allow him +2 or more to his normal skill at picking them). Untie: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object Simply the reverse of Tie. Vacuum: (Evocation) Area of Effect: 1 cubic foot The reverse of the Breath cantrip, this will disband up to 1 cubic foot of non-magically summoned air or gases from an area. Employed with the Wrap cantrip, one may vacuum pack certain items for outstanding preservation. A loud popping noise is heard if this cantrip is employed in the open air. This is caused by the surrounding air rushing in to fill the vacuum. Before then, however, it may cause living creatures who fail their saving (recall these must be 0th level, have less than one hit dice, and be of animal intelligence or less) to gasp. This cantrip is better employed to put out tiny fires, such as candles, lamps, and torches. Even very small campfires will survive, though briefly diminish for a second or two. Even small fires like candles, lamps, and torches will get saving throws if a living creature holds them. Otherwise, they get no save. Wilt: (Enchantment) Area of Effect: One object The reverse of Freshen, but this will affect only vegetable material (growing or picked), and not meat. LEGERDEMAIN CANTRIPS Change: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One object on the smaller side of medium This can cause a change in one object from a kingdom (animal, plant, mineral, fungus) to a similar item in the same kingdom. i.e. change a bat into a rat or a bird, turn parchment into colored cloth, a copper coin into a silver coin, a silver coin into an electrum coin, an electrum coin into a gold coin, etc. The more radical the change, the shorter the duration. Changes may normally last 1 turn, but radical changes may last one round or less (copper to electrum, one round, copper to gold, 30 seconds), and very minor changes may last up to a day (like a change in color only). Living and unwilling targets (if they have more than animal intelligence) get +2 to their Saving Throw. Normal creatures of animal intelligence with 1 Hit Dice or less do not get a save. Animal intelligence with more than 1 Hit Dice will get a normal save. This spell may alter the weight (mass actually) of the object by an increase or decrease of no more than 50% of the original mass. This cantrip will not affect magical items or creatures that are naturally magic. The cantrip must be employed each time the caster wishes to change the object into a new form. No system shock is required for creatures. Furthermore, this cantrip will not affect objects in the possession of intelligent, unwilling creatures. For example, you could not turn that man's metal "mug" of beer (if he is holding it) into a metal rod (thus causing the beer to spill on him), but you could if he set it down first OR if he wanted you to change it (i.e. a willing target). Distract: (Enchantment) Area of Effect: Special This cantrip will cause creatures of low intelligence or lower, 1 Hit Dice or lower, or 0th level to look for one segment to the left or the right of the caster (up to 10 feet away) allowing the caster to do something with their opposite hand and have it go unnoticed. Creatures of 1st level or higher AND intelligence higher than "low" (must have both these qualities), or 1+1 Hit Dice or higher, get a Saving Throw to avoid this distracting effect. Thus, for example, a farmer or shopkeeper would not typically get a save, but all adventurers would. Hide: (Illusion) Area of Effect: One object This cantrip simply causes an object of the caster's choice to become invisible to those in front of the caster (characters and creatures to the side or behind him can see it normally). The object cannot be the caster, nor may it be any unwilling target creature (it may be a domesticated or trained animal). The duration is 10 rounds for objects of 2 cubic yards or less and is reduced by one round for each additional 2 cubic yards up to 20 cubic yards when it is hidden for only 1 round. After that, each additional 2 cubic yards reduces the duration by 1 round until up to 40 cubic yards that will be hidden for one round. Objects larger than 40 cubic yards still disappear, but reappear after one second. The object may NOT be larger than 100 cubic yards in any event or it will not be affected even for a second. The caster may prematurely drop the illusion any time they wish. Palm: (Illusion) Area of Effect: One small item (palm sized or less) This cantrip creates an illusionary duplicate of an object that will last one segment (6 seconds). Attention is drawn toward that object and if the caster can conceal it before the duration expires (putting it in a pocket, behind a scarf, under a cup, etc.), viewers will not notice it wink out of existence. During this equally short time, the real object becomes invisible and the mage may be able to palm the real object before it becomes visible at the same time the duplicate winks out of existence. The illusionary object only has visual components, so one may not hear it, feel it, taste it, etc., but only may see it. The mage may act as if he can do these things, and it will look as if he is touching it and moving it, for example, but it's an illusion. There is normally no Saving Throw vs. this cantrip as it happens so fast, but anyone of 1st level or higher, more than 1+1 Hit Dice, or more than average intelligence may, if they suspect something before hand and DELIBERATELY looks for an illusion, gets a Saving Throw. This would mean, for example, a player of such a character would have to tell the DM his is trying to disbelieve anything he sees because he is suspicious BEFORE it happens. Thus, if the cantrip is employed only once and the audience has no reason to expect it, there is usually no save, but if a cautious individual states they are really looking hard (even the first time) or looking hard the second time, they may get a Saving Throw. Success allows them to perceive the illusion and ignore it if they wish. Present: (Alteration) Area of Effect: One small item or a series of a dozen tiny items This spell will cause an item within a range of 2 feet to appear in the caster's hand upon the utterance of the proper command word. A minor Dimension Door, if you will. An object as large as a tankard or mug of ale will exhaust the spell, but a dozen coin sized objects could be produced over the duration of one turn. If these objects are in the possession of an unwilling creature, they get a normal Saving Throw, but if the creature is 1st level or higher or has 1+1 Hit Dice or more, they get a +2 bonus to their save. A successful save will shatter the spell bringing it to an end. The caster must know the exact nature of the item(s) and their exact location to do this at all. He may not attempt to bring forth, for example, 'whatever' that guy has in his left pocket, but may bring forth the silver coin that guy just put in his left pocket (if that guy fails save). PERSON-AFFECTING CANTRIPS NOTE: Remember, these cantrips will have NO affect on magical creatures, summoned creatures, spell casters currently casting a spell, or creatures actively attempting to employ a spell like ability. Thus, one may not use them to disrupt spell casters. Also, 1st level or higher characters and/or creatures with 1+1 Hit Dice or more will, if successfully making their save, TOTALLY negate the effect of the cantrip. Where it says there is an effect even for those who make their save, this refers to 0th level characters or creatures with 1 Hit Dice or less ONLY. Belch: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One person The target creature will belch, but gets a Saving Throw. Success indicates the belch is low and muffled, failure indicates it is loud and noticeable. Blink: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One person This will cause the creature that fails their Saving Throw to momentarily blink (about half a second). Cough: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One person This cantrip causes the target to spasmodically cough. A successful Saving Throw indicates one cough, while a failure indicates 3 to 5 seconds of coughing. Giggle: (Charm) Area of Effect: One person This will cause the target to giggle or laugh. A successful Saving Throw indicates one slight chuckle, while failure indicates 1 to 3 seconds of giggling. Nod: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One person Successfully saving vs. this cantrip will negate the effect, but failure will cause the target to give a short nod of the head as if in agreement or as if greeting someone. This is due to an involuntary muscular contraction. Scratch: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One creature This will cause the target that fails their save to scratch at an itch for 1 to 3 seconds. The itch goes away after it is scratched. Making the save negates the effect entirely. Sneeze: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One creature This will cause the target that fails their save to sneeze once. The nasal irritation goes away after the sneeze. Making the save negates the effect entirely. Twitch: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One creature This will cause the target that fails their save to twitch in the selected area (head, limb, etc.). Making the save negates the effect entirely. Wink: (Enchantment) Area of Effect: One person This causes the target to wink. Save indicates a rapid, not very noticeable winking, failure indicate one long and very noticeable wink of one eye (several seconds). Yawn: (Evocation) Area of Effect: One creature Save negates the effect, but failing save will cause the target to yawn for 1 to 3 seconds. If a Sleep spell then blankets the area and such a creature (who already failed their save vs. Yawn and could normally be affected by a Sleep spell, will fall asleep, but does not count toward the Sleep spell's normal limit of hit dice that may be affected. submitted by /u/famoushippopotamus to r/DnDBehindTheScreen [link] [comments]

Thanks for reading again! I promised to post my technique for seasoning cast iron. As some commenters have noted on the prior posts the use of flaxseed oil has been up for debate. Feel free to replace it with canola. I haven't had any issues with it in the past, so that's what I'll describe here. The technique will work with whatever oil you use. Are you experienced in refinishing cast iron? I want to hear your counterpoint! I've never had a pan turn out badly in all the years I've used flaxseed oil, but that being said I have a pan that needs to be refinished and I'd love to try something new and compare results. Let me know the best seasoning method that's worked for you!   MUST BE THE SEASON OF THE WITCH, YEAH: How to season the crap out of that pan OR, I like my pans like I like my women - black and covered with oil   You just brought home a vintage pan and it's covered with nasty ass bullshit. Time to clean it off and season it! Yes! Or you have a pan with pretty good seasoning but something happened and now you have to strip it and reseason. Cool. The first step is stripping the pan down to the bare metal. This is a two stage process focused on A) removing old seasoning and B) removing any rust. Removing seasoning is rough, rust is pretty easy.   My go-to method for taking the seasoning off of a pan is a brass brush mounted on an electric drill. Not too fancy, but it will do the job. Other options range from as simple as steel wool and a LOT of effort to using oven cleaner or lye. I don't like to mess around with the chemical options because dealing with substances that can melt my face makes me twitchy. You may have heard that you can strip a pan by running it through your oven's self cleaning cycle. While this is certainly true, the temperatures involved risk causing permanent damage to the iron, including cracking, warping, and weakening of the metal. I wouldn't risk it with a piece I really liked.   Taking off rust has a similar range of options, from the always useful but always laborious steel wool - use only for pieces with very little rust - to the far more elaborate electrolysis tank. I've never had a pan with so much rust that the electrolysis tank seemed necessary, although it's pretty straightforward. If you need instructions on making one Google it yourself, I'm not going to cover that here. The middle ground is a simple vinegar soak which will take rust off pretty easily. The only key is not to leave the pan in it too long, or the vinegar will damage the iron. Use equal parts distilled white vinegar and water (which doesn't have to be distilled but if it's white you have a problem) and soak the pan for an hour or up to 8. Longer and you're damaging the iron. Once it looks like the rust is coming up pull the pan out, rinse it, and use soap and a Scotch Brite pad or other abrasive to wash it away. Get into all the cracks and crevices; residual rust will interfere with the seasoning process.   Once you've scrubbed away all the oxidation rinse the pan, dry it very thoroughly but quickly, then put it in a 200 degree oven for five minutes or so. This has a couple of purposes. It completes the drying of the pan, driving out any remaining water, and it expands tiny pores and openings in the surface of the metal so the oil you use to season can get in there. Speaking of oil, I use 100% pure flaxseed oil, possibly available at a health foods store and worth getting if you can find/afford it, or canola oil as a second best option. Canola is a very good second best, so it's not the end of the world if you can't drop thirty bucks on a bottle of flaxseed. I know, it's expensive as hell. One bottle has seasoned six pans for me so far, so I found it to be worthwhile. But canola works very nearly as well. Make sure to read the ingredients. If you're not using 100% pure flaxseed oil you'll have issues.   As soon as you pull that pan out of the oven - it'll be hot but hopefully not too hot - pour half a teaspoon of oil onto the cooking surface and wipe it all over the pan. I use my hands for this because a paper or cloth towel absorb too much of the oil, meaning I have to use more of that expensive-as-hell flax stuff. Get it into every corner, wipe it all over the back and sides, get the handle. Get it into every letter and number of the logo and imprint. Get really intimate with the thing. By the time you're done you should feel a little pansexual. Yep.   Results: One oily pan. Next step: Wipe all the oil off. Yeah, I know. But bear with me for a sec. Leaving a thick layer of oil will result in: Blobs of seasoning that ruin the perfectly smooth cooking surface we're trying to achieve B) Sticky oil residue where the oil has not fully polymerized, like that baked on yellow gummy stuff that you get on pans sometimes. 16) A thick layer of seasoning that is susceptible to flaking off and scaling.   What we want to get is multiple extremely thin layers of seasoning built up, and in order to do that each layer has to have a minimal amount of oil being deposited on the surface. So grab a dry paper towel and rub one out. Of the pan. One oil. Okay, what? They can't all be solid gold. What do you expect from me? Wipe the pan until there's no visible oil left. It should look dry. After several rounds of this that paper towel will have so much oil you can start using it to put the oil on the pan and get a new one to dry it off. Anyway. You've wiped all the oil off of the pan. Place it upside down on a rack in the middle of a cold oven and set the heat as high as it goes. When it gets to temp (mine goes to 550) set a timer for one hour. At that timer, turn the oven off and let it cool down with the pan still inside. My oven has a nifty "Stop Time" feature that turns it off at a time I specify. It doesn't actually stop time, and I can tell you I was pretty disappointed to discover that when we moved in. Anyway, I've figured out I can start with a cold oven and set the timer for an hour and a half, which is enough time for to reach max temperature and then bake for an hour. Some people will tell you to put a cookie sheet under it to catch drips, but if you did it right there won't be enough oil to drip.   What we're doing here is heating the oil well above its smoke point. You may have heard never to do that while cooking, which is okay because what we're doing here bears only a superficial resemblance to cooking. Yes, there's a pan, and an oven, but note the lack of food. Oil heated above its smoke point begins to polymerize and chemically bond with the bare metal upon which it was so erotically smeared. When the pan is cool enough to handle and you pull it out of the oven (Do let it cool down slowly, no need to rush. Cooling it quickly through whatever crazy scheme has just occurred to you will damage the iron. Also, at these temperatures, potholders will melt. So no touchy.) you'll notice that the metal is darker, but not yet the black we're looking for. Which is why you have to do it all again. And again. I put six to ten layers on before I consider myself done with the process. I encourage you to do the same. Certainly don't do fewer than five. Don't be tempted to speed the process up with thicker coats of oil, or you'll get bad results.   If you find that you're not getting the flat black coating you desire and you have uneven, sticky, or brown results, either your oil isn't pure enough, your oven isn't hot enough, or your coating isn't thin enough. Or you forgot to sacrifice a chicken to Ferro, the god of iron. I mentioned that step, right?   This whole process takes a while. If you're at home all day and are on the ball with your timing, you can get several layers done in a day, 2.5-3 hours per. Anyone you live with will likely complain about the whole thing, especially if you're doing this in the middle of the summer. I hereby apologize to my wife. Sorry, babe. It usually takes me several days to a week. But once you're done...   Previous: Cast Iron Myths Next: Recipes submitted by /u/furudenendu to r/Cooking [link] [comments]