4000 chemicals in cigarette tobacco
22 years ago
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- 22 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
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Favorite off label use of chemical in your garden.
Comments (16)Yes, a soap solution can kill mites. Falling back into my more pedantic mode , I will mention that the term for the cinnamon infused alcohol Howard mentioned is a "tincture" (in case there should be any interest in such knowledge). Been some time since I made a cinnamon tincture, but if I recall correctly I think it was one tablespoon of cin. per 16oz rubbing alcohol. (If I happen to come across the recipe I used, I'll try to remember to post it.) Don't know if it matters, but I used the highest proof isopropyl carried at the market (90 proof or better). WARNING, said tincture does STAIN -- clothing, bricks, cement, siding, you name it. Staining is pretty much permanent. Don't know if a lesser concentration of cinnamon would make a difference. For those "beloved" earwigs .. Another Dawn related concoction that can be useful is a nicotine spray. To make such, if you or a loved one is a smoker, save the used cigarette butts. Let them steep overnight in water. Water should be a dark tea brown. Filter through a coffee filter to catch any stray particles. In a 16oz sprayer, combine 1\2 cup of the nicotine "tea", 1/4 cup Dawn, and top off with water. Shake gently to mix thoroughly. Spray this under the edges of you siding (usually where the siding stops and the brick begins seems to be where those vermin like to hide out) or other earwig heavy "hot spots". Between the toxic effects of the nicotine and the soapy solution, it tends to do a good job on killing any earwigs on contact. (Can increase the amount of Dawn if necessary.) NOTE: For those, like me, who aren't smokers and can't stand the stench of cigarette smoke, pipe tobacco can also be used. There's even one that has a nice vanilla type scent. Please do not spray this on bees or spiders -- let them do their jobs. For those who either use a rain barrel or have certain plants that do require very damp/wet media (yeah, I know, not the type of plants intended on this forum but ...). While many may know that placing a mosquito dunk in a rain barrel will go a long ways to eliminating mosquito larvae, fewer are aware that a dunk can be used to kill off fungus gnat larvae. Simply break off a 1/4 of one of those mosquito dunk "donuts" and put it in a gallon jug of water. Let it sit overnight or two. Give the container a shake and use the water to water the plants. Continue refilling and reusing that dunk chunk until it completely disintegrates. (Personally for really damp/wet soils, I like Drosera (sundews) and Utricularia (bladderworts). heh) This post was edited by paul_ on Thu, Aug 29, 13 at 23:06...See MoreConcern for chemicals in building products/process?
Comments (17)What most amateurs and seemingly all sales people fail to recognize is that in the built environment there is a dangerous accelerating convergence of decreased ventilation due to the rising cost of energy, increased use of composite materials due to the rising cost of natural materials (and their maintenance), and a staggering increase in DIY homeowners due to the ease of access to information over the internet and the traditional I-can-do-it attitude of Americans. The resulting profit opportunities for manufacturers is incredible. It is possible to find seemingly credible evidence to support any opinion you might wish to propose and there is always someone ready and willing to sell any material to you with the click of a link even if it's sale and use is restricted by law in your state. 50 years ago it was possible to ask the clerk at the local lumberyard for advice and build a house yourself without agonizing about the materials. Just as Thalidomide forever changed how we think about drugs, formaldehyde changed how we think about building materials although no one seems to be old enough to remember either of them anymore so we may be forced to learn the lesson all over again. The health risk of formaldehyde should not be dismissed with specious philosophical arguments. The environmental danger to your health that you face outside your home does not justify increasing the risk in your home where exposure is considerably longer and more intimate. And it is ridiculous to suggest the risks are similar. The concentration of formaldehyde in a typical home is about 5 times that of the outdoor air and in a home with elevated levels of formaldehyde it can be 20 to 60 times greater. My advice is if you have no long term and/or direct experience with these environmental health issues and/or feel confused by internet and retail sales hype, you should add a heat recovery ventilation system to your house for the protection of your current and future children as well as your grandchildren. I put one of them in every house I design and so far no one has deleted it. If you wish to play the priority game you should first not allow cigarette smoking in you home. Then avoid any baby crib that contains composite materials and check the formaldehyde content of any carpet in the nursery as well as toys, especially the stuffed ones. Cost should not be an issue for children. Next consider where older children sleep, and where they are subjected to poor ventilation especially near unvented gas appliances. Then apply this test to where adults sleep, then where they watch television or work at home. I wouldn't worry about plywood in kitchen cabinets but I would avoid too much particle board. However, it is considerably easier to ventilate a kitchen than a bedroom and it is unlikely to be occupied as much as a bedroom. Of course, lifestyles have also changed and kitchens are sometimes part of other living spaces so use your own judgment about time of exposure. Be especially careful about materials used in basement recreational areas because there is rarely enough ventilation in these spaces and the materials used to finish them are often the cheaper composite ones. Be careful about laminate and engineered flooring and avoid acid-catalyzed urea-formaldehyde factory coatings. Look for the higher European standard E0 stamp or the even higher E1 stamp. Buy particleboard or hardwood plywood stamped with the Composite Panel Association (CPA) or Hardwood Plywood and Veneer Association (HPVA) stamp. Look for PF and MDI resins instead of UF resins. The CPA standards are not as strict as the California standards which are not as strict as the Japanese and European standards which should be no surprise to anyone. Avoid the use of particle board as a flooring underlayment or subfloor. These issues are automatically dealt with in professionally designed homes through standardized written specifications. If you are selecting materials "by the seat of your pants" you're going to have to research each material, ask a lot of questions, and be prepared for evasive misleading answers. Good luck....See MoreGetting Cigarette Smoke Out of Clothes
Comments (39)I avoid chemical odor "treating" products like the heavily advertised ones, as I'm "sensitive," and many products just mask odors. There's an old wive's tale - always test a spot first, of course - spray vodka (some would say a waste!) on musty clothes or cigarette-y clothes & hang in fresh air. I'm a proud ex-smoker. Sometimes takes a few spritzes & airings. I have many pets and don't want to seem like I'm shilling for a product but if it's okay on here, let me know (I'm new) - this stuff got moth ball odors out of old baby clothes! Dry cleaner couldn't! I'm a big soaker in various stain removal powders & sometimes washing items in washer with double detergent (careful with size of washer, etc....it works in my washer well, but everyone has a different model) then run a full cycle without detergent to rinse. Just some of the stuff I tried for that moth ball disaster. My mother's generation! Ugh!...See More$247,932.00 - Holy smokes that's a lot of money!
Comments (24)Like all addictions, no one outside can control it. If your father has lived to 91, even with his health problems, and everything else, well, let him smoke. I quit for the 4th and final time about 5 years ago. I still get ticked at people who tell me "Oh, it was just a habit, an addiction - you didn't really enjoy it!" Well, yes I DID enjoy it! And it was your father's money he was spending, as it was mine to spend while I was smoking. He chose to buy cigarettes and smoke them. I agree, it's sad that they come with health issues, and I fully expect to have lung cancer sometime in my future. But when your father started, and when I started THEY WEREN'T DANGEROUS, and they are damned hard to quit. So lighten up. He's really old, and I know he's been a royal PITA. But give up the counting of the money spent. You're probably underestimating by a great deal anyway. And it's gone. And it wasn't yours to begin with....See More- 22 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 11 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 11 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 11 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 11 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
- 11 years agolast modified: 11 years ago
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