Saturday, August 22, 2020
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Phosphates and dishwasher detergents
For about 50 years the United States has been phasing out phosphates used in detergents, and they were completely banned about 10 years ago. The phosphates cause algae blooms that are supposedly harmful to fish.
The problem is that the phosphates were very effective in automatic dishwashing detergents. They not only helped clean the dishes, but they acted as a kind of water softener to prevent hard water stains, calcium build-up, on glassware on other dishes. About a dozen years ago there were a ton of complaints by consumers that dishwashers weren't getting dishes clean as they used to, and because of the hard water stains, the glassware looked dirtier after they were washed in the dishwasher than before.
I have been having this problem. There were noticeable hard water stains on my glassware and other dishes. So I tried washing once with dishwashing detergent, and a second time with no detergent, but I poured vinegar into a 16 once container and set it in the top rack of the dishwasher. After the second wash, everything was spotless. Since the vinegar is acidic, it dissolved any calcium stains.
It is believed by many people that "Tang" can be used to clean out your dishwasher. Since "Tang" is an acid, it might actually work. I had a dishwasher salesman tell me to put "Tang" powder in a cup on the top rack. (I would not do this with the detergent, because one is basic and the other is acidic. At the very least they would cancel each other out, if not react with each other in unpredictable ways.)
However, if you have stains in your dishwasher, bleach is much more effective. In my old house, I had a cheap GE dishwasher that was not stainless steel inside, but it had a cheap plastic interior. That interior got so badly stained that I thought that I was going to have to replace the dishwasher. After I played around with the dishwasher, I realized that each wash would go through three cycles: an initial rinse and drain cycle, a long wash cycle, followed by another drain and rinse and drain cycle. All dishwashers work this way. To solve my stain problem, I waited for the long wash cycle to start, and then I poured a bottle of bleach into the dishwasher. However, when it got to the final drain and rinse cycle, which could have drained out all the bleach, I turned the knob back to the wash cycle so that the bleach would not drain out. I did this a few times so that there was plenty of time for the bleach to circulate in the dishwasher. The end result was amazing because the dishwasher was spotless inside.
Saturday, August 15, 2020
Friday, August 14, 2020
Wednesday, August 12, 2020
Sweden: Lockdown Facts Fauci Won’t Tell You
I don't have an opinion on this one way or the other. I just present it for information purposes.
The population density of Sweeden is about 1/3 less than the United States, but both are tiny compared to the population density of New York City.
Saturday, August 8, 2020
Sunday, July 26, 2020
Comparing AAA Batteries Against Each Other
The cheap dollar store Sunbeam battery smoked the competition.
Saturday, July 25, 2020
Wednesday, July 22, 2020
Personal "air conditioners" aren't what they seem
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2horH-IeurA
I had a swamp cooler in my first house in Salt Lake City. It worked very poorly and my house would get unbearably hot, which is why I installed central air. I wouldn't dream of using a swamp cooler in my current home Indiana where the humidity is already at unpleasant levels.
I had a swamp cooler in my first house in Salt Lake City. It worked very poorly and my house would get unbearably hot, which is why I installed central air. I wouldn't dream of using a swamp cooler in my current home Indiana where the humidity is already at unpleasant levels.
Tuesday, July 21, 2020
This Is Why Inbreeding Is So Dangerous
Oddly enough, the presenter ties this into what would happen if the world population mostly got wiped out, or if we tried to colonize another world.
Sunday, July 19, 2020
Marie Curie - Wikipedia
She was interred at the cemetery in Sceaux, alongside her husband Pierre.[49] Sixty years later, in 1995, in honour of their achievements, the remains of both were transferred to the Paris Panthéon. Their remains were sealed in a lead lining because of the radioactivity.[77] She became the first woman to be honoured with interment in the Panthéon on her own merits.[5]
Because of their levels of radioactive contamination, her papers from the 1890s are considered too dangerous to handle.[78] Even her cookbook is highly radioactive.[79] Her papers are kept in lead-lined boxes, and those who wish to consult them must wear protective clothing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marie_CurieBest wishes,
John Coffey
Friday, July 17, 2020
Monday, July 13, 2020
Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Scott Adams on Climate Change
Scott Adams, the cartoonist, has some interesting things to say about Climate Change from 21 minutes to 31 minutes in the video.
Monday, July 6, 2020
Toxic methanol that causes blindness found in hand sanitizers, FDA warns | Ars Technica
All nine hand sanitizers are made by Eskbiochem SA de CV in Mexico. The agency said in its advisory that it discovered methanol while testing two of the company's products. One, called Lavar Gel, was 81-percent methanol—and no ethanol, a safe alcohol meant to be used in hand sanitizers. Another, CleanCare No Germ, was 28-percent methanol.
"Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers," the FDA wrote. With use of hand sanitizers at a high amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency advised that anyone who has used the methanol-containing products "seek immediate treatment, which is critical for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning."
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/toxic-methanol-that-causes-blindness-found-in-hand-sanitizers-fda-warns/
"Methanol is not an acceptable ingredient for hand sanitizers," the FDA wrote. With use of hand sanitizers at a high amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency advised that anyone who has used the methanol-containing products "seek immediate treatment, which is critical for potential reversal of toxic effects of methanol poisoning."
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/06/toxic-methanol-that-causes-blindness-found-in-hand-sanitizers-fda-warns/
Toxic hand sanitizers have blinded and killed adults and children, FDA warns | Ars Technica
In an updated safety warning, the agency identified five more brands of hand sanitizer that contain methanol, a simple alcohol often linked to incorrectly distilled liquor that is poisonous if ingested, inhaled, or absorbed through the skin.
The newly identified products are in addition to nine methanol-containing sanitizers the FDA identified last month, which are all made by the Mexico-based manufacturer Eskbiochem SA de CV.
The newly identified products are in addition to nine methanol-containing sanitizers the FDA identified last month, which are all made by the Mexico-based manufacturer Eskbiochem SA de CV.
Wednesday, July 1, 2020
TIMELAPSE OF THE FUTURE: A Journey to the End of Time (4K) - YouTube
This covers timescales so vast that they might as well be infinite. Our species will experience almost none of it. Even if we do manage to survive more than a few million years, our very distant descendants will be much different than we are now.
Our understanding of the laws of physics is not complete enough to know for sure what will happen in the very far future. Maybe the universe will collapse and be reborn.
https://youtu.be/uD4izuDMUQA
Our understanding of the laws of physics is not complete enough to know for sure what will happen in the very far future. Maybe the universe will collapse and be reborn.
https://youtu.be/uD4izuDMUQA
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