What, Exactly, Is Sodium Carbonate Sold Commonly As?

[Sect]

I saw it in one of the teks used to wash impurities away from the final product. What would one find it as in a store?

 

[endlessness]

sold as pH up for pools... look in hardware stores

or bake some sodium bicarbonate in the oven for a few hours and it loses about a third of the weight and becomes sodium carbonate

 

[elphologist1]

I believe "washing soda" (not baking soda) is also mostly sodium carbonate.

elphologist

 

[State of the Mind]

If you're in England you can buy it very cheaply from Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/sodium-carbonate-soda-ash-X-200grams_W0QQitemZ140332771444QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Crafts_Fabric_Textiles_SM?hash=item20ac7c2874#ht_720wt_939

£3 for 200g

If you are in a different country, you should either check out your local aquatics centre or Hardware store.

Hope this helped

 

[Sect]

Thanks for the answers; the help from you guys is greatly appreciated. I have another question, though. I have found some Lye that contains Sodium Hydroxide AND Sodium Nitrate. Would it be safe to use?

 

[1664]

I couldn't comment on if this is safe or not, but all the teks seem to call for pure Sodium Hydroxide, so I'd play it safe unless you hear otherwise. If you are in the UK it is available from Wilkinsons as Homecare Essentials Caustic Soda, or I think B&Q sell it as drain cleaner.

 

[State of the Mind]

Here is a nice link to some cheap NaOH (Sodium Hydroxide): US Sodium Hydroxide or if you are in the UK: UK Sodium Hydroxide. Remember if you buy NaOH that does not come in an airtight contain, you may need to buy one. This is due to the NaOH absorbing water vapours from the air. :?

Hope this helped. :d

 

[w0mbat]

best way to get food safe sodium carbonate is to buy (pure) baking soda and bake it for 3-4 hours at 200 degrees C. Weigh it before and afterwards; its weight will drop by exactly 37%. As long as you can confirm the weight decrease, you'll know you have pure sodium carbonate. You can also confirm the success of the reaction by testing the pH of a bit of water saturated with your sodium carbonate (it should be just over 10).

As for the lye, I'd avoid anything that contains sodium nitrate, or anything that is not food grade if possible...