Quote: Scatterbrained Floozy @ November 22 2009, 6:21 PM GMTBut is it literally soap with sugar in it?
No it's some fiendish concoction of chemicals and they don't tell you on the packet.
It comes as fine crystals a bit like salt.I got mine at B&Q.
It's traditional stuff used by builders & decorators for many decades and it is FAR FAR more effective than these poncy cleaning fluids that come in modern spray bottles etc.
It's best to wear rubber gloves while using it but it isn't drastically dangerous to skin & is not covered in warning signs for poison etc, though it would not be at all wise to ingest any or get it in your eyes.
And now I have painted the walls that I cleaned and am waiting for the paint to dry.
Wikipedia says:
Sugar soap is a cleaning material, commonly composed of sodium carbonate, sodium phosphate, and sometimes sodium silicate as an abrasive; other chemicals might be added to modify the performance or preserve the product. The dry powder looks like table sugar, which gives it its name. The term is used mainly in Commonwealth countries.
The solution is alkaline and its uses include cleaning paintwork in preparation for repainting.
The similar compound trisodium phosphate is sometimes described as sugar soap in the USA..
