Off-the-shelf Sodium Carbonate in USA?

[Kino]

Can anyone suggest a brand of Soda Ash/Sodium Carbonate that can be easily purchased in the US that is suitable for formula mixing?

And, yes I do know about cooking Sodium Bicarbonate for an hour in the oven at 200F, but thought some pool supplier or someone might sell it.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Can anyone suggest a brand of Soda Ash/Sodium Carbonate that can be easily purchased in the US that is suitable for formula mixing?

And, yes I do know about cooking Sodium Bicarbonate for an hour in the oven at 200F, but thought some pool supplier or someone might sell it.

If you don't care about purity, based on your mention of pool chemicals, grocery store washing soda will do.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

In the US washing soda seems to have disappeared from the grocery store shelves. Still available on Amazon. The Arm & Hammer brand is (was?) quite pure.

Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) has also vanished from grocery shelves but is still available from Amazon.

Also available from Photographers' Formulary and Artcraft Chemicals as well as B&H.

 

[Don_ih]

Ph adjuster for pools. Ph+ is normally just sodium carbonate. It's what I use. Read the label before buying, though.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Like Don says above, pool supply PH+. I was just at my local Menard's, and they have it in their pool care section. Probably not the cheapest place to buy it but handy if you run out and need some.

 

[thinkbrown]

In the US washing soda seems to have disappeared from the grocery store shelves. Still available on Amazon. The Arm & Hammer brand is (was?) quite pure.

Interesting, it was available last time I looked. that's generally what I use for mixing color developer

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

Interesting, it was available last time I looked. that's generally what I use for mixing color developer

It could just be my local grocery store - the absence of washing soda makes no sense to me.

 

[John Wiegerink]

It could just be my local grocery store - the absence of washing soda makes no sense to me.

Yes, for some odd reason only a few stores handle the old fashion washing soda nowadays. The old days are gone I'm afraid. Used to walk down the grocery store isle and buy washing soda (Arm & Hammer) and Red Devil lye now problem at all.

 

[Augustus Caesar]

In the US washing soda seems to have disappeared from the grocery store shelves. Still available on Amazon. The Arm & Hammer brand is (was?) quite pure.

Sodium Hydroxide (Lye) has also vanished from grocery shelves but is still available from Amazon.

Also available from Photographers' Formulary and Artcraft Chemicals as well as B&H.

Lye is available in hardware stores.

https://www.discountbuilderssupplysf.com/p/household-lye-drain-opener-16-oz/39201035?utm_source=google&utm_campaign=organic&utm_medium=shopping&srsltid=AfmBOopN-23UVqWtwUio3aa_8BGSJBl-RYSIFLftGaAd4ZITAkH0LJokhnY

 

[Don_ih]

the absence of washing soda makes no sense to me.

No one buys it. They buy Tide.

 

[gbroadbridge]

Baked Baking Soda works out cheapest for me - I go though buckets of the stuff.

Pool ph+ works out about 5x the cost.

Food grade Baking Soda is also known purity.

 

[Kino]

If you don't care about purity, based on your mention of pool chemicals, grocery store washing soda will do.

Thanks @gbroadbridge . I looked the options over and I guess I'll get off my lazy butt and cook some baking soda...

 

[Augustus Caesar]

I have a 25lb package of Kodak Sodium Carbonate, have had it for about 50 years. Doubt that I'll ever use it all!

 

[MattKing]

I have a 25lb package of Kodak Sodium Carbonate, have had it for about 50 years. Doubt that I'll ever use it all!

So your laundry needs are set for life!

 

[chuckroast]

Can anyone suggest a brand of Soda Ash/Sodium Carbonate that can be easily purchased in the US that is suitable for formula mixing?

And, yes I do know about cooking Sodium Bicarbonate for an hour in the oven at 200F, but thought some pool supplier or someone might sell it.

Amazon, Artcraft Chemicals, Photographers Formulary.

Not sure what you mean by off the shelf, but these would all be internet orders.

 

[Don_ih]

Pool Ph+, here, is $10.99 for the 3kg bottle I just looked at. (Bought at a hardware store - it's cheaper at Walmart.)
Cheapest price for baking soda I can find is $3.50 per kg. So, not much price difference here.

 

[John Wiegerink]

Pool Ph+, here, is $10.99 for the 3kg bottle I just looked at. (Bought at a hardware store - it's cheaper at Walmart.)
Cheapest price for baking soda I can find is $3.50 per kg. So, not much price difference here.

Yes, Wally Mart was the last place I bought it. It was late fall and they had a large tub of it in their clearance isle. I really didn't need it then but the price on clearance was so low I couldn't refuse.

 

[xkaes]

No one buys it. They buy Tide.

Apparently some people do, but availability varies from store to store. I live between two Walmarts. One carries 20-mule Team Borax (for those people that don't use Tide), but the other Walmart doesn't. The one that doesn't, carries Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (for the rest of the people that don't use Tide), but the other Walmart doesn't.

Makes no sense to me, but I bough a 25 pound sack of Sodium Carbonate Mono years ago -- talk about CHEAP!!!

 

[Don_ih]

Borax (for those people that don't use Tide)

Borax and Washing Soda are primarily marketed as detergent boosters. So, those people still use Tide (or whatever). Most people don't buy it because they think (justifiably) laundry detergent on its own is good enough. And it doesn't occur to them that they should use anything else other than maybe some stain-spray.

 

[pentaxuser]

No one buys it. They buy Tide.

Certainly Washing Soda is getting fairly rare, if obtainable at all, in the U.K. in such places as supermarkets

pentaxuser

 

[Don_ih]

I can buy A&H Washing Soda where I purchased the Ph+ alkalinity adjuster. But I can't buy either at a grocery store. I can, however, buy baking soda at any grocery store.

 

[chuckroast]

Is Washing Soda/Ph+ anhydrous (which is what most formulae call for and would require adjustment if not)?

 

[thinkbrown]

Is Washing Soda/Ph+ anhydrous (which is what most formulae call for and would require adjustment if not)?

From what I can tell, washing soda is the monohydrate. I adjust the weight in my formula to compensate and the pH was within spec the one time I bothered testing

 

[Don_ih]

Is Washing Soda/Ph+ anhydrous

Very unlikely. Washing soda is sold in a cardboard box and has nothing to stop it from soaking in water. The Ph+ may be when it's put in the bottle but may not be by the time you finish the bottle. I've always assumed they're not. You could bake some to find out, though.

 

[nosmok]

It is possible to punch a product name and a post/ZIP code into a search engine to see where it's sold in your area. I've done this with A&H Washing Soda and Bell's Poultry Seasoning with success, as my nearest supermarket carries neither and doesn't seem interested in starting to.