PillaDoubleG Posted January 20 Posted January 20 (edited) For some reason, alcohol of high purity (>75%) cannot be bought in any pharmacy and such, but 96% alcohol can be bought in a local grocery store... Another instance, the max purity of hydrogen peroxide you can buy in a grocery store is 8%, in a pharmacy 30% IF they deem you "not suspicious". But on some websites you can get 50% hydrogen peroxide, for about the same price??? I haven't actually bought the product, so this is the best image I got. Maybe only my country is like this, does yours have any weird restrictions as well? Or is this just a balkan thing? Edited January 20 by PillaDoubleG
cmjlab Posted January 21 Posted January 21 In the US you can cheaply / easily buy Denatured Alcohol (mixture of Ethyl alcohol and usually a percentage of Methanol to render it poisonous/non consumable, and not easily separate from each other), 90% Isopropyl Alcohol, and lower grades of Isopropyl Alcohol. The U.S. is geared towards ensuring they collect their taxes from consumable alcohol, hence wise moonshine stills are considered to produce illegal alcohol (unless you are paying the government taxes on it). For a bit more money, in some U.S. states you can buy 95% grain alcohol from a liquor store, but others prohibit it, and some only allow you to buy it with a license for culinary or other non-consumable purposes. [All the preceding alcohol described are describing private / consumer uses and purchases. Businesses have different arrangements varying by state] In store peroxide, I've only ever seen 6% peroxide in the pharmacy / medical use areas, and 15% peroxide in beauty and hair salon supply stores (but they usually require a cosmetology license). So pretty much same in U.S., online stores are the place to shop for better prices and better variety of choices.
AustralianPyromaniac Posted January 22 Posted January 22 I've always found it interesting that in the US, methylated alcohol means 70% ethanol + methanol. Drinking it would taste fine, but the consequences are blindness. Whereas in Australia, methylated spirits is 95% ethanol + 5% water + a very small amount of bittering agent and MIK, no methanol. So long as you can stomach the taste of the bittering agent, drinking it is safe enough. The MIK is toxic, but the level is so low it's not a concern. It is only added to prevent the product from being distilled, which can remove the bittering agent, but not the MIK. Different views on personal responsibility. Certainly, no alcoholic would be drinking your metho, but people here do. Peroxide here is available OTC up to 50%, no questions asked. Fireworks of all types except sparklers are banned all year round. Crazy place to live. Methylated-Spirits-v10.pdf
PillaDoubleG Posted January 23 Author Posted January 23 On 1/21/2024 at 5:06 AM, cmjlab said: In the US you can cheaply / easily buy Denatured Alcohol (mixture of Ethyl alcohol and usually a percentage of Methanol to render it poisonous/non consumable, and not easily separate from each other), 90% Isopropyl Alcohol, and lower grades of Isopropyl Alcohol. For a bit more money, in some U.S. states you can buy 95% grain alcohol from a liquor store, but others prohibit it, and some only allow you to buy it with a license for culinary or other non-consumable purposes. In store peroxide, I've only ever seen 6% peroxide in the pharmacy / medical use areas, and 15% peroxide in beauty and hair salon supply stores (but they usually require a cosmetology license). Huh... honestly I'd say the methylated alcohol is a pretty stupid choice on the governments side, but it does work I guess. Could be very dangerous if a kid decides to play with it. Nice to see that people also don't follow the law with the alcohol restrictions, just like here Also, I have to ask, how does the process for getting a license like that go? If you've had experience with it? I assume they ask you a lot of questions, but do they make you prove that you are great at cosmetics for the cosmetology license? On 1/22/2024 at 5:39 AM, AustralianPyromaniac said: Peroxide here is available OTC up to 50%, no questions asked. Fireworks of all types except sparklers are banned all year round. Crazy place to live. Wow, still don't entirely know why anyone would need 50% H2O2... maybe for rocket fuel. Also, is it true that you can buy nitric acid in Australia without any problems? I read some dudes comment saying he bought with ease. Now that you mention, the firework restrictions are really weird in this area... In Croatia, all types of firecrackers are banned, you can only get fireworks with a license. In Serbia, you can buy any fireworks, firecrackers that go up to 10 GRAMS, you name it, they will sell it you (including children). In Bosnia, you CAN buy fireworks legally, but its way harder than just buying them form a third-party.
Zumber Posted January 23 Posted January 23 70 percent isopropyl alcohol plus 30 percent water is available easily at any medical store as a rubbing alcohol also for cleaning of laptop and electronic accessories screen cleaning. Just today I bought.
cmjlab Posted January 23 Posted January 23 Like most things in the U.S. , you don't need to be good, or even competent at something to attain a license...... You just need the money! (Kidding, well om some things). I've no idea how you get a cosmetology license but it varies state to state, much like the laws vary state to state. Some require a license, some don't regulate at all. Clear as mud right?
All10Fingers Posted February 2 Posted February 2 I get surgical grade 99.8% iso alcohol from a veterinarian supplier. You can also get peroxide, iodine, and nitrocellulose sealant. All medical grade that you couldn't buy for yourself, but for horse... No problems
Mumbles Posted May 16 Posted May 16 Chiming in late again. The regulations around denatured alcohol are kind of hilarious if you dig into it. In the US there exists both Completely Denatured Alcohol (CDA), which is sold at hardware stores for cleaning purposes and the like and is generally made toxic or horrendously undrinkable. There also exists Specialty Denatured Alcohol (SDA), which is basically a way for companies with enough money to lobby the government to get around alcohol taxes. Under the SDA heading, you're going to find things like spearmint, peppermint, blue coloring, certain polymers, iodine, etc. This is essentially so you can produce and sell mouthwash, hand sanitizer, hairspray, and iodine tincture without paying extra taxes. Even working at a chemical company, there are a number of hoops to jump through with the federal government if you want to purchase or use non-denatured alcohol for something. We did get a special exemption during Covid to produce hand sanitizer though. It smelled and burned like you'd expect if you give a bunch of untrained people free reign to produce alcohol. Normally hand sanitizer shouldn't dissolve plastic pumps, but ours sure did. In my state at least to get a cosmetology license, it's not all that different than a lot of other professional licenses or certifications. You have to obtain some sort of education/training/work experience, there is a written and possibly practical exam to obtain it, and then a fee every few years to renew it. Seems like a lot of work to obtain hydrogen peroxide. You can buy 30 or 35% hydrogen peroxide without any particular license or anything, you just need to know where to look.
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