Ammonia use

For all chemists out there, aside from accelerating stain removal process, does it really help removing stubborn / old stains that otherwise will not come out with peroxide alone ? Where do you buy yours ? At what percentage and what's the dilution ratio ?
And standing alone, does it work on any stains ?

I believe that it does help remove stubborn stains....been using a 3% solution for years, but you could go higher pretty safely, if you don't mind the smell.

Never used it as a stand alone, always mixed it with a detergent, so I can't help there.

I mix store bought regular non-sudsing amonia with Super Charger 50/50 and that makes a kick A.. red remover.

Joe sells a strong ammonia. I forgot that I have two gallons. At present have not been using it.

Ken Raddon wrote:I mix store bought regular non-sudsing amonia with Super Charger 50/50 and that makes a kick A.. red remover.

Which store ? And what's super charger ?

( miller ) gerry wrote:Joe sells a strong ammonia.  I forgot that I have two gallons.  At present have not been using it.

Thank you Gerry, I'm hoping Joe will chime in and share his boat load of information about this subject.

Super Charger is made by Steam Action and I buy it from Godfathers Cleaning Supply but unless you live in the Salt Lake area would suggest you buy it online somewhere.

I can't stand the smell it

Nice work D looks very professional. I wonder if it might be too long?

"For all chemists out there, aside from accelerating stain removal process, does it really help removing stubborn / old stains that otherwise will not come out with peroxide alone ?"
Ammonia 'accelerates' oxidization as explained below.
Ammonia is a great additive in your stain removal processes, used with skill (experience).
Peroxide is not necessarily a favorite chemistry for 'stubborn/old stains'... peroxide is an oxidizer. It adds oxygen. That's it. Fortunately, oxidation is the ticket for removing many stains that surfactants don't necessarily remove; namely organic stains.
Review Cleaning by Color:
grays & blacks are soils & oils ... boost oil cutting with anything high pH, like sodium hydroxide, and/or ammonia.
browns, tans, light yellows = coffee, wine, pee = all Organic so Organic stain remover, Oxygen (peroxide contains stabilized oxygen. 
De-stabilize peroxide (loosely: 'activate'  'boost'  'accelerate') with ammonia or any high pH chemical, namely ammonia.

"Where do you buy yours ?"
Grocery store ~3% or me if you want it stronger. I buy 28% and dilute it down for my White Knight customers.
But even at ~3% from the grocery store, it packs a serious punch.
Recall liquid peroxide has a relatively low pH of around 3.  We use various chemicals to 'stabilize' (keep Oxygen gas dissolved in solution). 
Recall ammonia, even 3%, has an extremely high pH around 12.
So, we add ammonia to raise the pH, so to de-stabilize peroxide... the dissolved Oxygen gas comes out of solution forming the familiar white bubbles as it off-gases.
Pour some peroxide on concrete or asphalt and watch it react with the carbonate... you see a few large bubbles.
Pour down that same peroxide and add 3% ammonia, and you see many, many, tiny 'white' bubbles.
Use a professional sprayer designed for the purpose and you get credit for being their "White Knight" who came running to their rescue.  
It's magical to people who don't know the chemistry.
Amazing results + pro dispenser (White Knight Sprayer) = custys for life.

Never mix peroxide and ammonia in a closed container. Maybe a in a strong-walled pump-up sprayer but never in a trigger bottle sprayer type bottle or it will pop like a balloon.

"At what percentage and what's the dilution ratio?"
Start with a gallon of clear non-sudsing ammonia from the grocery store.
Add it to spotters you already use, to see how it helps.
Regular Parsons Ammonia is an amazing fire & smoke residue remover. 
I tell the story how I was first learning fire damage restoration, came equipped with PC Renovate, spent all day in a lil ole lady's mobile home.. getting nowhere.
She walks in late afternoon to see my frustration and reaches under her cabinet to hand me Parsons.... "here Sonny, try this!"
OMG, one swipe cut through all the smoke residue and Renovate residue. One swipe. 
This lil lady gets credit for coining "Cuts grease like a mutha" 

Add some vinegar or baking soda to reduce the strong odor.
I believe a popular spotter, Avenge, uses an odorless form of ammonia.
Be careful. Odorless ammonia is still ammonia. Combine it with chlorine products ... and you get a very toxic gas.
   
"And standing alone, does it work on any stains ?"
Pretty much. Anywhere raising pH helps, ammonia will help.

Makes a good upholstery cleaner... residue free since it's just a gas dissolved in water; once the gas is gone all you got left is water.
Other examples of gases dissolved in solution:
Liquid peroxide has oxygen gas dissolved in solution,
Soda pop has carbon dioxide gas dissolved in solution,
.... ammonia, oxygen, carbon dioxide... all gases they leave the solution ('off-gas'  'evaporate') as if they were never there.
In the case of ammonia & oxygen gases, we get residue free H+ and O2- cleaning. In the case of soda pop, we get bloated with sugar water.  
Bottomline, ammonia is best used as an additive in solution with other surfactants, esp. your protein spotters (great grease cutter).  

"I mix store bought regular non-sudsing amonia with Super Charger 50/50 and that makes a kick A.. red remover."
I have no idea what Super Charger is, but we used to use ammonia as our main red remover, years ago, before we realized that reducing agents are the ticket. 
I knelt over many a red stain with my steam iron breathing ammonia deep... not at all healthy... but worse, be advised that heated ammonia pulls color.... ALL COLOR!

"Super Charger is made by Steam Action"
How about a link to the MSDS?

I looked online at http://www.steamaction.com/home.html and didn't see the msds.

Joe Bristor wrote:"For all chemists out there, aside from accelerating stain removal process, does it really help removing stubborn / old stains that otherwise will not come out with peroxide alone ?"
Ammonia 'accelerates' oxidization as explained below.
Ammonia is a great additive in your stain removal processes, used with skill (experience).
Peroxide is not necessarily a favorite chemistry for 'stubborn/old stains'... peroxide is an oxidizer. It adds oxygen. That's it. Fortunately, oxidation is the ticket for removing many stains that surfactants don't necessarily remove; namely organic stains.
Review Cleaning by Color:
grays & blacks are soils & oils ... boost oil cutting with anything high pH, like sodium hydroxide, and/or ammonia.
browns, tans, light yellows = coffee, wine, pee = all Organic so Organic stain remover, Oxygen (peroxide contains stabilized oxygen. 
De-stabilize peroxide (loosely: 'activate'  'boost'  'accelerate') with ammonia or any high pH chemical, namely ammonia.

"Where do you buy yours ?"
Grocery store ~3% or me if you want it stronger. I buy 28% and dilute it down for my White Knight customers.
But even at ~3% from the grocery store, it packs a serious punch.
Recall liquid peroxide has a relatively low pH of around 3.  We use various chemicals to 'stabilize' (keep Oxygen gas dissolved in solution). 
Recall ammonia, even 3%, has an extremely high pH around 12.
So, we add ammonia to raise the pH, so to de-stabilize peroxide... the dissolved Oxygen gas comes out of solution forming the familiar white bubbles as it off-gases.
Pour some peroxide on concrete or asphalt and watch it react with the carbonate... you see a few large bubbles.
Pour down that same peroxide and add 3% ammonia, and you see many, many, tiny 'white' bubbles.
Use a professional sprayer designed for the purpose and you get credit for being their "White Knight" who came running to their rescue.  
It's magical to people who don't know the chemistry.
Amazing results + pro dispenser (White Knight Sprayer) = custys for life.

Never mix peroxide and ammonia in a closed container. Maybe a in a strong-walled pump-up sprayer but never in a trigger bottle sprayer type bottle or it will pop like a balloon.

"At what percentage and what's the dilution ratio?"
Start with a gallon of clear non-sudsing ammonia from the grocery store.
Add it to spotters you already use, to see how it helps.
Regular Parsons Ammonia is an amazing fire & smoke residue remover. 
I tell the story how I was first learning fire damage restoration, came equipped with PC Renovate, spent all day in a lil ole lady's mobile home.. getting nowhere.
She walks in late afternoon to see my frustration and reaches under her cabinet to hand me Parsons.... "here Sonny, try this!"
OMG, one swipe cut through all the smoke residue and Renovate residue. One swipe. 
This lil lady gets credit for coining "Cuts grease like a mutha" 

Add some vinegar or baking soda to reduce the strong odor.
I believe a popular spotter, Avenge, uses an odorless form of ammonia.
Be careful. Odorless ammonia is still ammonia. Combine it with chlorine products ... and you get a very toxic gas.
   
"And standing alone, does it work on any stains ?"
Pretty much. Anywhere raising pH helps, ammonia will help.

Makes a good upholstery cleaner... residue free since it's just a gas dissolved in water; once the gas is gone all you got left is water.
Other examples of gases dissolved in solution:
Liquid peroxide has oxygen gas dissolved in solution,
Soda pop has carbon dioxide gas dissolved in solution,
.... ammonia, oxygen, carbon dioxide... all gases they leave the solution ('off-gas'  'evaporate') as if they were never there.
In the case of ammonia & oxygen gases, we get residue free H+ and O2- cleaning. In the case of soda pop, we get bloated with sugar water.  
Bottomline, ammonia is best used as an additive in solution with other surfactants, esp. your protein spotters (great grease cutter).  

"I mix store bought regular non-sudsing amonia with Super Charger 50/50 and that makes a kick A.. red remover."
I have no idea what Super Charger is, but we used to use ammonia as our main red remover, years ago, before we realized that reducing agents are the ticket. 
I knelt over many a red stain with my steam iron breathing ammonia deep... not at all healthy... but worse, be advised that heated ammonia pulls color.... ALL COLOR!

"Super Charger is made by Steam Action"
How about a link to the MSDS?

Thank you Joe, greatly appreciate the info sir.

Great lessons in Safe Chemistry Use, thanks Joe . Always learning new and
better ways !

Joe Bristor wrote:"For all chemists out there, aside from accelerating stain removal process, does it really help removing stubborn / old stains that otherwise will not come out with peroxide alone ?"
Ammonia 'accelerates' oxidization as explained below.
Ammonia is a great additive in your stain removal processes, used with skill (experience).
Peroxide is not necessarily a favorite chemistry for 'stubborn/old stains'... peroxide is an oxidizer. It adds oxygen. That's it. Fortunately, oxidation is the ticket for removing many stains that surfactants don't necessarily remove; namely organic stains.
Review Cleaning by Color:
grays & blacks are soils & oils ... boost oil cutting with anything high pH, like sodium hydroxide, and/or ammonia.
browns, tans, light yellows = coffee, wine, pee = all Organic so Organic stain remover, Oxygen (peroxide contains stabilized oxygen. 
De-stabilize peroxide (loosely: 'activate'  'boost'  'accelerate') with ammonia or any high pH chemical, namely ammonia.

"Where do you buy yours ?"
Grocery store ~3% or me if you want it stronger. I buy 28% and dilute it down for my White Knight customers.
But even at ~3% from the grocery store, it packs a serious punch.
Recall liquid peroxide has a relatively low pH of around 3.  We use various chemicals to 'stabilize' (keep Oxygen gas dissolved in solution). 
Recall ammonia, even 3%, has an extremely high pH around 12.
So, we add ammonia to raise the pH, so to de-stabilize peroxide... the dissolved Oxygen gas comes out of solution forming the familiar white bubbles as it off-gases.
Pour some peroxide on concrete or asphalt and watch it react with the carbonate... you see a few large bubbles.
Pour down that same peroxide and add 3% ammonia, and you see many, many, tiny 'white' bubbles.
Use a professional sprayer designed for the purpose and you get credit for being their "White Knight" who came running to their rescue.  
It's magical to people who don't know the chemistry.
Amazing results + pro dispenser (White Knight Sprayer) = custys for life.

Never mix peroxide and ammonia in a closed container. Maybe a in a strong-walled pump-up sprayer but never in a trigger bottle sprayer type bottle or it will pop like a balloon.

"At what percentage and what's the dilution ratio?"
Start with a gallon of clear non-sudsing ammonia from the grocery store.
Add it to spotters you already use, to see how it helps.
Regular Parsons Ammonia is an amazing fire & smoke residue remover. 
I tell the story how I was first learning fire damage restoration, came equipped with PC Renovate, spent all day in a lil ole lady's mobile home.. getting nowhere.
She walks in late afternoon to see my frustration and reaches under her cabinet to hand me Parsons.... "here Sonny, try this!"
OMG, one swipe cut through all the smoke residue and Renovate residue. One swipe. 
This lil lady gets credit for coining "Cuts grease like a mutha" 

Add some vinegar or baking soda to reduce the strong odor.
I believe a popular spotter, Avenge, uses an odorless form of ammonia.
Be careful. Odorless ammonia is still ammonia. Combine it with chlorine products ... and you get a very toxic gas.
   
"And standing alone, does it work on any stains ?"
Pretty much. Anywhere raising pH helps, ammonia will help.

Makes a good upholstery cleaner... residue free since it's just a gas dissolved in water; once the gas is gone all you got left is water.
Other examples of gases dissolved in solution:
Liquid peroxide has oxygen gas dissolved in solution,
Soda pop has carbon dioxide gas dissolved in solution,
.... ammonia, oxygen, carbon dioxide... all gases they leave the solution ('off-gas'  'evaporate') as if they were never there.
In the case of ammonia & oxygen gases, we get residue free H+ and O2- cleaning. In the case of soda pop, we get bloated with sugar water.  
Bottomline, ammonia is best used as an additive in solution with other surfactants, esp. your protein spotters (great grease cutter).  

"I mix store bought regular non-sudsing amonia with Super Charger 50/50 and that makes a kick A.. red remover."
I have no idea what Super Charger is, but we used to use ammonia as our main red remover, years ago, before we realized that reducing agents are the ticket. 
I knelt over many a red stain with my steam iron breathing ammonia deep... not at all healthy... but worse, be advised that heated ammonia pulls color.... ALL COLOR!

"Super Charger is made by Steam Action"
How about a link to the MSDS?

I know he's banned, but I keep digging up these posts looking for info. He's a real contributor on these chems. I owe a lot of my peroxide use to Joe.

I've just added the MEA to my tool box. Any of you guys using it?

I used to be a distributor for Steamaction back in the 1990s. Sold some machines and
had quite a few customers that used what is now called "Supercharger" back then it
was called Extremely Clean Rinse and then Exremely Clean Supercharger.  I have used
a lot of it back then. It would do things that nothing else would. It is a powerfull peroxide for sure. Gets on your hands and it will remove all the oils out of your skin. A friend who was black got it on his hands and it turned it white..lol..  Mostly I used it in my Hydroforce injection sprayer. John Sales had a powder that was supposedly soapless and I would mix it with the Supercharger and spray it down on the carpet fairly
heavy . Then I would rinse it with hot water with that soapless powder and in many cases it did an outstanding job. Particularly on white or light colored carpets. The carpets were always squeaky clean went done. Like there was absolutly no residue left on the  carpet.

Cool. I'm starting to spearmint with it.

Can't stand the smell of amonia

Mo wrote:Can't stand the smell of amonia

Me either. Fortunately, MEA doesn't have an odor.

Have been boosting with MEA and finding great results. Kicks residential traffic lanes and greasy restraunts butt. Looking into buying 55 gallon drum.

( miller ) gerry wrote:Have been boosting with MEA and finding great results.  Kicks residential traffic lanes and greasy restraunts butt.  Looking into buying 55 gallon drum.

Been boosting what with MEA?

I'm spearmintin with encap.

S.O.E. and or grease eraser.  

On really bad jobs.
4 oz / gal SOE
2 oz / gal Grease Eraser *  but going to try w/o this and add more MEA
2-4 oz / gal MEA
6 oz / gal 27% peroxide.

Has anyone bought a 55 gal drum of MEA?

I can't even find MEA in this area...I've tried the contractor stores and janitorial stores.....nothing.

Where are you finding the stuff? What kind of price?

Right now, I buy by the gallon from Joe.

Here are some other sources:
http://store.galladechem.com/monoethanolamine--technical-grade-5-gal-can-hazmat-p18473.aspx

http://www.sierrachemicalcompany.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&category_id=6&product_id=138&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

eldiabloz wrote:Here are some other sources:
http://store.galladechem.com/monoethanolamine--technical-grade-5-gal-can-hazmat-p18473.aspx

http://www.sierrachemicalcompany.com/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&category_id=6&product_id=138&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=2

Thanks...is that what Joe was using in his new S/O formulation that he was trying out?

I guess I need to call Joe on this one.