Is Isopropyl Alcohol Toxic? A Question From Mile High Cleaner

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

1. Introduced by Standard Oil in 1920 to remove water from gasoline. ISO is made from fossil fuels

2. This is printed on the label.

3. 8 agencies rate ISO as a special health Hazard.

4. Major contributor to air pollution

ISO is 2nd only to gasoline

6. Shaking toxic solvents has never been a sustainable way to clean anything.

7. Compared to regular cleaners that get 50 cleanings to a bottle, ISO sucks

8. If 26 Million clean with 5 ounces of ISO that is one million gallons released. That's just 6% of the over 435 million cannabis consumers so far

 

[Fenderbender]

Koooooyaaaaanisssssqatsiiiiiiii!
If you go birdseye view and extrapolate any activity everything starts to present itself as quite the problem as the volume of resources consumed and amount of waste product is staggering.

I suffer from this all the time.. walking through a supermarket can even be painful, you just look at a product and suddenly you see the whole logistics and processing behind it and you can blow out the view even more with details as at any stage of the process you can zoom into a piece of kit that has it's own resource and production process that's equally baffling... and then you go holy cow.. all that for an incredibly mediocre jar of sauce which only quality really is the shelf life they offer as anything nutritious or beneficial is processed out a long time ago.

 

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

Koooooyaaaaanisssssqatsiiiiiiii!
If you go birdseye view and extrapolate any activity everything starts to present itself as quite the problem as the volume of resources consumed and amount of waste product is staggering.

I suffer from this all the time.. walking through a supermarket can even be painful, you just look at a product and suddenly you see the whole logistics and processing behind it and you can blow out the view even more with details as at any stage of the process you can zoom into a piece of kit that has it's own resource and production process that's equally baffling... and then you go holy cow.. all that for an incredibly mediocre jar of sauce which only quality really is the shelf life they offer as anything nutritious or beneficial is processed out a long time ago.

I agree... We come up with many new ideas to solve a problem (either real, created or imagined) and forget to check what NEW problems the 'solution' creates, including environmental impact, increased use of resources or even if it is safe and useable and is actually an improvement. With a lot of products and items, it seems they push you to buy it but the following year you get to read about the Class action lawsuit because they didn't really fix a problem, they created one...
In this case, a real problem of dirty bongs and pipes was fixed 60 years ago with a home remedy of Isopropyl Alcohol and salt. We now have the knowledge to realize that is doing massive environmental damage because ISO is made from fossil fuels and is a toxic solvent. All the cleaners assume that shaking is the ONLY WAY to clean a bong, so we are left with a FLOOD of toxic chemicals by millions of consumers that are following the advice of a Hippie. I sure hope we are not deserving of the moniker 'stupid stoner', but looking at this with a critical birds eye view, it's shockingly bad.

 

[MotaMan420]

Use grain alcohol -- on a grander scale -- look at the U.S. at night all lit up -- now ponder how many friggin windmills it would take to keep those lights lit -- ALL NIGHT -- .. Imagine the DREAM of electric vehicles -- tell me how long it will take to install the infrastructure to maintain a recharging grid from coast to coast ??? -- and the amount of power to maintain the grid -- there's not enough windmills or solar panels and never will be..

The eco schmucks cannot answer these basic questions -- let alone the question -- of what do you do with the spent batteries from all those electric life savers??? -- the battery on a electric semi rig is 3200 lbs -- you cannot recycle them.

Tangents are nice

Happy Growing

MotaMan

 

[zigzagman1960]

A little salt and some 99.9 iso does the trick for me. No need for scrub magnets.

 

[Roy Growin]

Is Isopropyl Alcohol Toxic?​

No, it is harmless*
Perfectly OK for the environment**

* May contain false information
** Definitely contains false information

 

[TwelveCoffee]

Use it at work all day 99% that stuff packs a punch in the respirator if you put it on to fast after cleaning it…also very flammable made fire gloves one day…never throw gloves at TC

 

[Fenderbender]

Use grain alcohol -- on a grander scale -- look at the U.S. at night all lit up -- now ponder how many friggin windmills it would take to keep those lights lit -- ALL NIGHT -- .. Imagine the DREAM of electric vehicles -- tell me how long it will take to install the infrastructure to maintain a recharging grid from coast to coast ??? -- and the amount of power to maintain the grid -- there's not enough windmills or solar panels and never will be..

The eco schmucks cannot answer these basic questions -- let alone the question -- of what do you do with the spent batteries from all those electric life savers??? -- the battery on a electric semi rig is 3200 lbs -- you cannot recycle them.

Tangents are nice

Happy Growing

MotaMan

I'm not sure an electricity grid is such a challenge, since well we put it everywhere we go live.
I mean if you can drill meters down for oil, or even build gigantic platforms in the sea to drill for the sludge and build massive ships to trudge it around the globe, and build huge refineries to process it.. I mean that infrastructure didn't prop up in day.. and everyone is fine with that pretty crazy infrastructure and those guys dictating your life as that's what's been going on the socio-economic and geopolitical stage for the past 200 years. They have you hooked like a junkie on their product as people will trample each other and throw down for a few fumes of gas if there is none.
When it comes to this resource they also have no problems bringing the big guns out or destabilise entire nations... but sure lets all cling to that way of life shall we.

Also people never thought well we can't do this because the infrastructure isn't there.. as that's kinda what we do we build structure around any point of interest. And you don't switch from one thing to another, things get phased in and out or coexist as heck it's 2023 and if you want you can still buy vinyl albums or you can tap the music of your choice right out of the ether.

Also with ISO hmm shouldn't there be a measurable environmental spike the past 3 years? I mean it wasn't even available for a few months in 2020 and then it was on every corner and every shop entry.

 

[Fenderbender]

Oh also I'm wondering do people still light up a lot of bongs with herb?
Does using shatter muck up a bong? as I have no experience with that.
I use one to vape and that really takes a long time before any residue builds up.
And I also use distilled water in the bong which helps a lot.

 

[bluter]

The eco schmucks cannot answer these basic questions -- let alone the question -- of what do you do with the spent batteries from all those electric life savers??? -- the battery on a electric semi rig is 3200 lbs -- you cannot recycle them.

sure you can. a recycling plant is planned here. even more in ontario beside the new electric car plants. there's a demonstrated 97% recovery of materials, but i'd bet there's a toxic chemical trail to get there.

 

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

Use grain alcohol -- on a grander scale -- look at the U.S. at night all lit up -- now ponder how many friggin windmills it would take to keep those lights lit -- ALL NIGHT -- .. Imagine the DREAM of electric vehicles -- tell me how long it will take to install the infrastructure to maintain a recharging grid from coast to coast ??? -- and the amount of power to maintain the grid -- there's not enough windmills or solar panels and never will be..

The eco schmucks cannot answer these basic questions -- let alone the question -- of what do you do with the spent batteries from all those electric life savers??? -- the battery on a electric semi rig is 3200 lbs -- you cannot recycle them.

Tangents are nice

Happy Growing

MotaMan

So you think switching to another solvent that has the same issues is the answer????? Doing the same stuff with a SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT solvent changes nothing. As you can see from this chart from the EPA and the World Health organization, Ethyl Alcohol (grain alcohol) and ISO are both rated as VOC's which forms Ground Level Ozone which kills one million per year. ISO is considered a Major Contributor and cleaning your bong means YOU are a Major Contributor.

The problem is HOW WE ARE CLEANING. We use brushes and scrubbers for EVERYTHING except bongs and pipes. Shaking chemicals has NEVER been a way to clean.

 

[zigzagman1960]

The problem is HOW WE ARE CLEANING. We use brushes and scrubbers for EVERYTHING except bongs and pipes. Shaking chemicals has NEVER been a way to clean.

the only WHO I trust has members named Pete and roger

yes—shaking is how you do it. Salt and 99.9 iso. Pour it in shake it up just like bad medicine.

 

[zigzagman1960]

Isopropanol is dangerous to terrestrial and aquatic life in high concentrations. At low concentrations, isopropanol is quickly metabolized and causes minimal toxicity. Accordingly, Isopropanol is not expected to bioaccumulate.

I consider the above fact but not sure what this is suggesting— fear being used to sell this product?

 

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

Use grain alcohol -- on a grander scale -- look at the U.S. at night all lit up -- now ponder how many friggin windmills it would take to keep those lights lit -- ALL NIGHT -- .. Imagine the DREAM of electric vehicles -- tell me how long it will take to install the infrastructure to maintain a recharging grid from coast to coast ??? -- and the amount of power to maintain the grid -- there's not enough windmills or solar panels and never will be..

The eco schmucks cannot answer these basic questions -- let alone the question -- of what do you do with the spent batteries from all those electric life savers??? -- the battery on a electric semi rig is 3200 lbs -- you cannot recycle them.

Tangents are nice

Happy Growing

MotaMan

Grain alcohol is still shaking a solvent that has

the only WHO I trust has members named Pete and roger

yes—shaking is how you do it. Salt and 99.9 iso. Pour it in shake it up just like bad medicine.

If shaking is "how you do it", please name any other thing you "shake" to clean. Now please name one thing you do not CLEAN with scrubbers, hot water and the CORRECT detergent.

Cannabis has to 'fit' into the real world. If a hundred million people dump a few ounces of gasoline it damages the environment. if they all do it on one location it become an environmental disaster. ISO is made from Fossil Fuels and is more like to gasoline than grain alcohol...
Here is the NJ Dept of Health Hazardous Substance Fact sheet on ISO. this is just one of hundreds of pages of info on ISO.

 

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

I'm not sure an electricity grid is such a challenge, since well we put it everywhere we go live.
I mean if you can drill meters down for oil, or even build gigantic platforms in the sea to drill for the sludge and build massive ships to trudge it around the globe, and build huge refineries to process it.. I mean that infrastructure didn't prop up in day.. and everyone is fine with that pretty crazy infrastructure and those guys dictating your life as that's what's been going on the socio-economic and geopolitical stage for the past 200 years. They have you hooked like a junkie on their product as people will trample each other and throw down for a few fumes of gas if there is none.
When it comes to this resource they also have no problems bringing the big guns out or destabilise entire nations... but sure lets all cling to that way of life shall we.

Also people never thought well we can't do this because the infrastructure isn't there.. as that's kinda what we do we build structure around any point of interest. And you don't switch from one thing to another, things get phased in and out or coexist as heck it's 2023 and if you want you can still buy vinyl albums or you can tap the music of your choice right out of the ether.

Also with ISO hmm shouldn't there be a measurable environmental spike the past 3 years? I mean it wasn't even available for a few months in 2020 and then it was on every corner and every shop entry.

The current Environmental mess by fossil fuels IS being phased out for Electrical energy. Unfortunately, BOTH have issues (everything does when used by 7 billion people) but we already explored and exhausted the Fossil Fuel route, even though stoners continue to blithely dump it into the environment to clean a bong or pipe.
We are doing the electric route now because WE KNOW USING OIL is killing the planet. Even though Batteries will also ruin the planet, it is a little breathing room to try to make things better. And they ARE GETTING BETTER. It is hard to even find an old style light bulb because LED uses significantly less energy even though it still has toxic compounds. FORD says they will only make electric cars by 2035 even though this creates toxic issues as well, it is NOT the same toxic issues. So I agree that things get phased out with less than optimal choices but we are getting better. Most of use will never know if it will be enough because the ramifications of our current actions will continue long after anyone reading this is dust.
Using ISO is adding to the problem. ISO does not work 100% and takes way more time than cleaning the entire bathroom while releasing more, and worse, toxic chemicals than the VERY POTENT toilet bowl cleaner.

As far as the spike in ISO, who would track that? Not the EPA, They have way too much on their plate to track any chemical that is being mis-used for cleaning an illegal substance. The Manufacturer has no incentive to track it because they are making money. Tracking happens when they are wondering why sales are slow, not when sales are GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE! And certainly the oil companies do not want to know of any more environmental issues so they are 'slow playing' research because the major need for crud oil is being phased our by all car manufacturers within 15 years. They can easily drag their feet and go out of business long before the government catches on...
Within a few years, the MAJORITY of oil companies will go out of business as demand for Gasoline dwindles.

Anyone reading this please let me know if you agree or if you see something different.
Jim Berry,
Former Federal Contractor for 32 years.

 

[zigzagman1960]

The current Environmental mess by fossil fuels IS being phased out for Electrical energy. Unfortunately, BOTH have issues (everything does when used by 7 billion people) but we already explored and exhausted the Fossil Fuel route, even though stoners continue to blithely dump it into the environment to clean a bong or pipe.
We are doing the electric route now because WE KNOW USING OIL is killing the planet. Even though Batteries will also ruin the planet, it is a little breathing room to try to make things better. And they ARE GETTING BETTER. It is hard to even find an old style light bulb because LED uses significantly less energy even though it still has toxic compounds. FORD says they will only make electric cars by 2035 even though this creates toxic issues as well, it is NOT the same toxic issues. So I agree that things get phased out with less than optimal choices but we are getting better. Most of use will never know if it will be enough because the ramifications of our current actions will continue long after anyone reading this is dust.
Using ISO is adding to the problem. ISO does not work 100% and takes way more time than cleaning the entire bathroom while releasing more, and worse, toxic chemicals than the VERY POTENT toilet bowl cleaner.

As far as the spike in ISO, who would track that? Not the EPA, They have way too much on their plate to track any chemical that is being mis-used for cleaning an illegal substance. The Manufacturer has no incentive to track it because they are making money. Tracking happens when they are wondering why sales are slow, not when sales are GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE! And certainly the oil companies do not want to know of any more environmental issues so they are 'slow playing' research because the major need for crud oil is being phased our by all car manufacturers within 15 years. They can easily drag their feet and go out of business long before the government catches on...
Within a few years, the MAJORITY of oil companies will go out of business as demand for Gasoline dwindles.

Anyone reading this please let me know if you agree or if you see something different.
Jim Berry,
Former Federal Contractor for 32 years.

Throwing all the fear bullshit at people to sell your bong cleaner causes total loss of credibility. ”if you don’t clean your illegal paraphernalia with my snake oil you’re destroying the planet.“ Maybe you live in Idaho or Wyoming but calling weed an illegal substance let’s me know who’s side your on. Not sure if your product is going to be around long—maybe try getting a spot on shark tank to boost sales. It’d be a good commercial for you but I don’t think you’d get a shark to buy in.

my wife uses dawn dish soap, hot water and bottle brushes on the bong and it comes out spotless. I use isopropyl alcohol and salt and it comes out spotless.

 

[CaptainLucky]

The current Environmental mess by fossil fuels IS being phased out for Electrical energy. Unfortunately, BOTH have issues (everything does when used by 7 billion people) but we already explored and exhausted the Fossil Fuel route, even though stoners continue to blithely dump it into the environment to clean a bong or pipe.
We are doing the electric route now because WE KNOW USING OIL is killing the planet. Even though Batteries will also ruin the planet, it is a little breathing room to try to make things better. And they ARE GETTING BETTER. It is hard to even find an old style light bulb because LED uses significantly less energy even though it still has toxic compounds. FORD says they will only make electric cars by 2035 even though this creates toxic issues as well, it is NOT the same toxic issues. So I agree that things get phased out with less than optimal choices but we are getting better. Most of use will never know if it will be enough because the ramifications of our current actions will continue long after anyone reading this is dust.
Using ISO is adding to the problem. ISO does not work 100% and takes way more time than cleaning the entire bathroom while releasing more, and worse, toxic chemicals than the VERY POTENT toilet bowl cleaner.

As far as the spike in ISO, who would track that? Not the EPA, They have way too much on their plate to track any chemical that is being mis-used for cleaning an illegal substance. The Manufacturer has no incentive to track it because they are making money. Tracking happens when they are wondering why sales are slow, not when sales are GREATER THAN EVER BEFORE! And certainly the oil companies do not want to know of any more environmental issues so they are 'slow playing' research because the major need for crud oil is being phased our by all car manufacturers within 15 years. They can easily drag their feet and go out of business long before the government catches on...
Within a few years, the MAJORITY of oil companies will go out of business as demand for Gasoline dwindles.

Anyone reading this please let me know if you agree or if you see something different.
Jim Berry,
Former Federal Contractor for 32 years.

I can’t see oil companies going out of business, I think it’s going to be you take your electric car to the Shell recharging station or the BP charging station. CL

 

[zigzagman1960]

Acetone works great too, dry quick, leaves 0 residue.

 

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

Isopropanol is dangerous to terrestrial and aquatic life in high concentrations. At low concentrations, isopropanol is quickly metabolized and causes minimal toxicity. Accordingly, Isopropanol is not expected to bioaccumulate.

I consider the above fact but not sure what this is suggesting— fear being used to sell this product?

5.8% of the population uses Cannabis and it is illegal, that's 435 million people.
if 100 million clean with 4 ounces of ISO just one time is 3,215,000 GALLONS released.
As this VOC turns to vapor it mixes with the nitrogen in the air to become Ground Level Ozone which kills one million every year. ISO is considered a major contributor to GL Ozone.

Isopropanol is dangerous to terrestrial and aquatic life in high concentrations. At low concentrations, isopropanol is quickly metabolized and causes minimal toxicity. Accordingly, Isopropanol is not expected to bioaccumulate.

I consider the above fact but not sure what this is suggesting— fear being used to sell this product?

Most of my info is from government sources or 3rd parties with no interest in the outcome. There truly has not been enough research because that is up to the manufacturer and costs millions. They are already raking in the cash.
I wonder...
What is 'quickly metabolized' to an individual? Purdue University study says many can get a headache with as little as one whiff.
What is a 'high concentration' if a <1% solution is still "sanitizing"...for now?

ISO has about a 20 day "half-life" which is fairly short BUT, there are hundreds of millions of cannabis consumers that are shaking toxic solvents and then just dumping them into the sewer where, for now, they are killing off the 'good' bacteria that break down the waste. When it becomes legal is will be many more, all doing the same thing.

Technical Overview of Volatile Organic Compounds | US EPA

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are emitted as gases from certain solids or liquids. VOCs include a variety of chemicals, some of which may have short- and long-term adverse health effects.

www.epa.gov

Meanwhile, germs and bacteria, after repeated exposure, are figuring out how to survive ISO by creating thicker cell walls which means some day soon it will no longer be effective at killing things like Covid. this is the same effect as what happened to Penicillin. We used it so much, it is no longer effective. We came up with new strains like Amoxicillin.
Here is the full article on
The battle against super bugs

Healthcare Hand Washing: Alcohol Losing Battle Against Super Bacteria

You think I am 'fear mongering' but the truth is, this is something that made me cringe in fear because some day, ISO will not be effective.

That is not a prediction, that is Mother Natures defense mechanism or evolutionary survival of the fittest, and nature will balance this back out, one way or another.

Keep in mind that ISO is considered toxic BY the manufacturer in the few drops needed to sanitize the arm before a flu shot. Cleaning a bong is thousands of times the 'few drops' on a swab.

 

[Mile HIGH Cleaner]

Acetone works great too, dry quick, leaves 0 residue.

Same problems, different name...still a toxic solvent...

I will argue that Shaking is the hardest, least effective way to clean.

'Shaking and Waiting' is not a method of cleaning.

We clean everything by a combination of;
Chemical...usually dish detergent or other cleaner
Thermal...Hot Water
Mechanical...Scrubbing

We shake a Toxic Solvent...

The use of tools are a way of life and show up repeatedly in virtually any cleaning endeavor.
The kitchen, laundry and shower and sink, each have many scrubbing tools and multiple cleaners SPECIFICALLY PAIRED together. Tooth brush/paste, Toilet Brush/cleaner, Dish rag/detergent...

But ISO damages the plastic and metal of brushes/drains/counter tops/paint/viny flooring/wood finishes...

The truth is the chemical aspect is usually the LEAST IMPORTANT.

Example, cleaning a cooking pan.
Simply squirting in some Dawn will not achieve anything.
Similarly, a pan filled with hot water will never come clean by itself.
Even if you add the two together, nothing happens without scrubbing.

Scrubbing with the right tool is the ONLY one that will work by itself, so Tools are the most crucial of all but using all 3 together is the most effective.

If any one item is missing, the others must be increased significantly to achieve the same results. In this case, ISO is MUCH more potent, taking it way past cleaning, all the way to 'Dissolving', because it is a SOLVENT. This continues long past your last rinse.

ISO needs to be so potent because little salt crystals are a poor way to scrub anything and no heat to help.

The final method of cleaning is shaking it as hard as you can, as fast as you can for as long as you can...Repeatedly... for extended periods of time, and in the end it still is not consistently 100% clean.

The energy used to shake a bong is truly a form of exercise and the time it takes is a test of patience.

I know I am a little jaded since clean my piece in less than 2 minutes for pennies, with consistent results and zero toxins by using the right tools to clean. I enjoy a fresh clean hit that I can really taste and it is as easy as washing a dish.