Household Chemistry

    I am not talking about the chemistry of metal polish or of chemistry that you can accomplish with materials from your refrigerator. I am talking about chemistry that can be done at home, as opposed to in a school or professional lab, on a conservative budget and the assumption that you (like most people) can't just look up "Chemicals" in your local Yellow Pages and start ordering 5 minutes later.

    If you have read any "Home Junior Chemistry Fun"-type books from the 1960s or earlier, you realize that times were much different back then. Books would regularly instruct you to visit the corner drugstore to obtain chemicals such as nitric acid, phosphorus, or mercury. Many factors have changed since 1950. Stricter laws about consumer safety, a lawsuit-happy culture, the rise of clandestine drug labs, and fears of violence from political extremists have all made it far more difficult to obtain chemicals today than it was 50 years ago. And if you've browsed through a catalog of reagents, online or off, you've come to realize that even if the companies would sell to you, you would go through money very quickly. As of 2002, chemistry is perhaps the most difficult of the sciences to adopt as a hobby. Modern books of home chemistry experiments reflect these changes in the culture as well, and seem afraid to perform experiments that involve any hazard whatsoever. So you get to safely, thrillingly mix baking soda and vinegar and do chromatography of non-toxic water-based inks.

    All hope is not yet lost, however. There are still enough materials available in a staggering variety of places to provide the home experimenter with a wide variety of chemicals. Much lab equipment can be adapted from common items or assembled without too much difficulty. And, as a last resort, it is much easier to buy lab equipment outright than it is to buy chemicals.

General Principles: Obtaining Chemicals

    If you learn to read product labels on a regular basis it is amazing what you can find sitting on the shelves of ordinary retail stores. Good sources of chemicals tend to be drug stores, health food stores, automotive stores or departments, agricultural and garden supplies, painting materials, sporting goods, hardware stores, and the cleaning aisle of grocery stores. There are considerable variations between stores and regions in what will be stocked. For example, you may find an embarrassment of riches at the local agricultural supply center if you live in a rural area, but the gardening materials available in ordinary chain stores (like Bi-Mart or Fred Meyer) are usually disappointing. Places oriented toward home gardening tend to carry few or no pure chemicals; they will instead sell mostly-useless (for our purposes) blends like "Rose Fertilizer" and "Lawn Fertilizer with Iron." Nurseries, large agricultural centers, and retail outlets located in or near farming communities will yield better materials, though they often come in inconveniently large quantities. Sadly, the Internet is little help here. You might be able to find a local source via net searches, but I have found no sellers of pure chemical fertilizers in manageable quantities online (well, at least when not from U.S. companies). Check the Yellow Pages, make some calls, and for goodness' sake don't jump straight for the oxidizers or they'll think you're a mad bomber.

    This brings me to another point. We live in a society that is fairly suspicious of chemicals and of people who would want them. Large cities tend to have more of a drug problem and more suspicion. Even rural stores will likely be suspicious if an unaccompanied youth wants to buy (for example) a bunch of nitrate fertilizers. In many regions of the United States and the rest of the world, clandestine drug labs synthesize club drugs (like Ecstasy), LSD (rare), and especially amphetamines/methamphetamines. Many chemicals used in their labs are ones you'll want to use in yours. But you don't want to have to go to more trouble than necessary to get there. I have sometimes been asked why I am buying certain products (ones which can be used in drug labs). You can be straightforward or come up with a cover story. The first time I bought hydrochloric acid I said I needed it for cleaning masonry (one of its accepted uses). Later, I decided that if people asked I was just going to be straightforward: chemistry is my hobby and I'm stocking my lab. Either way, cover story or unvarnished truth, do your best to show you're an upstanding citizen who deserves to purchase all those solvents and acids without harassment. Don't act evasive if someone wants to know why you want a product. Don't try to avoid eye contact or refuse to answer. This goes especially for large chemical shopping trips: stand up straight, look happy (well adjusted happy, not mad scientist happy), wear clothes that aren't terminally ratty or adorned with beer logos/marijuana leaves - exercise common sense and try to look relatively intelligent and harmless. Things will also go easier if you go with another person or persons who look harmless. Bring along a sister, parent, or female friend on your shopping expeditions (if you are female, you will probably have an easier time - sexism is helpful for once). It's also good if you can get some non-chemical items to throw in the basket. One night at the grocery store I got hydrogen peroxide, denatured alcohol, hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid, and ammonia, but I looked fairly non-suspicious because I had also done the week's grocery shopping simultaneously.

    One thing that will help you enormously in your chemistry quests is to have the support of your parents. The Internet can supply many things that you may not be lucky enough to find locally. There are even a handful of chemical dealers that will sell to individuals. But before you can take advantage of these things, you will generally need a credit card and may need to prove you're 21 or older. A parent can do this - if he or she is on your side. And if your parents aren't on your side, you will be fighting an uphill battle with or without online stores. The funny smells and noises will tip them off eventually, so it's better that you convince your parents of the essential goodness of your hobby before you ruin that first pair of pants or fight that first fire.
Many materials that you will obtain from retail sources are pure enough to be put right to work in a home lab. Others may be too impure for good results, or have unwanted additives. It is sometimes workable to purify these materials after purchase if you have a particular need, but this will not be covered in this first article. Materials that are not available at all through retail outlets, or not available in sufficient purity/strength, may need to be synthesized from precursors that one can obtain.

Chemicals from Retail Sources

The following materials can be used as-is. Whenever I refer to a photographer's chemical, it is available at The Photographer's Formulary (look at the bottom of the page for chemicals). The chemical in question may be available from a local photo supply company as well; check your local Yellow Pages and make some calls. However, with the rise of digital photography, it is becoming increasingly hard to find pure darkroom chemicals in an average town. Photo chemicals are relatively expensive, but are a good source for otherwise hard to obtain items. Whenever I refer to a glaze or pottery material, the chemical in question is available at The Clay Art Center . This site has an exceptionally good selection of raw materials. Local ceramic art suppliers are likely to have a more limited selection, but you may still want to search locally to avoid shipping costs. On the bright side, pottery glaze chemicals are fairly inexpensive. You may want to browse both of these sites yourself, since they each offer dozens of chemicals and I am not going to reproduce their stocks in their entirety here. Many, if not all, of the chemicals that I suggest you find at the drugstore are actually prepared (at least in my region) by Humco , which has its own online store. Be aware that the drugstore-grade chemicals are quite expensive proportional to quantity, but also quite pure.

Acetaminophen generic Tylenol, grocery store/drugstore
Acetylsalicylic acid - aspirin, grocery store/drugstore (may require purification from binders and fillers for some purposes)
Acetic acid, dilute available as vinegar at grocery stores. Buy the cheapest white vinegar you can find; you don't want the flavorful organic traces of the more costly brands.
Acetic acid, glacial (concentrated) photo chemical
Acetone available as a solvent in paint stores/aisles and as an art supply.
Aluminum, foil - pretty obvious, at the grocery store. Be aware that most foil will not be pure aluminum but will contain small amounts of other elements such as silicon and iron.
Aluminum, powder - available as a filler for certain mixtures used with fiberglass; found at fiberglass suppliers (you may want to look online). The powder may come coated with some waxes or oils; these can generally be removed with cautious heating in an oven (BEWARE: aluminum powder is a flammable solid that burns with great heat once ignited) or rinsing with acetone.
Ammonium bifluoride, solution - hardware stores, as toilet bowl cleaner/rust stain remover
Ammonium hydroxide, dilute this is clear household ammonia. Beware, you don't want perfumed, colored, cloudy, or sudsy ammonia. Before buying, pick up the bottle and shake it. If it forms suds, you don't want it. I found plain, clear ammonium hydroxide at the local Thriftway as "Western Family Clear Ammonia."
Ammonium hydroxide, concentrated you can purchase a far stronger ammonia solution as a blueprint supply; search online (I've never seen a local blueprint supply store). This is not as concentrated as ammonia can get in water, but it is quite strong.
Ammonium nitrate available as prills at larger agricultural centers, in large sacks. You probably don't want to buy so much. Besides which the salespeople may be suspicious, since ammonium nitrate is easily converted to a blasting-grade explosive. More manageable amounts of ammonium nitrate (at much higher unit prices) can be found inside of instant chemical cold packs found in pharmacies/health aid aisles. Carefully cut open the outer plastic bag without puncturing the water bladder within, and store the pellets in an airtight container, since it is quite hygroscopic (absorbs moisture from the air).
Ammonium persulfate used to etch printed circuit boards; electronics store (catering to professionals; not Circuit City) or online
Ammonium phosphate available as a fertilizer, from agricultural/garden centers. I have actually seen this in chain stores too. Of course, you're once again stuck with a large container.
Ammonium sulfate another fertilizer that may not be too difficult to find.
Borax see sodium borate
Boric acid available from drugstore; I found mine at Bi-Mart.
Calcium chloride may be sold as a granular de-icing mixture at hardware stores; also sold as moisture absorbant in smaller containers.
Calcium carbonate chalk, marble, limestone - find these and you've found calcium carbonate.
Calcium hydroxide hardware store, garden supply center; may be called "lime," "hydrated lime," "slaked lime."
Calcium hypochlorite "shock treatment" chlorinating agent for pools. The purity varies considerably according to brand (examine the label). The purest materials may be hard to find outside of a dedicated pool/spa center.
Calcium nitrate a fertilizer - again, one that you're not likely to find at the local Target.
Calcium phosphate fertilizer
Calcium sulfate zounds, another fertilizer
Carbon, bulk charcoal. Get activated charcoal (expensive; drug stores) or natural lump charcoal (found near charcoal briquettes). Do not get charcoal briquettes. They are full of grit and binding compounds.
Carbon, rods welding supply shop or the inside of non-alkaline dry cell batteries (increasingly hard to find these nowadays)
Carbon dioxide, solid "dry ice," useful for low-temperature condensations and (rarely) as a chemical; often found at party supply outlets. I get mine from the nearest Baskin Robbins.
Camphor drugstore
Dextrose drugstore, health food store, even (some) well-stocked grocery stores
Diammonium phosphate - nutrient for wine fermentation. I found mine in the brewing/wine section of the local Thrifway. Hooray for the Northwest, land of DIY alcohol!
Copper sulfate root killer, available at hardware/general stores, usually in the plumbing section; also at some pharmacies.
Citric acid I found mine in the drugstore section of the local Thriftway. But it was expensive - $9.00 for 113 grams! I have since found that citric acid is sold in conjunction with home soap making (search online) for far less. It is also a photo chemical and used in brewing. Some grocery stores may stock it (one alternate name is "sour salt.")
Corn starch baking aisle at grocery store
Diammonium phosphate nutrient for wine fermentation. I found mine in the brewing/winemaking section of the local Thrifway. Hooray for the Northwest, land of DIY alcohol!
Dichloromethane, is found in chemical paint strippers (not the newer, less-toxic ones); it is generally mixed with another chemical or even multiple other chemicals. For some purposes it may be used as-is. For others it will need purification (not covered here). Look in paint store/aisle or hardware store and read the labels on the cans of paint remover.
Ethanol most famous of all alcohols. The stuff people like to drink. You can purchase denatured alcohol as a solvent and fuel in paint stores/aisles, and this is mainly ethanol, but such alcohol also contains a significant percentage of methanol, which may interfere in some reactions. 95% pure ethanol (the remainder is water) can be purchased at liquor stores under a variety of names; the most famous is probably Everclear. You will, of course, need the cooperation of someone 21 or older, and it is pretty expensive due to heavy taxes. It would also be a good idea to explain beforehand to parents why you need this.
Ferric (iron) chloride etchant for printed circuit boards; good electronics store or online (not Circuit City); I've seen it at Fry's Electronics.
Glycerin drugstore
Hexamethylenetetramine, solid fuel tables for portable stoves, barbecues, and campfires; found in sporting goods stores/aisles.
Hexamine see hexamethylenetetramine
Hydrochloric acid sold in paint stores/aisles, hardware stores, pool centers, agricultural centers, as "muriatic acid." As sold it is usually quite concentrated and will emit fumes of hydrogen chloride so it's not a great idea to use it indoors.
Hydrofluoric acid, dilute sold in grocery stores (cleaning aisle) and some hardware stores in brown plastic bottles as Whink rust stain remover. It is quite low concentration as sold; nonetheless, make sure you really do heed the safety warnings on the bottle.
Hydrogen peroxide, dilute grocery stores and drugstores
Hydrogen peroxide, less dilute sold in hardware stores, paint stores as part of "2 part wood bleach" kits or solutions. This hydrogen peroxide is generally between 30% and 40% concentration, as opposed to the 3% antiseptic solution from the drugstore. Thus it is not "concentrated," but it is far more potent than your garden-variety peroxide. Caution is definitely advised. You may be forced to buy 2 bottles of solution together in a kit when you really only want the peroxide bottle. The other bottle usually contains a solution of sodium hydroxide, sodium silicate, or a mixture of the two. Locally, at Portland Paint and Supply, I have found that "Daly's" brand wood bleaching solutions are sold unbundled, so I can just buy as much peroxide as I want without wasting money on the other solution. Solutions of 30% concentration, of very high purity (and no stabilizers! ) can be ordered from a variety of places online. It seems to be used as a sort of home remedy for everything under the sun, so you might check health food stores also. Solutions in this approximate strength range (not as good as wood bleach, but close) can also be found at pool/spa centers. Salon centers sell concentrations between 6% and 12% for bleaching hair, but it is weaker than all of the above sources and fairly expensive too.
Iodine, tincture you know as well as I do that this is found in a variety of drugstores or pharmacy areas. Can be purified to yield solid iodine or used as-is for some experiments. The related "Betadine," which comes in larger containers, might be substituted for some purposes. Very large containers of iodine tincture may be available at agricultural supply centers for animal use, but you risk suspicion, since this has recently been a preferred iodine source for drug labs.
Iron oxide pottery supply
Iron sulfate pottery supply, some agricultural centers
Isopropyl alcohol grocery store, drugstore; many places stock 99% purity now, so get it in preference to 70% or 91%.
Lithium carbonate - pottery glaze material
Lithium hypochlorite - rare chlorination chemical; likely impossible to find outside of a dedicated pool/spa center or online retailer.
Lead easily found as balls and wire in sporting goods store/department
Lead oxide pottery/ceramics; may be sold as "red lead" or "lead red."
Magnesium carbonate drugstore, perhaps some sporting goods stores
Magnesium sulfate "Epsom Salt(s)," often found at grocery store or drugstore; pottery supply; photo chemical; may also be sold as fertilizer.
Manganese dioxide pottery supply, fresh dry cell batteries (they need to be carefully disassembled and the black material removed).
Methanol this is the simplest alcohol of them all. Found as automotive gas-line antifreeze and water remover ("Heet" or similar), also available as photo chemical. If you just need a little bit and don't mind it being highly diluted with ethanol, denatured alcohol works.
Methylene chloride see dichloromethane
Nitrogenous matter, organic once in a while books (especially older ones) may call for or reference "nitrogenous organic matter." Basically, this means anything that came from living creatures that has a considerable amount of nitrogen (usually indicates proteins) in it. Blood meal, made from dried animal blood, generally fits the bill. It is available as a fertilizer at many garden/agricultural centers (including ordinary chain stores).
Oxalic acid available as fairly pure crystals in the form of wood bleach powder; found in hardware stores and paint stores/aisles; photo chemical.
Potassium bromide photo supply; for some reason this is much cheaper than the sodium salt.
Potassium carbonate also known as pearl ash, or potash; may be found in some pool/spa pH raising products; used in pottery/ceramics; photo chemical; clean hardwood ashes contain a considerable amount (but for most purposes would want purification).
Potassium chloride found as a sodium-free alternative to salt in materials for softening hard water (found at supermarket, hardware store); beware that it comes in big sacks. May also be found in big sacks as fertilizer. Found in more convenient sizes (and greater unit price) as salt substitute in grocery stores; check label to make sure there is no sodium contained; also photo chemical.
Potassium dichromate pottery, photo supply
Potassium hydroxide, solution the main (only?) ingredient in some drain openers; check the label to be sure it's not sodium-based or an acid opener; found at grocery stores, hardware stores.
Potassium iodide photo chemical, also sold (generally as pills, sometimes pure) as an emergency supply to help prevent the body from absorbing radioactive iodine in case of a nuclear disaster (look at stores, online or off, catering to survival gear).
Potassium nitrate found as fertilizer in large quantities, also as stump remover (found at garden centers) (this is my favorite compromise between price, size, and quality: $3.75 for a 5 pound box with some impurities); found at some drugstores (good purity, also expensive); may raise suspicions due to popularity of making pyrotechnics/smokebombs/black powder). Sold as a ceramic glaze component.
Potassium monopersulfate pool/spa non-chlorine shock treatment
Potassium permanganate sold for manually recharging water iron filters; I found mine at Sears in the plumbing section. I have checked around though, and not all Sears stores have it. So if a local Sears doesn't have it, order it from Sears' web site, or obtain it as a photo chemical (more expensive, though neither is exactly cheap). I believe that it was once found in drugstores, but I have never found it there. This may be another eye-raising chemical, since it can be used for fireworks/explosives and drugs.
Potassium phosphate fertilizer
Potassium sulfate fertilizer
Saltpeter see potassium nitrate
Silver nitrate photo supply or pottery; this is a very expensive chemical, so expensive that's almost worth buying some bullion silver and dissolving it in nitric acid yourself (pure silver is less than $6.00 an ounce and this chemical is more than $20.00/ounce).
Sodium bicarbonate "baking soda," grocery stores
Sodium bisulfate pH lowering chemical (solid) for pools
Sodium borate available as "laundry booster" for washing clothes; also used as flux for torch welding and ceramics
Sodium bromide sold in small packets for initial bromination of spas; also a photo chemical. Either way it's not cheap.
Sodium carbonate "washing soda" used to aid washing of clothes (grocery store, cleaning aisle); also sold as pH raising chemical for pools.
Sodium chloride ordinary table salt; don't get the iodized variety; you may want to recrystallize the salt to purify it of anti-caking agents (or try kosher salt if you can find it).
Sodium hydroxide grocery store or hardware store, sold as Red Devil Lye; small pellets in plastic bottle.
Sodium hypochlorite, solution liquid bleach, sold at grocery stores, or "liquid chlorine" (more concentrated) sold for chlorinating pools; both contain a good deal of sodium hydroxide although the bottle won't list it.
Sucrose this is ordinary white sugar
Sulfur may be available at drugstores as "flowers of sulfur"; sold for agricultural/garden use as dusting sulfur. The dusting sulfur may have up to 10% non-sulfur materials in it.
Sulfuric acid, concentrated when I first discovered this source I practically did a little jig because sulfuric acid is such a commonly used chemical, yet hard to obtain (or so I thought). There are a number of "professional strength" drain opener liquids that contain sulfuric acid. They are not generally found in grocery stores, but should be in any decent hardware store with the plumbing things. Some brands are more concentrated than others, and some contain dyes and extra additives to protect your pipes. I have been pleased with "Rooto" brand; it seems to be concentrated acid with minimal additives. Other brands that are supposedly good include "Crystal Power," "Instant Power," and "Liquid Fire." All of these are easily recognizable because they come in a plastic bottle enclosed in a heavy clear plastic sack. The concentration of these acids is good (not azeotropic, but greater than 90%) but they may contain substantial impurities, because they are made with waste industrial acid (or so I have heard). Oh, and they really do open up drains like a charm.
Sulfuric acid, dilute sulfuric acid of approximately 30% strength is available as replacement battery electrolyte for lead/acid cells. It is found at automotive stores. Acid of 48% strength is available as a photo chemical. Per unit of acid, these are both more expensive than the drain opener, but should also be higher purity (especially the photographic). I have seen 10% sold as pH reducer for pools, but it's hardly worth buying at that concentration.
Tartaric acid I have seen this sold as a wine making supply
Toluene sold as solvent in paint store/department
Trichloroethylene Sold as Sunnyside Carbo-Sol, available at paint stores; may also be sold under other brand names.
Trisodium phosphate hardware store, cleaning aisle of grocery store. TSP is harder to find nowadays because of marine pollution concerns, so check the label to make sure it's not a similarly-named substitute.
Turpentine paint store/aisle, crafts/hobbies; the turpentine that I have smells deliciously of evergreens, but I understand that there are some varieties which smell foul. The natural stuff is harder to find than synthetic substitutes.
Xylene sold as solvent in paint store/department

Chemicals from Dedicated Suppliers

    In any reasonably sized community one can turn to the Yellow Pages under "Chemicals" and come up with a variety of suppliers. If you wish to make purchases from any of these suppliers you should call first and find out what policy they have with regard to selling individuals chemicals. Many may flatly refuse to sell chemicals to individuals. Others are more reasonable. For example, Portland's Nurnberg Scientific will sell any chemicals not restricted by the government to anyone age 21 or older who can provide photo I.D. But you shouldn't get your hopes up too high for your particular region without prior research (see introduction for the reasons why).

    Should you not find a local source, there are at least a handful of chemical suppliers which will provide chemicals to individuals. Pyrotek is probably one of the best bets for a high school student. They will sell chemicals to practically anyone who provides payment, and they accept PayPal for some items.. They are rather oriented (as the name implies) toward chemicals with applications to pyrotechnics, but also sell lab acids, solvents, and glassware. Firefox has a different selection of chemicals, again strongly oriented toward pyrotechnics. They are far more stringent about monitoring who they are selling what to. Iowa Pyro Supply has another good selection of mainly pyrotechnic-oriented chemicals and corresponding stringent monitoring. Skylighter is probably the granddaddy of pyro chemical suppliers. As with the previous two, they will be paying attention to what you order to make sure you're not going to just make bombs or crates of M-80s. Antec claims to sell chemicals of any kind to any person, in any quantity. They have an extensive catalog online (currently without prices) and claim to be able to order chemicals not in the catalog if you make an inquiry. It sounds almost too good to be true but I will be placing an order with them soon to test this hypothesis. The Al-Chymist has a complete line of lab supplies, including chemicals, and will sell to individuals. They have a chemical catalog online with prices.

    In general, you should expect to pay more for chemicals from dedicated companies than for materials obtained as consumer products. Prices will vary widely depending on the supplier, the particular chemical, the grade you obtain it in, and the quantity purchased. Regardless of the grade, it will be expensive to obtain many chemicals online because shipping will include a hazardous material charge. This charge will apply to any flammable, unusually poisonous, corrosive, oxidizing, or explosive chemicals you order. For small orders, the hazardous material charge can be nearly as much as the cost of the chemicals themselves. This is an excellent reason to consolidate your orders of hazardous materials into one shipment, or (best) find a local dealer that you can just drive to. You should usually strive to obtain the lowest grade chemical a supplier sells, for the sake of your bank account. The following chart is taken from http://www.macbicnj.com/chemicals.htm

Grades of purity listed have been generally adapted to indicate the degree of quality and their primary uses.

General Principles: Equipping the Lab

I have two words for you: thrift store. It's a lot of fun to browse their aisles and see what you might adapt for home lab use. The equipment you get will be less expensive than anywhere else. This means you can use and abuse it more freely than equipment you paid top dollar for. Garage sales can also be excellent sources, provided you're willing to spend the time searching. There are some things you may not be able to find at these sources, such as glass and plastic tubing, glass rods, and lab clamps. You may have to search the phone book, or online to get these. Things such as tubing may also be found at agricultural centers, pet stores, sporting goods suppliers, and arts and crafts stores. If you have to go to a specialty dealer to get lab equipment, remember that it's usually a lot easier to buy than chemicals. Also pay a visit to the books section of the store, or even to a dedicated used book store. Especially near universities, one can find a variety of useful chemistry books for pennies on the dollar. I have paid $4.00 for a hardback physics book that was originally $115.00 and $3.00 apiece for some thick organic chemistry books. Older books on doing science experiments at home will inspire and instruct you when it comes to making apparatus. Keep a special eye out for books on lab techniques, if you have not done much hands-on chemistry before. If the thrift stores and used book stores yield slim pickings, visit the library or shop online. If you can find a technical book store (such as the excellent Powell's Technical, located in Portland), you will have really hit the jackpot.

Equipping the Lab: Some Specifics

    A proper home lab will have, at minimum, tools for measuring liquids and solids and a heat source or sources. It is very difficult to do anything reproducibly or properly if you cannot measure the compounds with which you work. Hence, you will want a balance. It can be electronic or mechanical, though electronic is more convenient. The personal specifications I considered a must when selecting my balance were a capacity of at least 100 grams and a resolution of 0.1 gram. You are not likely to find such an item among kitchen accessories. I ordered mine online, but local stores catering to drug paraphernalia seem to sell reasonably accurate balances also. The accuracy and precision of the balance you select is more important than its absolute capacity, since home experimenters don't generally deal with large quantities of material. You should choose a balance based upon what you can afford and what sort of accuracy you think you can live with.

    For the measurement of liquids you have a variety of options. Syringes from the vet or pharmacy come in a variety of capacities and offer fine control over the transfer of liquids. They may be damaged by solvents, however. I have seen glass and plastic graduated cylinders used for measuring photo chemicals. In fact, my graduated cylinders come from a large box of darkroom equipment that I acquired at a garage sale. Ordinary kitchen measuring cups, if they have metric markings, can also be used for measuring liquids, and these are the easiest to find at thrift stores.

    For a heat source you have a variety of choices. Flame sources are pretty much requisite if you want to achieve high temperatures. I have two laboratory burners, one large and one small, and a propane tank with an adapted hose to supply them with fuel. I obtained the burners through an uncle who religiously visits garage sales. It's not too likely you will find used equipment locally, though it never hurts to look. A good alternative is a propane torch and/or camping stove. Some of these torches/stoves have available accessories that enable you to hook them up to large propane pots, so you aren't always buying and throwing away small cylinders. If you need to achieve very high temperatures, there are a variety of methods that I'll briefly touch on. You can build a small electric arc furnace. This is covered in a variety of books and on the web; I won't rehash the instructions here. You can use a hotter torch, like oxy-acetylene or oxygen/MAPP gas. You can build a furnace burning coal, coke, or charcoal and forced air. Again, search online or visit a library to find further instruction. If you are in need of an inexpensive, tame flame heat source, buy or build an alcohol lamp. This is similar to an oil lamp, but generally smaller, and burns denatured alcohol. For finer temperature control, a hotplate is very handy. Lab hotplates may include a magnetic stirrer and generally have fine temperature control. They also seem quite expensive when new. There are a variety of hotplates sold for cooking. These will be cheaper. They may also have inferior temperature control (for example, just "Low," "Medium," "High.") Either way, a hotplate is essential when you're heating flammable liquids or need to maintain a low, constant heat for a long period of time (as when evaporating solutions). Hotplates are also more generally welcome indoors than torches.

    You will want a number of small containers to hold substances. I have found small resealable plastic bags to work well. For carrying out reactions, it is handy to have small plastic and glass containers such as spice bottles on hand. Just collect such containers from neighbors before they're recycled. Mason jars are handy for holding larger quantities of liquids. Check thrift and grocery stores. Thrift and grocery stores will also yield a number of dishes made of borosilicate glass, such as Pyrex. Such glass is better able to take the stress of temperature changes. Ordinary glass may crack or shatter if exposed to rapid temperature changes. I have found a number of small stainless steel cups and dishes at local thrift stores. These are handy for carrying out some high-temperature reactions.

    A mortar and pestle is handy for grinding materials that you may obtain as coarse crystals or lumps. One can be obtained wherever people have a need for grinding herbs and spices, such as kitchen supply places or health food stores (or, of course, online). Glass is considered superior, followed by porcelain. Marble is probably the last choice, since it is softer and will be attacked by acidic substances. Certainly don't get a metallic mortar and pestle, since it will corrode and contaminate what you grind.

    If you don't want to buy filter paper from a lab supply outfit, there are a number of alternatives. Ordinary paper towels can accomplish quite a bit. So can coffee filters (double them up for finer filtering). For slow-filtering substances you may want to try cotton cloth (look for appropriate items at the thrift store).

    Metal tongs are handy for handling hot or hazardous vessels. Tweezers can be useful too. Find both at a thrift store. While you're there, also grab a variety of plastic funnels and a pair of heavy scissors.

Lab Safety

    You already own the most versatile, amazing, and difficult-to-repair piece of lab equipment ever created: the human body. I have been doing home chemistry, mostly unsupervised, since the age of 7, and I have never suffered an accident worse than breaking a piece of equipment. I also had a friend in high school who became interested in chemistry around the 8th grade and by the 10th had lost his dominant hand in an explosion. Safety in chemical exploration is not just luck. It comes from careful attention to instructions, proper use of safety equipment, and preparations beforehand for mishaps. Doing chemistry at home is almost certainly more dangerous than doing the corresponding activities in a school setting. In a school lab, there is a fume hood, wash station, teacher, and other students about should disaster befall you. In a home lab, there is rarely a wash station, the great outdoors is usually your fume hood, and even if people are around while you're experimenting, they're probably not specifically trained to deal with lab emergencies. I say these things not to be discouraging but to remind you that maturity and care are necessary to enjoy chemistry at home. I am not going to (generally) repeat generic safety warnings of the kind you'll find in any lab manual, such as "don't add water to concentrated acids" or "wrap glass tubing in a towel before snapping it." Explore the web or a library for the basics.

    Knowledge of the substances with which you work is important. Each chemical you work with has, somewhere, an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet). This document is a valuable reference for general properties of the compound in question and especially for safety information. Chemicals that you purchase as consumer products don't come (generally) with an MSDS, so you'll need to search for one online. Don't initially search for the product name but for the main component(s), such as "sodium carbonate" for the pool pH raiser you just bought. You can then try searching for an MSDS for the specific product name. Such a sheet will generally have more detailed information on the composition of the product but may be less thorough than MSDS sheets from a dedicated chemical vendor.

    Take into consideration the conditions under which you are using a chemical as well as its basic properties. For example, cold, concentrated sulfuric acid, if spilled on the skin, should be immediately removed and the skin flushed with copious cold water, but damage isn't likely. Concentrated sulfuric acid heated to 90 degrees will instantly char wood, and I shudder to think what it would do to me. Consider that sulfuric acid can be heated to 300 degrees without boiling, and realize that you don't ever want to do that unless you really need to. Or take hydrogen peroxide. The 3% variety sold at drug stores is mild enough that we apply it to open wounds. But a 35% concentration will bleach your skin paper white and sting like the dickens as it does so.

    Familiarize yourself with general emergency procedures for thermal and chemical burns, since these are serious and common types of laboratory accidents. The two types may be mingled if you (for example) spill a hot solution. You may also wish to research emergency treatment and specifics for different types of poisoning. Chemical accidents of all sorts will occur much more easily if you store chemicals in unlabeled/unflagged containers. Aspirin bottles make great containers but for goodness' sake remove the old label and put on a proper one when you use it to hold a chemical.

    Carry out experiments that evolve gases, vapors, or fumes in a well ventilated outdoor area. There are few gases that are good for humans to breathe. Additionally, vapors/gases may stink and be flammable as well as pose a direct threat to your health. If you know that especially noxious gases will be evolved, such as chlorine or hydrogen sulfide, please take your neighbors into consideration before beginning. If people are living nearby, minimize quantities, design your apparatus to scrub/absorb excess gases, and/or simply put the experiment off until you can do it under a hood or away from neighbors. Also, if working with particularly hazardous gases like chlorine or hydrogen sulfide (it's quite poisonous as well as smelling bad), try to work upwind of the apparatus on a slightly breezy day.

    It's good policy to wear goggles whenever you're handling materials hazardous to the eyes. Eyes are delicate enough that this pretty much means "any material." If you are working with materials hazardous to the skin, such as concentrated acids, wear heavy synthetic gloves and a face shield. You should try to find gloves that go as far up your arm as possible, and that fit well. Latex gloves are not suitable. The face shield should be clear plastic, and should not be used as a substitute for goggles (since it is possible that liquid could splash around the guards). Both items can be found at hardware or welding stores.

    Speaking of welding stores, they carry heavy, insulated leather gloves that are specifically designed to encounter intense heat for short periods of time. You can comfortably pick up and carry around items at boiling temperature, and even briefly pick up red-hot materials in an emergency. They, along with tongs, are valuable when working with high-temperature materials. Don't wear your regular synthetic gloves when working with very hot chemicals, since they offer no protection against intense heat and may melt or ignite.

    To limit damage to your clothing (and possibly body) it is a good idea to invest in some thrift-store clothes to wear either over or in place of your regular clothing. Certain acids and solvents may cause fabric to disintegrate even if they don't damage your skin, and it's disconcerting to have your pants fall apart a week after you worked in the lab. I would suggest all-cotton clothing. I just happen to like cotton, for one thing. For another, cotton will soak up substances like sulfuric acid and visibly indicate you've spilled, while some synthetics may just let it seep through. Cotton won't melt and stick if it is ever ignited. Don't wear baggy clothes or leave long hair unrestrained while working.

    Whenever you are venturing into the unknown, or conducting a reaction known to be vigorous, start small. If a reaction is vigorous enough to produce dangerous temperatures, small quantities will maximize the rate of heat dissipation. If the vigor is known beforehand, the reaction vessel can be placed in a cooling bath of ice water. If a reaction produces dangerous products - and you may not know this ahead of time - using small amounts will minimize the immediate hazard and the later problem of waste disposal. Some chemicals are very poisonous or explosive, and even a gram of them presents a real hazard. However, with the exception of some gases, it is unlikely that you would produce these by accident.

    Also consider what could go wrong, rather than what you expect to happen. You might expect a liquid to boil smoothly within a test tube, but instead it bumps and hurls hot liquid across the room. This is why test tubes are not pointed at people when being heated. You might expect that a fine, wet metal powder can be dried out on your hotplate - but then it evolves hydrogen gas and ignites. You might be trying to make ammonia water indoors - but misjudge the connections on the apparatus and gas yourself. It is hard to anticipate the unexpected, so come up with worse-case scenarios and be prepared for them.

    When your lab adventures have ended for the day, you may have wastes to dispose of. It is an especially bad idea to flush wastes down the drain if you have a septic tank. The organisms in the tank rarely appreciate toxic and corrosive gifts. If you are hooked up to a sewer system, many wastes can be flushed down the toilet, though some you won't if you want to tread lightly on the environment. Hazards to the environment that you might hesitate to flush include solvents and heavy metal compounds. Save them for a household hazardous waste collection day. The toilet has a more direct connection to the sewer than a sink, and there's less potential for material to linger in the pipes. I have found that I don't need to scrub the toilet if I experiment with acids often enough.

Techniques for the Home Lab

    There are a few techniques and tricks that apply especially to the home lab.

    For example, sometimes you may wish to separate soluble from insoluble material in a liquid. If the insoluble portion is a fine powder or precipitate, it may be difficult to separate by filtering with with the materials available in a home lab. If it is the impurity, wait (may take several hours) for the insoluble portion to settle, then carefully decant or siphon off the clear liquid and discard the small amount of cloudy liquid and insoluble material. If the insoluble portion is the desired material, wait as before for it to settle at the bottom. Carefully remove the clear waste liquid to as great an extent as is possible without discarding the insoluble material. Then add more of your chosen solven to the vessel and wait again for the solid to settle at the bottom. Once more decant the clear liquid. By repetition you can remove any remaining soluble material to an arbitrary degree, so that there is little soluble material left in the solvent after your final decantation. Now the solvent can be evaporated and the solid used. This only works if the solid really is insoluble or nearly so in the solvent used.

    If you receive chemicals (such as fertilizers) with significant amounts of insoluble impurities, dissolving, filtering, and evaporating will remove most or all of the insoluble undesirables. If the impurity is soluble in water, you may be able to remove it by recrystalization. For example, a warm, concentrated solution of potassium nitrate fertilizer yields pure crystals of potassium nitrate as it is cooled. The crystals can then be separated from the liquid, washed with a small amount of ice water, dried, possibly ground, and stored. They have been purified.

    Many chemicals are said to be hygroscopic. This means that they easily absorb moisture from the air. As chemicals absorb moisture they can lose desirable properties and will throw off weight-based calculations. This is especially of concern in a damp climate like Oregon's. When using highly hygroscopic chemicals, keep the container open for a minimum amount of time, and weigh the substance soon after removing it from the container. Many solids can simply be heated to remove moisture (temperature varies according to substance) and stored in an airtight container while still warm. Some solvents can be freed of water by repeatedly filtering them through magnesium sulfate that has been strongly heated to remove moisture from it. Small amounts of water can be removed from chemicals by placing a dish of the substance next to an open container of concentrated sulfuric acid in a sealed plastic tub or similar vessel. Sulfuric acid has a very strong affinity for water and will absorb moisture as it evaporates from the other chemical. The acid can later be regenerated by heating it to boiling (this is quite hazardous). Be careful when placing materials in the drying chamber that the acid and chemical do not come into contact and the chamber is not disturbed, since sulfuric acid reacts with a wide variety of substances. Put the acid in a narrow-necked jar or flask with plenty of headspace to prevent spillage. The acid will grow in volume as it absorbs water. This technique can be used for drying substances that strong heat would affect adversely.