This page provides known sources for some of the bubble juice ingredients not generally carried in supermarkets.
Ingredient | Online Sources | Local Stores | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
PolyOx | Teacher's Source $10.95 for 1/5 lb (91 grams) of PolyOx WSR301 + shipping (July 2014) | This PEO (or an equivalent version) is the active ingredient in J-lube; PolyOx is more cost effective because J-lube is only 25% PEO and 75% filler (sucrose). 91 grams of full-potency WSR301 makes over 1347 liters of bubbles juice! | |
J-Lube |
Jorgensen Labs $15.70/10oz + shipping (July 2014), Amazon |
Farm/Ranch or Vet supply stores | Most easily purchased online; used for livestock OB/GYN procedures |
Gravi_Goo | Steve Spangler Science $9.95/150g + shipping (July 2013) | (April 2012) it appears that contrary to earlier reports, Gravi-Goo is not PolyOx WSR301 (and may not even be a PEO); it can be quite effective, but it is an unknown polymer. | |
Glycerine | Health Food Stores, Walmart, Whole Foods | Typically cheaper to purchase online |
Website | Ingredients/Notes |
---|---|
Teacher's Source | PEO (PolyOx WSR301) and lots of other cool stuff. Search for "PolyOx". It may be described as a gel on the site, but you will receive WSR301 powder. They ship to Europe. While the shipping price may be high ($90 for shipping one pound of WSR301 to France). Keep in mind that the standard order (91 grams or 1/5 pound) will make over 360 gallons of bubble juice. One pound of WSR301 would make over 1800 gallons of bubble juice. |
Burman Industries | HPMC |
essentialwholesale.com | Ingredients for cosmetics products: Vegetable glycerine for about $15/gallon; Propylene Glycol for about $33/gallon |
Ingredients To Die For | Ingredients for cosmetics products:Citric acid; Sodium Citrate; Guar Gum; Xanthan Gum; and other ingredients that may be of interest |
lotioncrafter.com | Natrosol 250 HHR CS, a high molecular weight type of HEC, approximately $20/lb + $10 shipping. They also sell HPMC - Hercules Benecel MP 824, which is a K35M type. Viscosity 14,000-21,000 mPas at 2%. This is somewhat more viscous than Dow MethoCel K15M which is rated at 15,000 for mPas for a 2% solutions |
makingcosmetics.com | HEC (as of April 2011) is Natrosol 250 HR CS; other ingredients that may be of interest |
Roger George Rentals | Special effects supplies shop that has some ingredients: glycerine for $35/gallon; HPMC (labeled as MethoCellulose on their site); Propylene Glycol It has been reported that their "MethoCellulose" is Dow K15M Premium grade HPMC. |
The Herbarie | Carries both HPMC and HEC. 8 oz. (227 grams) can be purchased for less than $10 (plus shipping) (as of June 2010) and is enough to make over 200 galons of bubble juice. There may be a $30 minimum order from this site. While the Herbarie will not say which versions of HPMC and HEC they carry, the HEC seems to be Dow Cellosize QP-4400H or an equivalent (viscosity approximately 5000 mPa*s at 25C for a 2% solution). |
Website | Ingredients/Notes |
---|---|
Ebay | J-Lube; KY Jelly; possibly other polymers |
Mindsets | UK web site. The PolyOx listed here has been reported to be WSR301 |
https://boutique.socli.fr/la-boutique/adjuvants/methylcellulose | It is not clear whether this is a version of MethylCellulose useful for bubbling.
This link could not be verified. |
http://www.caelo.de/ |
Hydroxyethylcellulose (nominale Viskosität 9000 mPa s) NATROSOL® 250 HX Pharm (PZN: 03936908) Order number: 4482 (250 g) This company provides German pharmacies with drugs used to make medicinal products. Important: The pharmacies can charge up to 100% more at the purchase price, so ask the pharmacist if you can get it cheaper. |
http://messysupplies.com | They sell Natrosol 250HR as "gunge" here. |
Teachers Source | see above. Teacher's Source ships to Europe. Shipping cost varies by country. The cost of shipping 91 grams of PolyOx WSR301 PEO (enough for over 1300 liters of bubble juice) is about $25 to $35 dollars to France (for example) but about $60 to the UK. The PEO itself is only $11.
Keep in mind that despite the steep shipping cost, a little PolyOx WSR301 goes a LONG way. 91 grams of full-strength WSR301 can make about 400 gallons (almost 1500 liters) of bubble juice. |
http://www.sigmaaldrich.com | 1. HEC 2-Hydroxyethyl cellulose average Mv ~1,300,000 434981-1KG and
2. PEO Poly(ethylene oxide) average Mv ~5,000,000 Order# 189472-250G and Mv ~8,000,000 Order# 372838-250G Both products where tested in a mixture with PEO (PolyOx WSR301) from Teacher´s source and worked with Fairy Ultra. The only problem is that Sigma-Aldrich does not sell to private persons. EDITOR'S NOTE: This entry was added by a wiki visitor, but the prices on Sigma Aldrich are quite high, and so far we have not received any reports indicating that their PEO works any better than PolyOx WSR301 or J-Lube's both of which are usually considerably less expensive. If you have superior results with the Sigma-Aldrich products, please let us know. |