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5197 Oono Classic

72" top-string and the Classic Mr. Oono Charmy Recipe. Single-strand bottom.

5197 25 1bp

Charmy 'substitute' mix. Only 32 grams detergent for 800 grams water--compared to the usual 100 grams. Notice the coloration of the blue top, indicating a thicker film than the standard recipe's.

 

Today, I have just a quick update about some Charmy explorations done since I last checked in. Details will come in another blog post.

  1. Sodium citrate does not have the potentiating effect (at least with the Charmy/Guar recipe) that baking powder or baking soda + citric acid does. The pH of the solution with sodium citrate was 8.5 (which is the same as without sodium citrate when using my tap water).
  2. Citric acid seems to have the same potentiating effect in a Charmy/Guar juice as  that baking powder or baking soda + citric acid. I added small amounts of citric acid to a Charmy/Guar/Tap Water mix (25:1 water:Charmy) until the pH was 7.4 which was the same as the pH of the baking soda + citric acid mix. The film color looked the same as with the other potentiators. I did not test any other solutions as time was fleeting. So, I cannot compare the quality of the juice to the others.
  3. Reducing the amount of Charmy in Mr. Oono's recipe to achieve 25:1 water:detergent and adding baking powder resulted in a noticeably thicker film than with the Classic version of the recipe, and the substitute juice was more finicky. I need to do another trial using a bit more detergent. For this trial, I considered water:detergent ratio. But, the classic recipe is 20% PVA Laundry starch -- which is probably 90% (or more) water. For the next test, I will use more detergent and achieve 25:1 water+starch:Charmy ratio. While this substitute juice did not work great, it worked pretty well considering that it had less than 1/3 the detergent as the classic.
20130804 5193charmy guar citric acid25to1

Charmy/Guar/Citric Acid mix with 25:1 water:detergent ratio. 48" top-string and strong wind.

20130802 Charmy Guar CItrated 2

Charmy/Guar/Sodium Citrate at 25:1. 32" top-string. Notice the dominance of the green and red indicating the thick film of 'unpotentiated' Charmy at 25:1

 

I am quickly running out of Charmy with many trials that need to be done. FIngers-crossed that I will find a source -- or a detergent "mule" that can bring some Charmy back from Japan.