Sage Sips / TaoCraft Tarot

You wouldn’t expect a Tarot reader to be into science, but I am.

The two aren’t so mutually exclusive as you would think. We talk about exactly that in the “Test Tubes and Tarot Decks” episode of Menage A Tarot podcast from 2015. That episode along with Shrodinger’s famous feline inspired the blog post (and to some extent my alter-ego character) Zombie Cat.

Sticking with the cat theme, Kitten Whiskers is a series of posts where I go off topic and indulge in a little unpaid, I-got-squat-for-saying-this, spontaneous fangirling.

Today’s kitten whiskers post is very commercial, and frankly me gaming for free stuff (I suddenly feel like Markaplier asking for a Takis sponsorship) but there is something I’ve enjoyed a lot lately: my box of science.

https://giphy.com/embed/fqIBaMWI7m7O8

via GIPHY

That’s what I called my new Force of Nature appliance when it came.

When I was in high school, I did an independent study (foreshadowing for a future dissertation?) about passive solar heating. Since then, I’ve been convinced that the answer to climate and ecological issues is to break from our deeply ingrained utterly ubiquitous pattern of industrial era production and distribution of everything from toilet paper to electricity. Toilet paper I can’t help you with, except to encourage a switch to bamboo (I *heart* bamboo) The solution to sustainable electricity, as I see it, is distributed production.

It’s a collective effort thing. Together we are strong. Kune ni estas fortaj. We need a tribe to survive. No man is an island. I don’t have the resources or land to grow my own food much less bamboo for toilet paper. Instead of being dependent on outdated infrastructure we can band together, make things and stuff, and collectively through this.

Until we have solar panels and a small or vertical profile wind turbin (BOTH – when the one’s not active, the other often is) on every roof feeding into a large smart grid, I’ll settle for this one small proof of concept and feel very smug about it in the process: Force of Nature multipurpose cleaner.

Never expected to stan for a cleaner of all things. My homemaking style has always been more akin to a Rod Stewert concert than a Martha Stewert episode. In a nutshell, this device takes water, adds a little salt and vinegar, zaps it with electricity for 10 minutes to scramble the atoms and gives you a bottle full of properly diluted hypochlorous acid and sodium hydroxide.

What THAT means is this stuff is the shizznit and really does kill germs. The only draw backs are 1. you have to wipe it dry because it doesn’t contain alcohol or drying agents (as if you don’t wipe anyway after you have to rinse chemical cleaning agents) and 2. the molecular magic degrades, so you need make a fresh batch every 10 days.

I’ve stopped counting the days because I use it up fast enough that it doesn’t matter. To paraphrase that infamous Frank’s hot sauce commercial, I spray that stuff on everything.

As long as it is hasn’t been allowed to degrade, the solution is an effective disinfectant on hard surfaces including all of the bad-nasties on the EPA list N including viruses. As I understand it, this stuff will kill the ‘rona on your doorknobs, light switches and kitchen counters – you name it. But for goodness’ sake don’t use it in or on you, although it is safe to spritz on stuff that winds up in somebody’s mouth…like binkies, sippy cups and toothbrushes. It’s safe to use without rinsing in the kitchen.

Force of Nature solves its problem of shelf-stability with my high school epiphany – distributed production instead of production and distribution. Rather than it to sit around in a truck or store shelf, they made fast, easy and mistake-proof to make on your own. Instead of producing something to distribute, they’ve distributed the production and we all get a better product because of it.

To my mind, the comparison points are plastic use, efficacy, and overall carbon footprint. Over time, the plastic use is minimal. The capsules are recyclable wherever they take #5 plastics, the spray bottle that comes with the starter kit is reusable (or use your own.) Fuel use to for a one-time shipment the applieance and later batches of capsules is small compared to shipping all of the bottles of water-weight cleaners that you would otherwise use over the lifetime of the appliance. Consider, too, the environmental impact of producing and shipping the constituent chemicals in the first place in addition to the cost/impact of manufacturing the shelf-stable proprietary cleaners that we commonly use now.

Bottom line: If you figure in the costs of producing and shipping capsules and the initial cost of the production unit over its lifetime of use, then you have WAY more math than I’m willing to do. But I’m guessing the Force of Nature product is in the neighborhood of $1 per bottle of safe and effective and versatile solution. That buck-a-bottle at my house has replaced kitchen cleaner, window cleaner, to some extent carpet refresher plus added something that I almost never used before – spray disinfectant. I never used such products because of the chemicals. I don’t care what perfume they dumped in it, it SMELLED like chemical disinfectant and FELT like industrial waste. This is a happy bleach-like clean and fresh as spring air. It reminds me of an outdoor swimming pool in sunshine, which I consider a nice thing (in spite of my preference for cooler cloudy weather.) I almost never used lysol or similar sprays before – but did I mention I spray this stuff on everything?

That’s a little bit of an exaggeration, but you get the idea.

So if you like dollar store level prices and want to check out my new favorite box of science, I’d appreciate if you’d use the link below. It might get me a few free capsules, and like everyone, I’ve got germs to kill and odors to eliminate.

Thanks!

Force of Nature Clean

**Speaking of Kitten Whiskers and Zombie Cat, don’t forget that yes/no readings are $5 off until Halloween. No appointment needed. Order anytime on the home page.