:?: Does anybody know where in Taipei I can find simple/generic chemicals for household use ?
I am quite into granma’s trick for house cleaning, but most of them use these generic chemical rather than the commercial formula. Things like pharmaceutical alcohol, cautic soda, acetone, etc.
In particular, I’d like to find some [color=brown]campher [/color](not campher oil, or artificial insect repellent, just pure campher, in cubes).
Thanks ! 
Hi Connie,
A friend found some ascetic acid, baking soda and washing soda at what she calls “Chemical Alley”. This is just a street where one can find lots of different wholesale chemical places. I believe it’s on the road behind behind the train station. Civil Blvd? Maybe someone else can verify.
I’m not familiar with any of the stuff you’ve mentioned… I’m just using baking soda, vinegar and alcohol for cleaning and I’m pretty new to this non-toxic cleaning.
there are a couple of family owned shops on a street that runs diagnally NE of ChangAn W. Road. I believe the street is called TianShui Rd. it’s near YenPing b[/b]. they have all sorts of chemicals. if you give them the formula and name in english or chinese, they will be able to find it.
there are also shops near by on ChangAn that sell flasks, dispenser’s, etc. that are handy and very inexpensive.
what do you use the camphor for? just curious.
good luck!
Camphor is an excellent insect repellent. Just put a little piece in a fabric pouch in your closet. Like you would do with lavender.
Also, keep some in a soap box in your bathroom, somewhere very humid where it might get the occasional drop of water : it dissolves very easily, turning into the perfect air freshener in summer.
You have that a lot in steam rooms and spas in Thailand, where it is called ‘kalaboon’.
Last, but not least, a tiny little piece of camphor in hot water makes the perfect inhalation for bad colds (just a tiny amount, and close your eyes, the vapours are quite strong !).
In Winter, you might find the smell a bit too fresh… Santal wood is much nicer then.
For acetone (used for time-delay fuses for bombs) you can destructively distill citric acid, if you are in a pinch.