Every deconstruction

Retail pack

£4.00500 millilitres

Raw active

Sodium hydroxide pearls 99% (caustic soda)1310-73-2

The bag is theatre. The gel is dilute sodium hydroxide. Caustic soda pearls at about 40 g/L make the same 4% attack on burnt fats. Corrosive — this is not a toy, and it is not a lemon-scented miracle.

Retail pack

£13.991 kg bottle

Raw active

Calcium chloride flakes (77–80% technical grade)10043-52-4

Repackaged de-icing and industrial desiccating salt marked up tenfold.

Retail pack

£11.991 kg tub

Raw active

Food / technical grade sodium bicarbonate144-55-8

Standard baking soda sold at a 1,200% retail markup under spa branding.

Retail pack

£42.0030 sachets (180 g total)

Raw active

DIY high-potency electrolyte raw stack7647-14-5 / 7447-40-7

Costs over £1.40 per sachet for about £0.06 worth of common mineral salts. Food supplement comparison, not medical advice.

Retail pack

£24.00100 m² box

Raw active

Agricultural soluble iron(II) sulphate heptahydrate7782-63-0

The moss-blackening punch is ferrous sulphate — the same agricultural iron used on bowling greens. The 4-in-1 box is mostly filler, NPK dust and a brand. Buy the salt.

Retail pack

£10.0045 tablets (22.5 g vitamin C)

Raw active

Ascorbic acid (vitamin C), food grade50-81-7

An effervescent sugar-and-flavour delivery system around ascorbic acid and B vitamins. Food-grade vitamin C powder is the same molecule. This is a supplement deconstruction, not medical advice.

Retail pack

£3.50750 millilitres

Raw active

Citric acid monohydrate (food grade)5949-29-1

Hard-water scale is calcium carbonate. Citric acid dissolves it. The trigger bottle is perfume and a nozzle; a bag of food-grade citric acid is the same attack on the kettle, the head and the pan.

Retail pack

£28.00500 ml jar (14-day supply)

Raw active

Dried organic Irish sea moss (DIY gel) / bladderwrack kelp stack9000-07-1

£28 every fortnight for 90% boiled water and seaweed gel that spoils in two weeks. Dry Irish moss hydrates into litres of the same gel. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£28.0060 gummies (30 × 3 g servings)

Raw active

Micronised creatine monohydrate (200 mesh)6020-87-7

A 30-day tub is often 3 g creatine per day in a sugar gummy, not the 5 g used in most sports-nutrition trials, at roughly 90p a serving. 1 kg of micronised powder is 200 × 5 g servings. Food supplement comparison, not medical advice.

Retail pack

£11.5059 millilitres

Raw active

Rosemary essential oil (Rosmarinus officinalis)8000-25-7

A small dropper of cheap carrier oils with a little rosemary. 25 drops of steam-distilled rosemary in 50 ml of sweet almond oil is about 2% essential oil — the same order of strength, without the 59 ml brand tax.

Retail pack

£18.0060 gummies (30 × 2 gummies)

Raw active

Biotin (vitamin B7) 1,000 µg tablets58-85-5

A month of gummies is a few milligrams of biotin in sugar. NHS-style NRV is 50 µg; many gummies dump 5,000–10,000 µg because it is cheap and water-soluble. A year of 1,000 µg tablets is the same vitamin without the sweet. Food supplement comparison, not minoxidil and not a medicine.

Retail pack

£34.005 litres

Raw active

Benzalkonium chloride (BAC 50)68424-85-1

A dilute quaternary ammonium biocide sold as a lifestyle patio product. The active is commodity BAC 50; the brand is paying for the trigger bottle and the television advert.

Retail pack

£48.0030 g jar (30-day supply)

Raw active

Standardised 50% fulvic acid shilajit extract + zinc & boron stack479-66-3

Unregulated resin jars often lack a standardised fulvic-acid assay and have a poor heavy-metal record. A third-party-tested extract capsule is the less romantic, more measurable option. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£4.9975 g tub

Raw active

Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA)133-32-4

A 75 g tub is 74.9 g of talc carrying 75 mg of IBA. That is about £67/kg for cosmetic powder. 0.5 g of pure IBA in 500 g of unscented talc is the same 0.1% dip.

Retail pack

£8.50500 millilitres

Raw active

Oxalic acid dihydrate6153-56-6

Oxalic acid is the classic rust and tannin bleach for masonry. HG bottles a dilute solution; a kilogram of crystals makes tens of litres of the same chemistry.

Retail pack

£13.501 litre

Raw active

Soluble Ascophyllum nodosum kelp powder84775-78-0

A watered-down cold-pressed kelp extract. Soluble Ascophyllum nodosum powder is the same crop, sold by the kilogram to hydroponic growers, at a fraction of the bottled price.

Retail pack

£72.0030-serving pouch

Raw active

Magnesium bisglycinate + free-form L-theanine + tart cherry extract14783-68-7 / 3081-61-6

Over £2.40 a cup for cheap, gut-irritating magnesium citrate and micro-dosed botanicals. Bisglycinate plus free-form L-theanine is the same night-time stack without the cocoa tax. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£24.995 litres

Raw active

Benzalkonium chloride (BAC 50)68424-85-1

Another BAC patio biocide in a different coloured bottle. Same quaternary ammonium as Wet & Forget; same bulk drum of BAC 50. You are paying for the brand, not a different molecule.

Retail pack

£24.501 litre

Raw active

HEDP 60% phosphonate concentrate2809-21-4

A 15% phosphonate in a 1 litre bottle. Industrial 60% HEDP is the same sequestering chemistry; 50 ml of 60% in 10,000 litres is a typical maintenance dose.

Retail pack

£5.501 litre

Raw active

Soluble tomato fertiliser 4-4-8 (or 6-5-12)66455-26-3

A dilute high-potash bottle with a pinch of kelp. Soluble tomato feed around 4-4-8 (or 6-5-12) at 2 g/L is the same three numbers without the green dye. This is not Miracle-Gro 20-20-20 — tomatoes want potassium.

Retail pack

£16.0060 gummies (30 × 2 gummies)

Raw active

Fish oil 1,000 mg capsules (EPA/DHA)8016-13-5

Gummy omega-3 is a few hundred milligrams of oil in a lot of sugar, often well below a 1,000 mg fish-oil capsule. The bulk equivalent is a bottle of 1,000 mg EPA/DHA capsules, not another sweet. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£6.001 litre

Raw active

Soluble NPK 20-20-20 (hydroponic grade)66455-26-3

A dilute bottle of soluble NPK. Hydroponic 20-20-20 (or similar) powder is the same three numbers, un-dyed and un-marketed, at a gram per litre instead of a capful of coloured water.

Retail pack

£24.9960 gummies (30 × ~2.5 g servings)

Raw active

Hydrolysed collagen peptides (bovine or marine)92113-31-0

A month of gummies is often ~75 g of collagen in a lot of sugar. 400 g of unflavoured peptides is the same hydrolysed protein at a few pence a serving. Food supplement comparison, not a cosmetic medicine.

Retail pack

£12.95100 millilitres

Raw active

Magnesium chloride hexahydrate flakes7791-18-6

‘Magnesium oil’ is a saturated solution of magnesium chloride, not a lipid. Flakes from the same Dead Sea / Zechstein geology dissolve in water for pennies. Not a medicine; evidence for transdermal magnesium is mixed.

Retail pack

£34.0060 capsules (300 mg each)

Raw active

Berberine HCl 500 mg capsules633-65-8

Social-media ‘natural Ozempic’ branding on ordinary berberine HCl. A 60-capsule 300 mg tub is a short, pricey course next to 120 × 500 mg capsules. Not a medicine and not a substitute for prescribed drugs.

Retail pack

£38.9960 gummies (30 servings)

Raw active

Targeted women’s flora probiotic (50 billion CFU) + bromelain50-81-7 / 9001-00-7

High-sugar gummies with low CFU counts, sold at a prestige markup. Delayed-release capsules give bacteria a better chance of surviving the stomach. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine or a treatment.

Retail pack

£16.501 kg tub

Raw active

Technical cyanuric acid granules108-80-5

100% cyanuric acid in a 1 kg spa tub. The same granules sell in 5 kg lots at a fraction of the per-kilo price. Dose to a test kit (typically 30–50 ppm CYA), not a marketing scoop.

Retail pack

£1.80200 millilitres

Raw active

Hydrogen peroxide 12% (40-volume cream peroxide / technical)7722-84-1

3% is 10-volume peroxide. Hair-developer 12% (40-volume) diluted 1:3 is the same 3% oxidiser in litres, not 200 ml pharmacy bottles. Do not drink it. Do not use 12% on skin undiluted.

Retail pack

£8.99500 millilitres

Raw active

Phosphoric acid 81% (food / technical) diluted to ~25%7664-38-2

This is not oxalic (that is HG masonry rust) and it is not hydrochloric (Mortar Clen). Phosphoric acid etches rust to iron phosphate. Technical 81% phosphoric diluted to about 25% is the same attack without the gel tax. Keep it off limestone.

Retail pack

£2.20750 millilitres

Raw active

Household thin bleach (sodium hypochlorite ~5%)7681-52-9

Sodium hypochlorite plus a thickener so it clings to ceramic. Thin household bleach is the same oxidiser without the brand, the dye and the TV campaign. Never mix it with acids or ammonia.

Retail pack

£12.991 kg tub

Raw active

Aluminium sulphate (alum) crystals 17%10043-01-3

Floc is alum. Aluminium sulphate is a water-works coagulant sold in 5–25 kg sacks. A 1 kg spa tub is a labelled scoop from that sack. Not a sand-filter magic potion, and not polyquat. Vacuum to waste after it drops.

Retail pack

£11.501 kg bottle

Raw active

Dense soda ash (sodium carbonate 99%)497-19-8

pH Plus is dense soda ash — 99% sodium carbonate, CAS 497-19-8. Pool-shop packaging turns a £2.70/kg commodity into an £11.50/kg ritual.

Retail pack

£38.0020 kg bag

Raw active

Sulphate of potash (0-0-50)7778-80-5

The moss dies because of high potash, not a magic organic patent. Sulphate of potash (0-0-50) supplies the same K2O without iron staining; a cheap Bacillus or compost-tea inoculant does the digestion step. A 20 kg 5-5-20 bag is mostly filler next to 10 kg of 50% K2O.

Retail pack

£32.45180 g (30 servings)

Raw active

Spirulina–chlorella powder + soluble inulin + enzyme stack9005-80-5

Seven proprietary blends hide sub-clinical doses of spirulina, chlorella and enzymes behind cheap chicory root and maltodextrin. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£3.5075 millilitres (3 × 25 ml sachets)

Raw active

Lactic acid 80% (food / technical)79-33-4

This is not citric acid and it is not sulfamic. The sachet is 70–90% lactic acid — the same food-industry acid sold in 1 litre jerry cans. One 25 ml pour descale a kettle; three sachets is a tiny pour from that jerry.

Retail pack

£16.505 litres

Raw active

Technical hydrochloric acid 32–36%7647-01-0

Retail brick acid is technical hydrochloric acid cut to about 9%. 5 litres of 36% acid plus 15 litres of water is 20 litres of the same working strength.

Retail pack

£9.9515 millilitres (about 100 sprays)

Raw active

Cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) 4,000 IU capsules67-97-0

The spray is cholecalciferol in oil with mint. A year’s 4,000 IU capsules is the same vitamin D without the oral-spray story. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine — follow NHS guidance on dose.

Retail pack

£18.991 kg tub

Raw active

Potassium monopersulphate triple salt (MPS)70693-62-8

‘Non-chlorine shock’ is Oxone-type MPS — the same triple salt used in bulk oxidisers. A 1 kg spa tub is a markup on a 5 kg bucket. It oxidises organics; it is not a sanitiser on its own.

Retail pack

£14.50500 g tub

Raw active

Sulfamic acid 99% (sulphamic acid crystals)5329-14-6

Sulfamic acid is the plumber’s descaler: a solid, less fuming than hydrochloric, stronger on scale than citric. The 500 g Fernox tub is a labelled bag of the same 99% crystals sold in 1 kg jars for a kettle-and-combi DIY stack.

Retail pack

£38.0030 servings (180 g bag)

Raw active

8-in-1 dual-extracted mushroom extract (30%+ beta-glucans)CAS n/a

Heavily marketed low-ratio mushroom mycelium powder diluted with standard instant coffee. Food supplement, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£11.992.5 litres

Raw active

Spirit vinegar 25% (acetic acid)64-19-7

The ‘organic patio cleaner’ is about 18% acetic acid with a drop of sugar-derived surfactant. Dilute 1:3 and you have ~4.5% vinegar. Spirit vinegar at 25% is the same molecule in a 5 litre jerry.

Retail pack

£2.00750 ml trigger

Raw active

Dairy-grade sodium hypochlorite 14% (diluted to 3.5%)7681-52-9

Highly diluted bleach sold with a plastic spray trigger. Diluting bulk hypochlorite costs pennies.

Retail pack

£2.29850 g tub

Raw active

Precipitated calcium carbonate (chalk powder) + liquid castile soap471-34-1

Simple fine chalk (calcium carbonate) suspended in vegetable soap and pink dye.

Retail pack

£9.001 kg tub

Raw active

Sodium percarbonate (food/technical grade)15630-89-4

Sodium percarbonate is a solid hydrogen-peroxide adduct. The pink tub is perfume, dye and a scoop. Technical-grade percarbonate is the same oxidiser used in bulk laundries.

Retail pack

£22.0060 gummies (30 × 2 gummies)

Raw active

Ashwagandha root extract 600 mg capsules (standardised / KSM-66 style)90147-43-6

The gummy is a under-dosed withanolide extract in sugar. Standardised root extract (often 5% withanolides, or a named KSM-66 capsule) is the same plant without the sweet. Food supplement comparison, not a medicine, not a substitute for prescribed anxiety treatment.

Retail pack

£16.502.5 kg tub

Raw active

Sodium thiosulphate pentahydrate (chlorine reducer)7772-98-7

The spa-shop ‘chlorine reducer’ is photographer’s hypo: sodium thiosulphate. A 2.5 kg tub is a small bag of the 5 kg photo/pool salt. Dose from a test kit. Too much and you will have no sanitiser left.

Retail pack

£24.995 litres

Raw active

Sodium hypochlorite 14–15% (industrial / dairy grade)7681-52-9

Standard commercial bleach solution sold at five times agricultural merchant prices.

Retail pack

£36.005 litres

Raw active

Water-based silane/siloxane masonry impregnator (50%)2943-75-1

A dilute siloxane in a 5 litre tin. Trade water-based silane/siloxane concentrates at 50% dilute 1+9 to about 5% working sealer — same job, more litres, less solvent perfume.

Retail pack

£7.501.5 kg box

Raw active

Agricultural ammonium sulphate 21% N7783-20-2

21% nitrogen as ammonium sulphate. The cardboard box is a portioned sack of a fertiliser merchants sell in 25 kg lots. It greens grass. It also acidifies — do not pile it on chalk-hating stone paths.

Retail pack

£2.49500 millilitres

Raw active

Household ammonia 9–10% (ammonium hydroxide)1336-21-6

UK Windolene is no longer ammonia. Kleen Off still is: a ~9–10% ammonium hydroxide solution in a 500 ml bottle. A 5 litre jerry of 10% household ammonia is the same molecule. Never mix it with bleach. The catch is the fumes, not a secret surfactant.

Retail pack

£9.504 kg

Raw active

Agricultural NPK 7-7-7 compound fertiliser66455-26-3

7-7-7 is a commodity NPK blend. The cardboard box is a portioned sack of agricultural compound fertiliser. Buy it by the 25 kg bag from a merchant, not 4 kg at a time from a garden centre.

Retail pack

£3.00500 millilitres

Raw active

Isopropyl alcohol 99% (IPA) diluted to ~70%67-63-0

WHO-style sanitiser is 70–80% alcohol plus a drop of glycerin. The branded gel is that mix with a pump. 99% isopropyl alcohol diluted 7:3 with water is the same working strength in litres, not 500 ml pumps. Flammable — not a drink, not a medicine.

Retail pack

£34.002.5 kg tub

Raw active

Calcium hypochlorite granules 65–70%7778-54-3

This is not TCCA and it is not bottle bleach. Cal-hypo is the same oxidiser sold to commercial pools in 5–10 kg kegs. A 2.5 kg spa tub is a small pour from that keg.

Retail pack

£6.501.5 kg box

Raw active

Magnesium sulphate heptahydrate (Epsom salts)10034-99-8

The garden-centre box is agricultural Epsom salts with a picture of a tomato. MgSO4·7H2O is a commodity desiccant and bath salt. Buy it by the 5 kg bag, not 1.5 kg at a time. This is not BetterYou magnesium oil (that is chloride).

Retail pack

£9.991.5 kg

Raw active

Sodium bisulphate (dry acid)7681-38-1

pH Minus is dry acid — sodium bisulphate. Pool retail is a small tub; chemical suppliers sell it in 5 kg lots for a third of the per-kilo price.

Retail pack

£24.001 kg tub

Raw active

BCDMH bromine tablets 20 g16079-88-2

Spa bromine tablets are BCDMH. The 1 kg tub is the same 20 g pucks sold in 5 kg tubs to holiday-park plant rooms. You still need a floater and a test kit.

Retail pack

£14.99500 millilitres

Raw active

Horticultural potassium soft soap57-13-6 / 61790-44-1

Dilute foliar urea plus a potassium fatty-acid soap that smothers soft-bodied insects. A 500 ml bottle at 10 ml/L makes about 50 litres; the same working spray from bulk soap and urea is pence per litre.

Retail pack

£42.005 kg

Raw active

TCCA 90% chlorine tablets (200 g)87-90-1

The tablet is 90% TCCA — the same stabilised chlorine used in bulk 200 g pucks. ‘Multifunction’ is a pinch of clarifier and a lot of packaging. Buy TCCA, dose from an SDS, and keep cyanuric acid in range.

Retail pack

£6.9980 g (4 × 20 g sachets)

Raw active

Fe-EDDHA 6% chelated iron (plus a pinch of Mg/Mn if you want the full tonic)16455-61-1

This is not ferrous sulphate (that is Evergreen moss killer) and it will not blacken a pale patio the same way. EDDHA/EDTA iron stays available on chalky soil. Four 20 g sachets are a tiny bag of the 6% chelate sold in 250 g tubs to nurseries.

Retail pack

£7.49800 g tub

Raw active

Ferric phosphate slug bait (~1% FePO4)10045-86-0

Metaldehyde is gone. What remains is ~1% ferric phosphate in a cereal pellet. The 800 g tub is a small bag of the same bait sold in 2–5 kg buckets to allotmenteers. You are paying for the child-resistant lid.

Retail pack

£5.991.5 kg box

Raw active

Potassium nitrate 13-0-46 (nitrate of potash)7757-79-1

This is not Tomorite (a dilute 4-3-8 bottle) and it is not 20-20-20. Potassium nitrate is 13-0-46: nitrogen plus potash in one salt. The garden-centre 1.5 kg box is agricultural KNO3 with a tomato on the front. Buy it in 5 kg.