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| - Charmy "Power of Suds" is a Japanese dishwashing liquid manufactured by Lion Corporation and appears to be available only in Japan. The manufacturer indicates that it is not available in other countries. There are several types of Charmy available. Be sure to purchase one of the recommended types (see Versions below) as the others do not work well. It is used to good effect by Mr. Hisao Oono in his recipe. The bubbles made with this juice seem to vanish into a ghostless vapor. The Apple and Orange scents are known ot work well in Mr. Oono's formula. There is a Rose-scented version but it it not known whether it performs as well as the others. Charmy seems compatible with the same polymers as Dawn/Fairy. Edward Spiegel has found guar gum to be an excellent polymer for working with Charmy (see photos on this page). It is also compatible with PEO. The original "classic" recipe from Mr. Hisao Oono uses Japanese Laundry Starch. Edward Spiegel has noted that Charmy can be used in his standard guar-based recipe and has the ghostless vapor pops for which Charmy is known. Dawn Equivalence. Without pH-adjustment, Charmy is somewhat weaker than Dawn Pro, but with pH adjustment it becomes quite a bit more powerful than Dawn Pro. Without adjustment, about 1.25 to 1.5 as much Charmy is needed to achieve a similar film thickness (as evidenced by the color profile). If the bubble juice is adjusted to a pH in the mid 7's, Charmy is about twice as potent as Dawn Pro. However, pH-adjustment may be incompatible with the "classic" recipe based on Japanese Laundry Starch. Charmy and Dawn are compatible. Mixtures of Dawn-based and Charmy-based bubble juice have performed well. Viscosity. Charmy is quite a bit less viscous than Dawn Pro (which is quite a bit less viscous than Dawn Ultra). As measured by Edward's Syringe Test, the drain time for Charmy is about 6.5 times that of water while Dawn Pro's drain time is about 17 times that of water. ph Sensitivity. See below. Adjusting the pH of Charmy-based bubble juice significantly boosts Charmy's effectiveness -- allowing one to use a fraction of the amount you would normally need. However, this pH adjustment may not be compatible with Japanese PVA laundry starch. It is compatible when using guar gum as the polymer. Recipes. The "classic" recipe is from Mr. Hisao Oono. Edward is particularly fond of guar-based bubble juice using 1.5 grams Bob's Red Mill guar gum per liter of water and dilutions of 25:1 to 40:1 depending on the desired color profile and characteristics. Edward prefers about 33:1 (which is similar to ph-adjusted Dawn Pro mixes at 20:1) but sometimes uses 25:1 for increasing tube length while maintaining color saturation. Ghosts. Charmy is known for its ghost-free bubble juice that pops into a fine vapor. This is evident even with guar gum and baking powder. Japanese Laudry Starch is not required for this type of popping. Also, adding some Charmy to a Dawn (or Fairy) based mix will reduce ghosting. When temperatures are low, Charmy mixes that are normally "ghostless" may exhibit ghosting. At 45F, Charmy/Guar mixes that do not ghost at 60F exhibit ghosting. Tests of Charmy/PVA Starch have not yet been done at this temperature. Price. In Japan, the price is about 159 Yen (about $1.60 US).
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