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Washing Soda: Soda Ash Crystallised from Hot Water
Washing soda is sodium carbonate crystallised with ten parts of water. George Fownes's chemistry manual (1856) makes it from soda ash: dissolve it in hot water, filter, and let it cool slowly; large clear crystals form. They turn to white powder in dry air, so keep them closed.
The picture: sodium carbonate crystals grown on a slide, seen through crossed polarisers.
Beginner
A day with cooling
Instructions
1
1
Dissolve the soda ash
Dissolve the soda ash
Stir soda ash into hot water until no more dissolves. Fownes: the crystals dissolve in less than their own weight of boiling water.
Materials for this step:
Sodium Carbonate (soda ash)500 g
Water1 literTools needed:
Balance Scale
Glass Beaker
Hot Plate
Chemical Splash Goggles
Rubber Gloves2
2
Filter it hot
Filter it hot
Filter the hot solution to take out the insoluble dirt of the soda ash.
Tools needed:
Filter Paper
Glass Funnel - StemmedGlass BeakerChemical Splash GogglesRubber Gloves3
3
Cool slowly
Cool slowly
Pour it into a wide dish, cover it loosely and leave it to cool slowly. Large clear crystals grow.
Tools needed:
Evaporating Dish4
4
Drain and store closed
Drain and store closed
Pour off the liquor and drain the crystals. Store them in a closed jar: in dry air they lose water and crumble to white powder.
Tools needed:
Glass JarChemical Splash GogglesRubber Gloves5
5
Soda ash to crystals
Soda ash to crystals
Loading Jupyter Notebook...
6
6
Limits
Limits
The method is Fownes's; the quantities are ours. Washing soda is alkaline and irritates eyes and skin.
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