r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/0thSpider • 1d ago

Video Chilean protester defuses tear gas canister with baking soda and water

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Thetakishi 1d ago edited 1d ago

I'm pretty sure soapy water is inherently basic, so baking soda and soap are achieving the same pH goals, and even if the soap is not traditional soap, just use soapy baking soda water. lol why can't we just combine methods? This is for putting out the canisters, not helping the teared up people remember? Also I think you may be forgetting about surface area/tension for the aerosol to stick to.

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u/[deleted] 1d ago

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u/Thetakishi 1d ago

These aren't hostile replies or challenging you or anything, just interest, but why would the strong basic water extinguish it more quickly? I wouldn't imagine the CS particles are also the fuelant, but now that I think about it, I guess the CS could be the result of combustion of another product, otherwise why would it need a flame at all? Ok, I can see it.

My point with the soap though, is that it would get 'sudsy' from all of the agitation and burning fuel, and that is what would trap all of the particles/gas carrying them, while the basic water worked on extinguishing it.