# This "safe HCl" is a scam, right? \[Update - Not scam. See responses from manufacturer at posts 88 and 93\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2023, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723 "2023-06-18T14:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/61 "2023-06-19T20:17:31Z")
Be careful you don’t end up like Barney Fife with the “mange curing” skin cream. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/62 "2023-06-19T20:35:22Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Not dangerous at all, although I wouldn’t drink it. My father was given dilute HCL to drink when he was having some sort of digestive problem back around 1960. It doesn’t appear to be considered much of a hazard at low enough concentrations. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/63 "2023-06-19T20:41:37Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > It doesn’t appear to be considered much of a hazard at low enough concentrations. Stomach acid _is_ HCl. We’ve all reverse-drank it at some time or another. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/64 "2023-06-19T20:48:49Z")
> [@mixdenny](#): > > I don’t know how sulfuric and hydrochloric acids compare for skin damage. In my college chem class, I was working alongside a classmate under a fume hood, and somehow he flipped a droplet of 18M sulfuric acid so that it landed on my arm. I still have that scar. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/65 "2023-06-19T20:58:24Z")
Yeah, sulfuric and nitric are both significantly nastier than hydrochloric. Sulfuric is probably better known as “battery acid”; I don’t know if ordinary household users had any reason to have nitric. Of course, hydrofluoric is much nastier than any of them, despite being only weakly acidic. ---
**Author:** ![Norse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a9adbd/32.png) [@Norse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Norse)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/66 "2023-06-19T21:03:47Z")
Well, concentrated sulfuric is extremely hydrophilic and will literally suck water out of any organic compound leaving carbon. Check YouTube for H2SO4 + sugar. Add some hydrogen peroxide, and you have a very interesting cocktail. Concentrated hydrochloric is no problem getting on your skin. Rinse it off fairly quickly, and you’ll be fine. Concentrated sulfuric is a little more iffy, but on thick skin you stil have plenty of time to rinse it off before it becomes a problem. Nitric, OTOH, or even worse, hydrofluoric… I stay as far away from those as I can. Particularly hydrofluoric, that stuff is nasty. The summer after my HS graduation, I worked in a factory. They had online flue gas analyses, but the gas had to be dried before it was fed into the analyzer. They dried the gas by bubbling it through concentrated sulfuric, and one of my tasks was to change the acid. I got the stuff on my fingers more than once, and my work clothes fared much worse than my fingers did… ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/67 "2023-06-19T21:05:59Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Of course, hydrofluoric is much nastier than any of them, despite being only weakly acidic. ⁢ And, in many dialects, only one phoneme different than hydrochloric acid. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/68 "2023-06-19T22:58:28Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I think they are the same but taken with different focal length lenses, and a slightly different angle. And the “before” image has barnacles and weed on it. You have to admire an acid that is smart enough to dissolve a barnacle shell you don’t want but leave the seashell you do want intact. That acid might be safe, but it’s much smarter than it is safe. 😉 > [@running\_coach](#): > > According to ICANN, it’s for both. Many domain registrars sell a service to anonymize your domain hosting. Mostly so spammers won’t use the ICANN database as a mailing list for every scam there is. The registrar puts themselves out there to ICANN as the registration contact(s) for your domain, and meanwhile if they do get legitimate domain-related contacts they can pass them to your real (private) contact info. > [@TriPolar](#): > > Perhaps just coincidence but that is the color of a 31.45% muriatic acid after using it to remove galvanizing coating from metal, which is primarily zinc. Could they simply be selling ‘previously owned’ acid? Yowza. Shades of the Chinese selling industrial waste as real products. See > **[2008 Chinese milk scandal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_Chinese_milk_scandal)** > > The 2008 Chinese milk scandal was a significant food safety incident in China. The scandal involved Sanlu Group's milk and infant formula along with other food materials and components being adulterated with the chemical melamine, which resulted in kidney stones and other kidney damage in infants. The chemical was used to increase the nitrogen content of diluted milk, giving it the appearance of higher protein content in order to pass quality control testing. 300,000 affected children were ide... for an example. > [@mixdenny](#): > > Back in my yout I tried tanning some muskrat hides using an old recipe. It called for “vitriol” and after some research I determined it was most likely sulfuric acid. … The damn hides shrunk to half size. So I had some 1/4" thick leather that was slimy. Mmm, mm. But at least you also had some dead muskrats. That’s gotta be of some benefit. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 19, 2023, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/69 "2023-06-19T23:52:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > You have to admire an acid that is smart enough to dissolve a barnacle shell you don’t want but leave the seashell you do want intact. That acid might be safe, but it’s much smarter than it is safe. From the site: “For difficult-to-clean shells, purchase muriatic acid, tongs, _ **a wire brush, a metal pick** _, and a glass container.” and " 1. If the shell _still has growths_ or large white calcium buildup on it, softly scrub with a wire brush _ **or use a metal pick** _. I use the small picks found inside dental kits and they work well." I assume you missed this. Maybe a bit too quick to imply a normal seemingly perfectly honest hobbyist is lying? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/70 "2023-06-20T00:21:12Z")
The only significant information on the MSDS is that this is re-labelled Enviro-Syn HCR-7000-WL, a product from Fluid Energy Group. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/71 "2023-06-20T00:27:43Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The only significant information on the MSDS is that this is re-labelled Enviro-Syn HCR-7000-WL, a product from Fluid Energy Group. - Then Spectrum Sterilization isn’t actually “manufacturing” the stuff. I wonder if they’re actually involved or it’s just another lie? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/72 "2023-06-20T00:40:23Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > The only significant information on the MSDS is that this is re-labelled Enviro-Syn HCR-7000-WL, a product from Fluid Energy Group. Made for cleaning pipes in oil wells. And a Canadian company, so that explains the ferrin gallon size. > **[HCR-7000 E&P Produ... | Fluid Energy Group](https://www.fluidenergygroup.com/hcr-7000-product-detail)** ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/73 "2023-06-20T00:50:11Z")
It is a fracking fluid. _Lots_ of Google hits for the stuff. Still don’t see one that says what is in it, though. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/_erUjPnOZ6g/hqdefault.jpg "Fluid Energy Group Wireline Safe Enviro-Syn® HCR-7000-WL® Modified Acid™ Overview") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_erUjPnOZ6g) ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/74 "2023-06-20T00:58:03Z")
And here is a skin safety demonstration. But it isn’t brown. Which brings back the idea of it being _used_ fracking fluid… [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/XL0A-iul2cQ/maxresdefault.jpg "Enviro-Syn® HCR-7000® 15 Minute Skin Exposure") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XL0A-iul2cQ) ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/75 "2023-06-20T01:01:25Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > And here is a skin safety demonstration. But it isn’t brown. Which brings back the idea of it being _used_ fracking fluid… - I wonder if FEG would like to hear about our scammy friend or if there’s anything they can do? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/76 "2023-06-20T01:10:55Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > I assume you missed this. Maybe a bit too quick to imply a normal seemingly perfectly honest hobbyist is lying? I did. I was also a bit facetious although i suck ath that level uf subtle umor. I apologize if you were misled. I suggest that perhaps in another direction, removing a barnacle is not a matter of dissolving its shell which would clearly require the magic ability to tell “good shell” from “bad shell”. But rather it’s a matter of dissolving whatever bio-attachment stuff barnacles secrete to attach themselves to substrates. Which glue, fibrous stuff, or both, could easily be imagined as much more carbohydrates susceptible to acid than is calcium carbonate-based shell material itself. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/77 "2023-06-20T01:55:04Z")
> [@running\_coach](#): > > I wonder if FEG would like to hear about our scammy friend or if there’s anything they can do? I sent them an email asking if the brown liquid in the video looked like their product (and giving a summary of the discussion). ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/78 "2023-06-20T01:56:22Z")
Interestingly, a guy I knew studied biochemistry and had this brilliant idea that for his PhD he would study the biological glue used by a local form of sea squirt - known as cunjevoi - to attach itself to rock. It is one of the strongest glues known. Unfortunately last I heard his PhD was failing because he couldn’t find any damn solvent that would dissolve the stuff, which made it impossible to study. I lost touch with him so I never heard how it ended but he had all but given up, last I heard. I don’t know if barnacles use the same or similar glue, but I’m guessing that 3 seconds immersion in HCl (which is all that website recommends) is not going to remove them at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/79 "2023-06-20T02:09:06Z")
Are there _that_ many people who want to clean seashells that there’s a market for a specialty cleaning product? ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2023, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723/80 "2023-06-20T02:17:33Z")
Beachcombing is big. Where I originally saw the question about the legitimacy of Safe HCl was on a Facebook group for South and North Carolina seashellers that has 72,000 members. > **[Log into Facebook](https://m.facebook.com/groups/171952647585631/)** > > Log into Facebook to start sharing and connecting with your friends, family, and people you know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/this-safe-hcl-is-a-scam-right-update-not-scam-see-responses-from-manufacturer-at-posts-88-and-93/985723.md?page=5)