Bob Denton wrote: > > Disclaimer: I am the inventor and manufacturer of a product called Sink the > Stink which is sold through dive shops, kayak shops and river outfitters > specifically for removing odor from neoprene, polartec and capaline. > > > The only way to really treat this stuff is to fight fire with fire. I, in > conjunction with a lab, developed a synergistic mixture of bugs to out > compete the "stinker bugs" for the same food source. They were trained to > eat urine and many of the other naturally occurring nutrients found in sea > and river water. A quick but thorough rinse in Sink the Stink (1/2 oz in > 10-20 gallons of warm water) and hang to dry. During the drying process the > StS bugs biologically scour the gear and when it dries the odor is gone, not > just masked. There is some residual effect on subsequent uses. StS is > hypoallergenic and unlike many "biodegradable" products it does not mimic > estrogens when dumped in the environment. > > If this sounds like an ad, it is in a way. I can tell you that StS is more a > labor of love then a big moneymaker. Some of the large companies have tried > to copy StS (Like McNett) and discovered that you can't make a product like > StS both effective and profitable. That's why I have a real job as well! Am I the only one disturbed by this all? Call me a softee, a tree hugger, whathaveyou, but I find this a serious ethical question. Should we be training and enlisting one kind of bacteria to fight an ethnic war against other bacteria and in the process have these "good" bacteria lay down their lives to combat the odorous stuff created by the "bad" bacteria just because we humans find it offensive? Should we be meddling with the natural order of things?...neoprene is supposed to stink, otherwise it would not be neoprene. If everything smelled like a rose wouldn't life be less rich? Denton's bacteria are mercenaries plain and simple. Ever since the Brits used Hessian mercenary troops against the colonies, Americans have looked down on such forces. "Mercenary" has been a dirty word here since the birth of our nation. Why does it not surprise me that Bob hails from part of the former British Empire; no red-blooded native born American would ever think of using, ugh, mercenaries! Is there a rabbinical or Jesuitan scholar in the house who can shed some light on the moral and ethical issues involved? Or are we forever caught on the merry-go-round argument of whether water flows around or under a boat? (Personally, I find that water generally runs _over_ the front deck and into my lap and face.) :-) ralph -- ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Ralph Diaz . . . Folding Kayaker newsletter PO Box 0754, New York, NY 10024 Tel: 212-724-5069; E-mail: rdiaz_at_ix.netcom.com "Where's your sea kayak?"----"It's in the bag." ----------------------------------------------------------------------- *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************Received on Tue May 25 1999 - 17:59:00 PDT
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