Author: Dutchy
Date: 2009-01-02 16:06
Er...Beer, wine, whiskey, liqueurs, and other "drinks" have other ingredients in them besides alcohol, like yeast, sugars, and water, which are what contribute to acidity.
Wine starts out as grape juice, which is highly acidic. Beer and whiskey start out as a fermenting vat of sprouted grain, which "mash" is deliberately kept at an acidic level by the brewer in order to foster the growth of the yeast, which grows best in a slightly acidic environment (for wine, too).
So the end result is acidic, and something that can rot a reed, but it's not because of the alcohol--it's because it started out acidic in the first place.
You use mouthwash to disinfect reeds, don't you? Mouthwash has alcohol in it; that's what you rely on to disinfect the reeds. Why would you use it if it destroyed the reed, even if only a tiny bit to ruin the fine edge of the tip? Answer: because it doesn't affect the reed.
Also, there is a discussion of the pH of ethanol here. Basically, pure ethanol has no pH, since pH is the measure of hydrogen ion activity in an aqueous solution, and ethanol has no water in it, so it can't have a pH.
Then if you add water to ethanol, the solution then takes on the pH of the water that you added.
So rubbing alcohol has had distilled water added to it, which has a neutral pH of 7.
ETA: Ethanol does not rot wood. Here is a wood preservative that consists of salicylic acid dissolved in ethanol. They wouldn't have used ethanol as a solvent if it destroyed or damaged wood.
Post Edited (2009-01-02 16:38)
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