Are Polyethylene and DEET Compatible

When you purchase a bottle of insect repellent containing DEET, what is the bottle made of?

We have a few members well versed about this very subject, and they will be able to provide an accurate response to your question.

We may as well head off a few of their questions: What concentration of DEET, and which classification of PE? The more specific you are, the better the answers.

Well it will melt certain plastics (fiberglass, acrylics and polycarbonates.... rayon, spandex, other synthetic fabrics, and painted or varnished surfaces including nail polish.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003L4PGA6?&tag=shopwiki-us-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325

Because your at the beach, and because most swim wear is composed of synthetic fabrics, perhaps you could dissolve the prospects of West Nile Disease, in a most embarrassing fashion.

I'd say it's OK.

Deet

Look online for Chemical compatability charts, bearing in mind that you usually have to determine the following yourself:

1. chemical concentration
2. time factor- is this going to be continously exposed as in a bottle, intermitently as in a blending tank?
3. thickness of material
4. presence of other chemicals
5. what do you mean by breakdown? Permeability, loss of tensile strength, actual decomposition of the polymer? What is acceptable & what is not?
6. The big one- are you refering to crosslinked, LDPE, HDPE, UHMW? Polyethylene covers a wide range of products, and manufacturing processes of the finished item can affect properties as well, not just what the resin supplier does. If you can provide more info on what you want to do it's a lot easier to comment.

I have an old 1.25oz squeeze bottle of 100% DEET. It's pre-recycle code, but I'm pretty sure it's polyethylene (orange).

Oh, no. Polyethylene is always white. ;>)

If it's orange, it's polygamist.

It may depend more on what it is disolved in.

Definitely agree. Following the link in Lyn's note, "DEET is soluble in ethanol, ether, isopropanol, chloroform, carbon disulfide, alcohol, benzene, propylene glycol, cottonseed oil, ketones, petroleum distillates; sparingly soluble in petroleum ether and glycerin." Some of these will dissolve polyethylene and some of them are potential stress cracking agents. Perhaps more information on your intended use/product?