By Evan Ackerman

The days of buying spray bottles full of cleaning chemicals are over, since through the magic of science you can now turn ordinary tap water into a powerful industrial solvent thanks to the Activeion’s Ionator.

The Ionator takes regular water and converts it into ionized hydric acid, which (I know, I know) sounds really bad for you but is actually one of the safer industrial solvents out there, as long as you don’t accidentally inhale too much of it (’cause if you do, it’ll kill you). The hydric acid (also known as OH₂) has a small electrical charge and functions in much the same way that regular soap does: it breaks up dirt particles and then sticks to them, allowing you to wipe surfaces clean. It also kills bacteria, yay!

Although Activeion is a bit vague on exactly how their product manages to create a chemical out of water (something about ion exchange membranes), it’s apparently a fancy and complicated process, since the battery operated squirt bottle with the ActiveIon technology inside will cost you $170. The “pro” version (which is slightly more rugged, I guess) is $330. But, it’s endorsed by Bill Nye, so it must be awesome, right?

Before you buy one of these, however, you should be aware that organizations like National Consumer Coalition Against DHMO are working hard to ban hydric acid, since (among other things) it’s used as a an industrial coolant and ends up as a major component in acid rain. So, before you start spraying your stuff with a new chemical instead of your old ones, make sure you get all the facts.

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Ionator Turns Harmless Water Into Chemical Cleaning Agent