Recommended straight out of the bottle alternatives first
and then home-brew recipes below:
Special
Feature:
Bubble Magic Soap Bubble Solution
www.bangwool.co.kr
Here are a couple of their promo videos. I think you will see why their wonderful solution is worth seeking out and shipping from Korea.
Other recommended solutions.
Fan Yang Solution or Gazillion Gold made by Gazillion/Funrise is one of my favorites off the shelf. In Europe, try Pustefix.
Jumbo Juice ~ Giant Soap Bubble Concentrate. Good for indoor bubble work as well as outdoor big bubbles. See my video review of the product and/or go here to read more about it on my blog at www.BubbleKaBoom.com.
Mr. Bubbles by (Tootsietoy/Strombecker) Now J. Lloyd is very good. To read a very interesting article from the past about brewing Mr. B, click here.
Cricket Hill Bubbling Powder is specially formulated for
outdoor big bubbles and is excellent. You'll be glad you sought them out.
Another outdoor bubble mix is Beeboo. It's this solution that currently holds the largest free floating bubble record. Click the link to visit their site.
Listen to an interview (Quicktime) of Tim Kehoe, who is the inventor of Zubbles ~ The World's First Colored Bubbles. FYI: It looks like the release Zubbles will be delayed, be patient and keep blowing the rainbow colored bubbles we've all been enjoying for years!
If you want to mix up your own bubble solutions, read on! Here are two good recipes. Don't be afraid to experiment. There are many recipes for bubble juice on other sites so search them out. Note: I don't divulge my performance recipes.
Basic Bubbling Soap Solution Recipe: Gently stir together: 9 cups of water. 1 cup of Dawn liquid dish detergent. 4 ounces of Glycerine. (Available in most drug and health-food stores.) You can also try adding corn syrup if you can't find the glycerin.
Better Bubbling Soap Solution Recipe: Use the recipe above but add 2 ounces of K-Y jelly or equivalent (A personal lubricant which is non-petroleum based.) Find out why on this page. (Equate Brand at W-Mart is good & cheap, as are other "store brands". Look for the word - hydroxyethylcellulose - in the ingredients.)
OR, if you can find it, instead of the K-Y jelly add in 3 or 4 cups of Mr. Bubbles brand toy bubble solution, or Cricket Hill Solution. (Do not use the Mr. Bubble bubble bath stuff.)
Let your brew sit for at least a few hours. Better yet, make it a day ahead of time. Then bubble safely at a very humid time of day... early morning or after dinner.
Even Better! Soap Bubble Solution Recipe: (9/08)
Brian (one of our moderators on Yahoo's Soap Bubble Group) posted what I think is a fantastic much more than basic recipe on SBF message # 4952
First, you have found Non-Ultra Dawn, and I'm guessing you found it at Wal-Mart. Is that correct?
If so, go back and get another bottle of Non-Ultra Dawn, and while you're there, pick up a gallon jug of distilled water. Here in California Wal-Mart distilled water has a pretty sturdy screw on cap, and costs 68 cents.
You said you're using CVS glycerin--go back and get another bottle of glycerin, and while you're there get a tube of CVS generic equivalent of KY Jelly. It should be on the shelf right next to the KY jelly, works just as well, and costs about half as much.
You'll need a vessel that holds about a quart, and an empty 1 liter soda pop bottle. Pour about 2 cups distilled water into the soda pop bottle, and heat it in a microwave to just warmer than tepid, around 115 degrees F.
Squeeze all the CVS personal lube into the soda pop bottle, put the cap on and rotate it slowly end over end for around 30 turns. This should mix the CVS lube completely with the water.
Take off the cap and add a couple of ounces of the glycerin, put the cap back on, and rotate the pop bottle again until the glycerin is completely mixed in.
Take off the cap and add 3 quarters of the bottle of Non-Ultra Dawn (12 ounces).
Fill the pop bottle the rest of the way with distilled water until you have only about a tablespoon of air at the top. Put the cap back on and rotate slowly end over end again until the Dawn is completely mixed in. Let this mixture rest for a day.
The next day, pour off enough distilled water so that the jug is a little less than 3 quarters full, then pour in the contents of the soda pop bottle. Fill the jug the rest of the way with the water you poured off.
Put the cap back on the jug and carefully rotate it end over end a few times. (Somewhat ironically, if the cap comes off and it spills, the resulting mess is pretty hard to clean up.)
You now will now have a gallon of bubble mix which is very self-healing and great for large bubbles.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/soapbubblefanciers/message/4952
Yes, finding
Mr. Bubbles may be difficult. Depending on the time of year
it's sometimes very hard to find, as it's a seasonal item.
Added to this, in 2004 Tootsietoy/Strombecker, the
manufacturer of Mr. Bubbles went into bankruptcy and was
bought by another company ~ J. Lloyd. They have started
production but seem to be having troubles placing the
product on shelves. It can be ordered directly from J.
Lloyd.
5/08... Okay,
I've heard you... Mr. Bubbles is VERY hard to
find.
If you would like to learn more
about my bubble experiments, please check out my videos at
YouTube: CLICK HERE TO GET
THERE.
If
you find a better recipe, or a secret ingredient, please
let me know. I love to try out new ideas! You can read more
about home-brewing on
this page.