SCENERY: Fogger Fluid Clean Up

[nikkiec]

Not sure if this is the best place to ask this, but here goes:  I'm currently working on a production that uses LOTS of low-lying fog throughout the entire show.  There are four point from which is comes onstage, evenly spaced along the upstage Cyc.  The issue is the floor: it is becoming incredibly slick, and any solution we're tried to clean it doesn't help much. We've tried rubbing alcohol, water, and cleaning solution, none of which work great.  We can't treat the floor itself as we are rotating rep.  The Fog Fluid is water based, I'm not sure exactly what brand.
If anyone has any suggestions I'd be appreciative!  Thanks!

Nikki

Edit to subject line-Rebbe

[Jessie_K]

We've had this problem with my current show as well (using large CO2 tanks).  Especially when we would repaint the floor (which needs to happen often here due to the wear and tear.)

We managed to finally find a top coat for the paint that didn't react as badly with the fog.  We also had out machines adjusted to fix the over-cooling which was creating ice/condensation.

Some fixes we tried:
-attached chamois and black towels to the hose mouth to absorb the liquid before it reaches the floor. (Not covering the mouth, but resting on the floor under the hose and mouth)
-picking up the hoses when we weren't using fog
-placing chunks of foam under the hoses along its path to the stage to keep it elevated.

In terms of clean up, try covering the slick areas with sawdust to absorb the liquid (or residence) and then swep up.

[G.Miciak]

If I am not mistaken, that slick is mineral oil. In the past, we have just used paper towel to remove the majority or it, but I have never had to completely remove a slick from a stage. Hope this helps...

[Mac Calder]

If it is water based low fog the "slick" is glycerol or glycol.

I find using regular dish washing detergent in hot water with a mop is the best bet for water based.

[babens]

Dish washing soap is great for oil-based clean ups as well.  After all, most are designed to clean grease and oil off of the dishes you are washing.  As always, though, spot test on an inconspicuous area of your deck to to make sure it won't affect your paint treatment or leave any soap residue.

[ericjames]

I will second Babens.... dishwashing liquid, particularly Dawn (yes... in this case, the name brand does make a big difference) is great for cleaning up any type of oil or glycol based fluids. 

---I learned this a few years ago when we had "empty" 55gal drums of oil used as props in a show.  One night one of them got flipped upside down by accident and well, you can guess the rest of this story....