# Dilution Ratio Guide



## Sniperpirate (Nov 16, 2013)

I haven't really seen a proper dilution ratio guide. Although it might seem simple to many, I understand it can be confusing to some.

FocusDan has created a dilution ratio spreadsheet, however it doesn't work on my iPad or iPhone - which is what I mainly use to browse the forums but if you use a computer it can be found here:

http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=16313

I'm going to explain how he does these calculations manually so others who use the same devices as me can do it for themselves and for whatever sized container.

*Basics*

Most automotive concentrated liquids are only concerned with simple dilutions and not dilution factors or serial dilutions.

These ratios are usually in the form of Product:Water

In this guide we will be using the product Valet Pro HD Carpet Cleaner as the example.

For spot cleaning a dilution ratio of 1:10 is recommended.

For spot cleaning it would mean one part of VP HD Carpet Cleaner, in this case 1 millilitre (ml) is to be combined with 10 parts of water, which would be 10 ml.

*Custom Containers*

To figure out how much product you need in your custom container is simple. First we would need to calculate the total amount of liquid needed to create the desired dilution using only a single ml of product.

Example:

For a 1:10 dilution we would use 1ml of product and 10ml of water (see above)

1 + 10 = 11 ml

This means for every single ml of product diluted to a 1:10 ratio there would be 11ml of total liquid.

If I have a 1000 ml bottle and want to work out the maximum amount of product and water which can be added to create the closest possible 1:10 dilution the calculation would be done as so:

1000 / 11 = 90.9090909090909091

However, as we are working with millilitres it would be wise to round this to the closest single unit which would be 91 (any number .5 and above after the first decimal place is rounded up, in this case it is .9, hence 91)

This means you can fit 11 ml of product 91 times which is also equal to the maximum amount of total product (in ml) needed to create the closest possible desired dilution.

So we need 91 ml of VP HD Carpet Cleaner inside our 1000 ml container

To find the correct amount of water needed now we just subtract the total container capacity by the amount of product already inside:

1000 - 91 = 909 ml of water

To figure out if the dilution is close to 1:10 is simple

91:909 is ratio of product:water in the bottle so we divide the water by product:

909 / 91 = 9.99 or in other words a very close 1:10 dilution

*Don't forget to thoroughly mix your solutions afterwards to create a true dilution.*

I hope this helps and if you have any questions feel free to ask. Also if I've done anything wrong or someone can explain it better than me feel free to do so 

Enjoy


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