Teardowns
Marketing claim, labelled active, bulk dupe, side-by-side price and potency, FAQ, and a DIY stack (bulk chemical, applicator, PPE) via Amazon UK search links.
Consumer advocacy · UK chemistry
DupeStack
Deconstruct the brand. Buy the molecule.
Most of what you pay for in a patio cleaner, lawn feed or pool tub is packaging, perfume and a television advert. The active is often a commodity salt or acid you can buy by the kilogram. DupeStack names that molecule, shows the maths, and points to a DIY stack — without pretending to be a chemist on your doorstep.
61
Teardowns live
CAS
Indexed actives
COSHH
Handling notes
HSE
UK-minded guidance
Why I built it
I sell natural stone for a living. Customers ask what actually cleans algae off sandstone, what won’t etch limestone, and why one branded bottle costs five times another with the same CAS number on the SDS. The honest answer is usually “same chemistry, different label.”
DupeStack is my attempt to write that down properly: one teardown per branded pack, one bulk active, one dilution ratio, one savings figure per working litre. Not influencer “hacks” — CAS numbers, mixing notes and UK COSHH-minded handling. If two products share the same molecule (Patio Magic and Wet & Forget both use BAC), the site says so. If they don’t (acetic acid vs quaternary ammonium), it gets its own page.
I built it because I wanted a reference I could trust myself — and because the gap between a £24 patio bottle and a £20 drum of concentrate is absurd once you see the label. More on how I work with stone at Natural stone; for cutting plans on real stock, see STOCut.
What it does
DupeStack is a static catalogue of consumer-advocacy teardowns for UK shoppers:
Dilution calculator
Fill a sprayer or cover a measured area; get concentrate, water, batch cost and savings vs the branded pack.
Category hubs
Patio & exterior, lawn & garden, household cleaning, pool & spa, wellness & supplements (supplements only — not medicines).
Honest savings
Per working litre, not “buy this giant kit and feel smug.” Prices are snapshots; the chemistry is the point.
There are 61 teardowns live at the time of writing, with a strict rule: no duplicate DIY stacks. Same branded job can stay (two BAC patio biocides); same bulk molecule twice does not.
What it is not
- Not medical or veterinary advice. Wellness pages are food-supplement comparisons.
- Not a substitute for the manufacturer SDS or HSE/COSHH compliance.
- Not a shop — affiliate links may earn a commission; the maths is independent of that.
dupestack.co.uk · Teardowns · Calculator · [email protected]
More on philstone.co.uk: Natural stone · STOCut · Todayworks · Steadfast