Deconstruct the brand. Buy the molecule.

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 — seasonal patio, lawn and pool stacks first, with search across the full catalogue by brand, active or CAS from the top bar:

There are 132 teardowns and 23 guides 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