[mrs bouquet]

I have to own up to being a person who uses weedkiller on concrete areas around my house.

I have bought 2 bottles of a proprietory brand  R*****a, neither of them will squirt, so I then bought a supermarket brand and that doesn't either.  The problem seems to be a) when trying to get near and point it at      the weed and b) when the bottles have used just about 1/4 of its contents.  I have tried the idea of pouring some out into a jar and brushing it on, but I am wary of taking this stuff out of its labelled bottles .      Is it a case of operator error and does it only happen to me.  Advice please, regards, Mrs Bouquet  Ps: I do turn the knob to on

[hamstergbert]

sounds like the nozzle may be gummed up with dried out spray.

Unscrew the (turned on) trigger mechanism .if possible temporarily seal the bottle with another spare cap or cork. then drop the whole trigger bit complete with the thin pickup tube into a bucket of warm water.  Squeeze the trigger once or twice.  Leave in there for ten mins then with the whole trigger assembly fully under water pull the trigger half a dozen times.  This should encourage the water to flush out the over-thick gunge.  Test by lifting out of the water and try a few squirts of the water that is sitting in the pickup tube.  If it works, lift fully out of the water and squirt until the tube is empty.  If not, drop back into the warm water and leave it for a bit longer before trying again.

Once satisfied, re-fit to the bottle and use it.  After each session of use, unscrew, pump the trigger until the tube is empty then pump a bit of fresh water through the tube.

If this trick doesn't work then the mechanism may just be busted!

[Growster...]

As usual, Hamsters has provided a proper solution, so I'd never disagree with his scientific approach...

But your idea of just opening the bottle and brushing the stuff on fits the bill as far as I'm concerned, and if you're really worried, wear rubber gloves!

'R^&%$££$$$££""!!"£$%%a' just doesn't deal with 'Mind your own business' though, so a serious bashing with a sturdy Dutch hoe is called for! The weeds are just surfacing in our gravel drive, and I was only discussing the problem with Mrs Growster a couple of hours ago, but she didn't budge from her book...

(Er...what sort of rubber gloves, Brs B...? Are they the long slender ones which come up to the elbow, or the sort which just er, sort of cling to the hands in a rather tight, pale blue - er - 'nice' fashion..;0)

[viettaclark]

I'm having the same problem with R*****a bottles as well Mrs B.
I shall try the clean out method because I find painting on too much faff!!

[mrs bouquet]

I agree, if I wanted to paint, I could buy a fluid in a jar and a brush - not a spray bottle - oh, it does make me grind my teeth  Mrs B

[Growster...]

You can usually get cheap spray bottles from places like Poundland, Mrs B, or why not use an old Windowlene bottle?

By the way, the waxy 'Roundersuppers' which comes in a sort of gunky roll on machine is pretty useless as well...

(We've bought a weed burner - see another post in Equipment, so will see if that works)!

[oldgrunge]

Just a point. If you put weed killers in a spray bottle, or other container, be sure to mark the container clearly as weedkiller, to avoid any unfortunate accidents.

[spottymint]

Sometimes the take up tube bends into a corner, if the bottle is nearly empty, the tube is out of the liquid.
Try twisting the nozzle 180% so the take up tube is the same side as the spray is facing.
As you tilt the bottle, the liquid pools around the base of the take up tube.
I have this with the clear cleaning kitchen sprays.

[Kleftiwallah]

I collect the (far too many) cleaning product hand sprayers when the memsahib has emptied them.  After a good clean out - perfect.

Cheers,  Tony.

[oldgrunge]

I collect the (far too many) cleaning product hand sprayers when the memsahib has emptied them.  After a good clean out - perfect.

Cheers,  Tony.

Me too!