Save money and make your own fog juice at home.
What is fog juice?
Fog juice, also known as fog machine fluid or fog machine liquid, is the liquid that is required in fog machines (aka fog generators or smoke machines) in order for them to create fog. Fog juice is basically distilled water and a glycol, often propylene glycol. Generally, fog machines and fog juice are used in professional entertainment and theatrical venues as part of the performance, but the recent surge in availability of low cost home fog machines has created interest in using them at home and creating DIY fog juice, or homemade fog juice.
Why make your own fog juice?
There are several reasons why you would want to make your own fog machine liquid:
- First is the cost and saving money by making your own fog juice. Let’s do the math! Pre-made fog juice mixtures average $30 to $35 per gallon. While good quality propylene glycol can cost around $40 per gallon it only requires using ¼ gallon of the propylene glycol to make 1 gallon of fog juice. The math is simple, you will save 75% or more by making your own fog juice with propylene glycol.
- Safety is the second reason why you would want to make your own fog juice. By purchasing and using your own high quality propylene glycol you’re making sure that there are no harsh toxic chemicals or allergens in your fog liquid and protecting the people who will be breathing it.
- Control and fog density are also great reasons to make fog juice at home. When making DIY fog juice you have control over how thick or light the fog will be by adjusting the ratio of distilled water and propylene glycol in the recipe for fog juice. You also have the option of creating a scented fog.
Get started by using this link and directly purchasing a small supply of Propylene Glycol, it's a high quality source at a reasonable price, and available in small and large quantities on Amazon https://amzn.to/3P2XeJ7
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
How to make your own fog juice
There are many different fog liquid recipes floating around out there but on average the ratio of propylene glycol to distiller water is 1:4. In my own experience I use this ratio as well.
Over time you may want to experiment and make adjustments to the base recipe based on your own experiences and the specific environments that you’ll be using the fog/smoke machine in.
Here's the basic recipe:
1 cup propylene glycol
4 cups distilled water
Combine all ingredients into any plastic or glass bottle and shake well.
- For a thicker fog use 1 and ½ cups propylene glycol to 4 cups distilled water. More propylene glycol equals q thicker fog.
- For a lighter/thinner fog use ½ to ¾’ cup of propylene glycol to 4 cups of distilled water. Less propylene glycol equals a thinner fog.
- Feel free to add a few drops of your favorite essential oil to add a scent to the fog.
* Important Note - always use distilled water and not tap water, Tap water contains minerals and other ingredients that although they are completely fine to drink, can cause damage to your fog machine,
How long does fog juice last?
I prefer to store all of my DIY homemade products in darker glass or plastic so as to eliminate the effects of sunlight exposure but this is not necessary. Store your homemade fog juice in a cool dark place and it should last up to 6 months - or more. Do not ever store your fog juice or fog liquid in your fog machine as it may cause damage.
Making your own fog juice with propylene glycol is a smart idea, and we have found a great source on Amazon https://amzn.to/3P2XeJ7
*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Buying Propylene Glycol direct is going to save you money and you can control the characteristics of the fog and also protect the health of your guests, customers, or employees. This is just one of the many examples that I have discovered, tested, and use to simplify and save money using whole ingredients instead of packaged products.