text: could some one learn me how can i make an acid make the ph=4-5 and dos not hurt the cotton used in dyehomes? i do not want acitic acid or formic acid..sheap and good if you donot want to use acetic/ formic acid then it ay be tough for you to get ph 4-5. the only option remaining is some thing to do with hcl but it may spoinl the things.. you can prepare ph 4-5 solution as follows: take 1ml of hcl (concentrated) and dilute it to 50ml. the ph of this solution will be around 4.3 (i used to make this solution during my first days of research). you can try..