The independent analysis of how measurements is frequently hampered by incomplete characterisation of the working fluid. This problem is particularly acute in situations which require working fluids with identical properties, such as the development of scaling laws for the turbulent flow of drag-reducing liquids. In this paper, we demonstrate that the viscometric viscosity, loss and storage moduli for two of the most common polymers used for flow experiments, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) and xanthan gum (XG), are practically insensitive to the chemistry of the tap water used as a solvent, to the method of mixing, and to the biocide added. However, the properties of CMC from two different manufacturers were found to be significantly different, whereas there was no difference between XG solutions prepared from different batches from the same manufacturer. Our conclusion is that for a given concentration in water, the properties of certain non-Newtonian liquids, such as CMC and XG, are essentially fixed and reproducible. Although the situation is less than ideal, comparisons of fluid-flow data from entirely independent laboratories can thus be made even in the absence of direct rheological measurements. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.