I have been using cooking grade albumen for years; it works fine.
As does caustic soda for drains in photographic recipes. Others domestic
substitutes are bisulphite for cleaning bottles, arrowroot for sauces,
bicarb for indigestion, Conversely hypo is used as a cure for corns and
silver nitrate was used to get rid of warts.
There is no extra benefit from buying a chemical from a chemical company
just because it is a chemical company. Just check out the purity that is
needed and then, if it is cheaper from your hardware store or garage, go
for it.
As chemical companies go I find Aldrich very helpful. But shop around.
Ferric Oxalate is about four pounds a gram from the chemical houses but
substantially cheaper from B & S.
Terry King