Mystery Leftover Material - Please Help Identify

[A. Learner]

I found a large unlabeled bucket of (leftover?) material in my in-laws' basement. Nobody seems to remember what it is. It might even be there when they moved into the place.

The stuff is light grey, granular, gravel-like, with a grain size of about 0.5 mm to 3 mm. When I soaked a sample in hot water for several minutes, the grains disintegrated and the sample turned into a dark grey, muddy mixture.

At first, I thought it was some kind of fine gravel, but gravel doesn't disintegrate in water. (Does it?)

If we can't figure out what it is, and what it can be reused for, it'll probably end up in a landfill somewhere. Hate to see that happen.

Does anyone have a guess what the material might be based on the description?

TIA

[Joseph Meehan]

My guess is cement that is no longer good.

[Max]

On Sat, 12 May 2007 12:50:02 -0400, "Joseph Meehan" graced this newsgroup with:

or mortar

[beecrofter]

or kitty litter

[aemeijers]

Sounds about right- are there any fenceposts, bird feeders, mailboxes, clotheslines, etc., set in cement, on the property? Not uncommon for frugal people to use half a sack of sackcrete or similar, and try to store the rest. It seldom works, since it sucks moisture from the air. I'd just dig a hole in the backyard and bury it. Not likely to hurt anything.

aem sends...

[Rocky]

That's toilet cleaner. Just place it in the toilet, let stand for 15 minutes, then flush.

[gfretwell]

If you have a white bucket with a good top (gasket intact) concrete will keep quite a while if it is in a dry place. You are right that moisture is the killer. I still wouldn't use old concrete for anything where strength is very important but it is OK for fence posts and such. Usually that is about all you could do with part of a bag anyway.

[Big_Jake]

Oilsorb - akin to kitty litter.

Funny story -

We bought an investment property with a large cardboard drum marked as some nasty cyanide compound. I was stressing out about how to dispose of it properly, when someone else working there recognized that it was Oilsorb. The former owner of the property worked at a chemical supply house, and had brought home drums for storing things in the garage.

:-)

JK

[aemeijers]

Chuckle. DoD used to sell empty 'triple rinsed' 55 gallon drums, with 'property of DoD' markings, serial numbers, contract numbers, etc., stenciled on them. They started turning up full of HazMat at Superfund sites, and guess who EPA came after to pay for the cleanup? DoD does NOT sell empty drums any more. They crush, them, and sell for scrap metal. Crushing costs more than the metal value.They consider it cheap insurance. Your tax dollars at play, etc. I blame Congress, for allowing EPA to disregard legal transfer of ownership, and go after the deep pockets. Yeah, the taxpayers end up paying for the cleanup either way, but all those lawyers and all that paperwork suck up a lot of cash that could be better spent on the guys in the moon suits.

aem sends....

[pheeh.zero]

FYI, industrial cyanide is normally a white crystaline form (granuals or briquettes).

[Larry Caldwell]

Fertilizer?

[Andrew Duane]

[dpb]

We have a wiener... :)

[A. Learner]

Thanks to everyone who tried to help. It seems that the best theories are: cement, mortar, and stone dust. (Judging from how dense the material is, cat litter and fertilizer don't seem to be it). Is there a simple way to tell apart, say, cement and stone dust?