If that's the really fine stuff, be sure to wear a respirator when working around it and sweeping up afterward. Dat stuff'll kill ya as quickly as silica.
-- Life is full of obstacle illusions. -- Grant Frazier
------------------------------------
-------------------------------- DE is super fine and yes it will kill you.
Lew
Dreadful process? If it weren't for e-tailers, I'd only have a couple of trips a year to the toy store.
The type we used to use in our pool filter was the fine stuff, and I've seen the coarser granules of garden DE, which aren't as deadly. Garden DE is used on carpets to kill fleas. I hear it dices up their bods and dessicates them nicely.
-- Life is full of obstacle illusions. -- Grant Frazier
Who knows what evil lives in the hearts of men?
------------------------------ Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?
The Shadow (Lamont Cranston) knows. (Fading laughter in the background)
Lew
----------------------------- One of my customers located between Los Angeles and Santa Barbara mines the stuff here in SoCal, which is one of the few places DE exists in the USA.
Lew
Here is a condensed version of my own cursory research...
Diatomaceous earth is mined, milled, and processed into a myriad of types for a large variety of uses. Filtering and filler are two main uses but diatomaceous earth also ends up in paints, cosmetics, drugs, chemical insecticides, etc. Because the milling produces different sized and shaped particles, it is important not to use the filtering type for agricultural purposes.
Pool filter grade diatomaceous earth has been heat and chemically treated and will poison an animal or human who ingests it, so it is always of utmost importance to only obtain food grade diatomaceous earth to use in and around your household.
Diatoms (DE) are the grass of the oceans and lakes. Just as grass is the staple food of earth animals. Diatoms (algae) are the food of the ocean or fresh water grazers. Magnified 7000x, diatomaceous earth looks like spiney honeycombs.
Food grade diatomaceous earth is EPA approved to be mixed with grains to control mealworms and other pests and has been exempted from tolerance requirements as an inert, inactive ingredient in chemical pesticides. Diatomaceous earth is EPA approved against indoor and outdoor crawling insects. Diatomaceous earth is USDA approved as an anti-caking agent for animal feed. Diatomaceous earth is FDA approved for internal and external use and has a rating of Food Chemical Codex Grade.
OMRI listed Codex Food Chemical Grade is organic. It is a non-treated, non-calcined fresh water Diatomaceous Earth. It is mined, crushed, sifted, bagged and pure white in color. It contains less than .5% silicon. There are food grade diatomaceous earth products that are yellow or tan in color which indicates a higher iron content. Those which are gray in color contain more clay.
Yep, someone else already corrected me on that and rightly so.
Agreed however, food grade DE is less than .5% silica (according to what I'm now learning), but also non-calcined. So the remaining 95% is my concern. If clay, it definitely will not work as fill.
and the chicken heart is _at_your_door_...
It's safe enough that it can be fed to animals as a vermicide.
Interested in seeing your results. Shellac and pumice is the fastest and best grain filler I've used (as well as the cheapest, with Pore-O-Pac selling for $25 / pint). If there's anything cheaper and faster, I'd like to know.
Temperatures here have fallen drastically this afternoon, slightly above freezing overnight. Sigh ...may be delayed for another day or so, but will let you know. Also interested in playing with paraffin oil and see what I can learn from that process as well.
HomeOwnersHub website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.