Bead Release disposal question

[FyreFiend]

Forgive me if this is a stupid question, but what do you do with the water that you have cleaned your beads in? Think about it...we fill our annealer every night with at least 20 mandrels that are coated with the release. We clean the beads the next day, and you can see the release both sitting in the bottom of the bowl and suspended in the water. Do this x 365 for two years.....to think about it differently, we have used several bottles of bead release over the last two years, and that has gone somewhere when we were through using it. (we do take the dry stuff off into the wastebasket if it comes off, but there is still a lot of residue).

So I am interested in possibly saving the sewer system in 60 year old home. Do you throw it out in the yard? Sneak out and use the storm drain? What do you do?

Desa

[squid]

I thrown mine in the bushes - definitely do NOT put it down your sink.

[FosterFire]

OK, having made so many gallons of bead release I might have some insight.

The base ingredient of all bead release is clay. It occurs naturally in the soil. It's used extensively in cosmetics, too.

Can you put that you own minor amount of liquid bead release down a regular sewer system and not harm the environment or clog your pipes? Yup. I don't recommend you do this to a septic system only because I am not familiar with the ph balance enough to speculate. You need to use common sense, of course. Big dry chunks could cause clogs, so just throw those away.

Where else can you put used/fired bead release? Let it dry up and throw it away in the trash would be the best suggestion.

[jamie lynne]

whewwww. that's a load off. i han't even really given it much thought.... down the drain it goes.... though i do think from now on i will toss it out side, i don't think i need to explain to a plumber why my drains are clogged with clay! lol

[FosterFire]

FYI - If you toss it outside you will be adding clay to your soil and changing the ph. This can effect how your plants grow. Any expert gardeners wish to chime in?

Honestly, I have put more bead release down pipes that you can imagine, just cleaning up my buckets, etc. No problems.

[jamie lynne]

hummmm..... then i'll dump it in the neighbors yard. lol

[yellowbird]

I would not put this down the drain . It settles as you have said and will do the same in the neck of you plumbing. Why not just drain off the top clear water after it has settled and throw the rest away. Unless of course you are married to a plumber. lol

[FyreFiend]

OK, having made so many gallons of bead release I might have some insight.

The base ingredient of all bead release is clay. It occurs naturally in the soil. It's used extensively in cosmetics, too.

Can you put that you own minor amount of liquid bead release down a regular sewer system and not harm the environment or clog your pipes? Yup. I don't recommend you do this to a septic system only because I am not familiar with the ph balance enough to speculate. You need to use common sense, of course. Big dry chunks could cause clogs, so just throw those away.

Where else can you put used/fired bead release? Let it dry up and throw it away in the trash would be the best suggestion.

I SO appreciate your answer to this question! Thank you. I had the idea that we were dealing with clay primarily, but I didn't know if there were any "added ingredients" that made bead release different that just clay, (and I am not asking for any trade secrets here, but just showing my ignorance about anything chemistry). I will take the suggestion to let the residue dry up and pitch it out with the trash. This house has very fragile old plumbing, is made entirely of concrete, and I am not even friends with a plumber much less married to one. Anything that needs to be fixed under the floor requires a jackhammer, and I want to avoid that.

I won't even hint about the wiring in this place....8-[

Thanks again for your time! :waving:

Desa

[pam]

I let the release settle to the bottom, then dump the water down the drain, allow the sludge in the bottom to dry out and throw it in the trash. Easy peasy.

[glassymom]

any chance it can be reused?

[FosterFire]

No, sorry. Once it has been partially fired, clay can never go back. If it's not been through a kiln cycle then yes, you can reconstitute even if it's several years old. If you have annealed the bead release then no.

[zen-mom]

I let the release settle to the bottom, then dump the water down the drain, allow the sludge in the bottom to dry out and throw it in the trash. Easy peasy.

Ditto...

[Frit Diva]

I've been successfully reusing my bead release for years, I guess that's what happens when you don't realize something you are doing doesn't work. LOL!

Seriously, I save all the dry stuff that cracks off the mandrels, as well as pouring the excess water off the can I use to soak the mandrels in and reusing the sludge. Periodically I crumble up the scraps, put them through a sifter and rehydrate. I always add some new release to the mix, and off I go. I've never had a problem. I suppose if you got the clay hot enough that it actually fired, it would not rehydrate, but that has not been my experience. I anneal everything on the mandrels, so I'm not sure what I am doing differently from Robin, but it works for me!

Jo

[yellowbird]

when ever I hear you can't do thisor that, there is always someone who does and it works for them . That's clay
Not that you are saving money this stuff is cheap to make a gallon would be less than ten dollars.

Interesting that it works fired it might even be stronger?

[Frit Diva]

Yeah it is cheap to make, but I started buying premade stuff a few years ago to save myself the hassle of making my own. Funny, now I am recycled the bought stuff which probably takes almost as much time as making it! LOL

As far as the fired stuff being stronger, I don't think so... I always add in some new in with my recycled batch, in case some of the ingredients have burned off in use, but I can't really imagine they do burn off, if they did how would it work in the first place?!

Jo

ETA: After discussing this with a couple of other beadmakers, I'm thinking the ability to recycle may have to do with how hot and how long you work on a single piece, as well what formula of bead release you are using. I'm using plain old Sludge, and I haven't noticed the release getting excessively hard, but I do tend to work fast: I rarely have a bead in the flame longer than 20 minutes at the most. Really prolonged heating might give different results.

[bellavistaglass]

Ususally I let it settle, Pour off all the but the bottom sludge and then use a paper towel to wipe the container clean...I try not to deal with dry bead release if I can help it!
Cheers,
Patricia

[GlassGalore]

Ususally I let it settle, Pour off all the but the bottom sludge and then use a paper towel to wipe the container clean...I try not to deal with dry bead release if I can help it!
Cheers,
Patricia

Yes, I'm with you! I never handle the stuff 'dry'. Have had the dangers of inhaling the dust drilled into me such that I handle it like toxic waste! ;)

[lootcorp]

Yes, I'm with you! I never handle the stuff 'dry'. Have had the dangers of inhaling the dust drilled into me such that I handle it like toxic waste! ;)

Geez, I never even thought of dry release being hazardous! Some hobby (read: obsession) I've chosen here...things waiting to kill you at every turn!

My other obsession is brewing my own beer...considerably safer, I must say! :p

[Beadanna]

...I try not to deal with dry bead release if I can help it!
Cheers,
Patricia

If I've been handling beads before I soak them and bits crack off I always get a metallic taste in my mouth. So I try to only deal with bead release wet.
I take the lid off the man hole and pour the waste straight into the drain and flush a toilet immediately to move the sludge on so it doesn't settle and lodge.
I'm wondering about lining the soak bowl with tinfoil so when you pour off the top water you can just fold the residue up and dispose of it without waiting for it to dry and possibly become airborne.

[FosterFire]

OK, I am not a legal expert so the following is only an opinion, not to be taken as medical or health advice, etc etc.
Household dust is more "toxic" than bead release. No kidding. I don't suggest to sniff it up your nose but you are exposed to more hazardous substances when you dust your furniture. When you manufacture a product you have to add warning labels by law but the state of California requires even more warning labels, like for clay.

Frankly, I wouldn't drink a diet soda for anything short of it being necessary to save my life. ew. Just use common sense and you'll be fine.

[bellavistaglass]

Hey,
I think there is a bigger picture here.. Not only our very LUNGS ...but our PLUMBING!!!! everyone has their own set of parameters ....warning lights...never step beyond borders ...but....why add more trouble than we already face...trouble right here in River City!!!
Bead release is clay +++++plus stuff....graphite +++whatever stuff that can become air borne when dry and when we pour it down our drains!!!!! Talk about a plug disaster waiting to happen ...... don't go there girls!!!!! Why do that??? Lets use our heads!!!!
Then our plumbing will still work and ,,,,,\\:D/
We are not just talking about ingesting said dust....

[Beadanna]

I'm with you on the diet drinks Robin!

My impression is that I do get more of a reaction when I inhale bead release than when I inhale house dust. I have mild asthma and I take as many precautions as I can - I wear a NIOSH 100 mask while I'm at the torch.