Fullers Earth

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What exactly is Fullers Earth, and what are it's most common uses?

-- William Dennis (wdennis@world2u.com), April 21, 1997

Answers

Like you I had never heard of the stuff before. Contacted Ray Griffin and he informed me it was a natural talc product. Came under the original name as Mother's Earth and was distributed by a company named Fuller. Supposedly has the same non-slip properties as Ajax, Comet, etc... but without the grit.

-- Rolland Harrison (rockyh@phoenix.net), April 24, 1997.

we used to use fullers earth as a temporary fix (on night or weekend calls) to dry up excess oil on AC brake drums. It worked very well but only lasts a few days until proper repairs can be done

-- patrick carrajat (patrick.partsman@mci2000.com), April 26, 1997.

fullers earth

Another great use for fullers earth is on brakes. If you have a ac job that stops on the brake and it has oil on it, fullers earth will help temporarily dry up the brake until you can drop them

-- Tom Boehle (ttboehle@wcic.org), September 22, 1997.

I have used it also on traction machines to lapin the gear to the worm,after making sure that all of required clearances have been set to the worm and gear.You must wash out the machine not less then 3 times with a mixture of mineral spirits and 30# non-dertergant oil. Take the car out of service and operate at contract speed,check the temperature of the gear frequently.If you don't,it could freezeup.

-- Randy Kline (RKline9511@AOL.com), September 19, 1999.

I looked all over town once for this stuff at drug stores. Went to an O'reilys auto parts store just a few weeks ago and found a 40# bag of the stuff. Regular OIL DRY. Kitty litter. Natural clay.

-- Kenny Nix (Kennny@aol.com), March 12, 2002.


It is also used to remove urine smell from stairwells and as poultry or pet litter. The cheapest Fullers earth is Publix Premium White Cat Litter, $2.25 for a 25lb bag. It may be grinded with a blender to a fine talcum and used as "mud bath" (6 cup powder per bathtub.)

-- Noslid Pituca (noslid@hotmail.com), September 18, 2003.

fullers earth also known as attapulgus clay was used in ancient times as a cleaner to remove grease & oil stains from clothing. It is even mentioned in the Bible. In the Us it comes from Georgia. It looks like sand and you can buy it in different grain sizes. I used it in the transformer business to filter transformer oil. Transformer oil over time oxidizes and builds up excessive amounts of acid and sludges that work to destroy the integrity of the insulation around the windings. Heating the oil and passing it through beds of fullers earth removed these contaminants. I guess that you could use it as an oil dry type product but due to the porous nature of the molecule it worked well in filtering the oil so that it could be reused.

-- Frank (fpjf1@yahoo.com), October 08, 2003.

I first heard of Fullers Earth about 49 years ago when my child had a very bad diaper rash(at that time we only had cloth diapers)and my Dr. told me ask the druggist for Fullers Earth at the drug store, ( At that time you got a large amount for about .75 Cents)and use it as a "powder" at each diaper change. You could almost SEE the rash improve with each change and I have never been without some on hand ever since. It is great for any part of the body that you want to keep dry. I have given it to people with casts on, that perspiration would irritate and they have been really grateful for the relief from itching caused by the cast. I had a real hard time to find any from about the 1980's to the present time,I finally found some in a health food store.

-- P.Pooler (papnjp@gwi.net), November 16, 2003.

We use fullers earth as a temporary decontaminant for chemical spills as well as personal decontamination. it is very effective at mopping up all sorts of liquids, including harmful chemicals, as it is very absorbant.

-- Mike (mi3k3ybaby@hotmail.com), December 29, 2003.

Fuller Earth comes in various forms. It's mined all over the globe including throughout the USA. But it has to be dried and crumbled to become usable. There seems to be a variety of information and uses depending on what form it falls into. The two most common are the oil absorbing charachteristics in the machanical often the car trades to remove and or absorb oil spills and leaks. But the cosmetic one is quite different and the product is usually refined sometimes even bleached. It usually is a fine powdered form similar to talc and often used where you might use talc. As a cosmetic material you can as the one lady wrote use it for diaper rash and excess sweating under casts and shafing under cloth's. But it can be added to facial clay type masks at various amounts of the recipes. It can be added to soaps both lye and melt and pour recipes. I'm trying it with Pumice to make my own pre-palmolive owned days Lava soap and hand cleaner. Just a touch of the fullers to help with grease clean up. And it's availabe numerous places on line...some prices are quite reasonable some are not so shop around and don't make the mistake I did recently and buy Fullers Earth from a Chemistry house and get lab grade that's over priced and not useable for my cosmetic interests...Oh yes and one of the recipes I'm working on is a Denver Mud which was sold years ago at drug stores to draw out bee stings and worked amazingly well. One of the base ingredients was usually Witch Hazel. Most modern style drug stores do not carry this today. But like I say it's available on line at many soap and lotion and botanical sellers.

-- LeslieSinning (sinning@libby.org), February 01, 2004.


Fullers earth can also be used to take the red dye out of United Kingdom Red-Diesel as it is called over here, basically this diesel is used on farms and off road in tractors etc and is not taxed at the same high level all our other fuels are(5% rather than 17.5%), with fullers earth having so many good and interesting uses perhaps this use may be one of the naughtiest, kerosene or paraffin can also be used in diesel engine vehicles with some oil added to lubricate the valves, kerosene i believe has a higher burn temp but with care and a good mixture with the oil it can serve you well giving better performance and miles/kilo per gallon/litre the difference is noticable.....although please don't try this in the Uk as there are new laws out from the 1st of April where customs will check the fuel in your vehicle and everytime you buy either red-diesel or kerosene you have to show ID....I don't use it so please don't!!!! i'm just giving more of a story to a very interesting product Fullers Earth. Many years ago now back around the early 90's i worked on a fuel system to convert petrol or gasoline engines to run several hundred miles/kilometres on a cup of fuel, we tried and tested it and tried very hard to have someone market the product but in the UK we are very good at designing products it's the marketing we are not good at, i have a letter from my goverment saying this product is not in our nations interests as we have oil fields in and around Scotland and the UK...this is part of our wealth and job rely on oil being sold, if this product was used the oil companys would not sell as much oil etc, the same goes for a designer in the USA who designed a zero-gravity vehicle which hovered above ground level(without fans or mechanics/no moving parts) this easily could have been marketed as a new mode of transport but guess what our goverments would possibely loose revenue through tax on rubber tyres.......i've gone off the subject a little but i would like to thank all who have written there letters before me as it's been great reading, Vin.

ps: A quick note to end, filtered chip shop oil used to fry in fast food outlets is available in large amounts and containers to be disgarded, if these products are filtered well these too can be used as road fuel for diesel engines but again this is for info only but i must add i support different ways of energy sources i would prefer not to use fossel fuels and use natural methods but i suppose we all do these days.

-- Vin-Diesel (chaneuro@btopenworld.com), April 21, 2004.


Fullers Earth is the traditional Sinkant For Leaders Fishing with Style are pleased to offer the traditional fly fisherman the opportunity to purchase Fuller's Earth in sealable 100gm containers.Keeping up with tradition (and in view of the steady demise of the supply of Fuller’s Earth in local chemist shops which has been commented upon in many fishing journals of late) Fishing With Style step into the breach and offer the traditional leader sinkant, in powder form ready to be mixed, to the fly fishing fraternity. More and more traditional fly fishermen are realising the cost saving in mixing their own sinkant. If mixed correctly Fullers Earth provides one of the best natural methods of creating an effective and durable sinkant and one small tub can last all season. www.fishingwithstyle.co.uk

-- Stephen Cheetham (sales@fishingwithstyle.co.uk), June 10, 2004.

Facial masks are some of the oldest known beauty treatments. The ancient Egyptians used mud and clay to remove dead skin cells and heal blemishes. Seventeenth century European women experimented with milk and egg masks. Fresh foods, flowers, and herbs were used to cleanse and nourish the skin. A mask softens the skin, unclogs the pores, and removes the impurities. It also replaces lost moisture and sooth the skin. It is also very relaxing. Fullers Earth is an ideal ingredient for any face mask. A natural powdered clay fuller's earth, mixed into a paste with hot water, let it go cool and then add yogurt for a smoother consistency. Apply this to your face. Let it dry for 10 minute and then sponge off. This yogurt mud refines pores and tightens normal or oily skin. Here are two other recipes you can use: Mix 1 egg white, 1 tablespoon yogurt, 1 teaspoon each fuller's earth and honey. Mix 2 tablespoons yogurt, 2 teaspoons fuller's earth, a few drops of mint extract, and enough water to make a creamy paste.

-- Stephen Cheetham (sales@fishingwithstyle.co.uk), August 18, 2004.

Years ago I used to work for a race horse trainer who used Fullers Earth and Meth spirit mixed to a paste to put on race horses tendons to cool them if there was heat there, it worked great.

-- Marianne Woodward (maz@myequine.co.uk), August 20, 2004.

Fullers Earth can be used to draw out stains in marble or limestone. Mixed with hot water laid over the stain like a poultice and left for 48hrs. Wiped off and hopfully the stain is gone.

-- T Bell (tom100b@hotmail.com), September 03, 2004.


Fuller's Earth is also very useful for a fish aquarium or fish pond! It is non-toxic to the fish and it is great for aquatic plants. In the US it is sold in garden centers as Schultz's Aquatic Plant Soil, about $7 for 10lbs, enough for a 10 gallon fish tank, and cheaper than the pet store gravels.

-- Sheila (zip@zip.com), September 05, 2004.

Fullers earth is used to make Dynamite

-- Rod (rod@jerseymail.co.uk), October 28, 2004.

I ordered a chinchilla blue cloud dust and the breeder ran out and sent me fullers earth powder, and it is as fine as flour , please let me know if there is somthing I am to mix this with, Thanks Nancy

-- Nancy (fantisca@cox.net), November 16, 2004.

fuller's earth is also an effective pest control. it's makeup is microscopic spiky shards of petrified tiny ocean creatures (diodes, i think). it will kill anything with an exoskeleton. just sprinkle it anywhere--on floors, in your bed (for fleas), around windows and doors (for roaches), anywhere. the little shards creep into the joints of exoskeletal creatures and shred them from the inside out. gross. but i really hate fleas and roaches, so it's a just revenge. it's also used in water filters, ancient dry cleaning, kitty litter, facial masks and soaps, and all over the place. it is technically proven to be a carcinogen, but only if inhaled, so watch yourself when handling the dust.

-- amy millman (amy@costumemonger.com), January 16, 2005.

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