Playing with Water Absorbing Polymer Beads

I bought some "Soil Moist" on eBay and it arrived yesterday. I wanted to make a cooling pad for my dear moggie, Marilla. :benice: It was a bit of an adventure. These little beads absorb water, swelling to 400% of their previous volume. So here I am with this little 8 oz. pouch, wondering how much I need to put into a cat-sized pad. I decided to start with 1/2 c. I put it into a large 2 kg. (about 4.5 lbs.) peanut butter container and added water to the 2/3 mark. Ten minutes later all the water was absorbed and the container was 2/3 full. I divided the gel into two such containers and added more water. And more. And more. I ended up with both big containers full to the brim... quite enough for Rilla's cushion. Sewed it up and called Rilla, who (being a cat) was not the least bit impressed or grateful. Ewwww! Gross! she exclaimed when her paw touched the cushion. It's not wet to the touch, so it wasn't that. She just doesn't like new things. Maybe she will get used to it and maybe she won't. :shrug: Up to her.

Meanwhile, I still have about 5 oz. of the beads left. I'm thinking cooling packs for the humans around here. I had the cushion on my lap while I stitched up the filling hole and I felt much cooler afterwards. When we get tired of playing with this stuff, it can go into the plant pots when I pot things up for winter. Less watering and more consistent moisture.

http://www.soilmoist.com/index.php

COOL

haha I'm so punny

That's okay! I adore puns!

my father in law used to say puns were the sign of a clever mind

my grandfather wan't quite so kind

but I enjoy them too

Those things are pretty neat... got some Water Crystals (the clear synthetic polymer ones) to fill a small fishtank and sprout seeds in it so the kids could watch the roots grow (homeschooling... botany... ). The seeds didn't sprout, unfortunately. I used some of the rest of it in the garden, but really didn't pay enough attention to determine whether they helped or not. I had read that the stuff degrades into a neurotoxin, so I was afraid to use it with my tomatoes, but I used it with ornamentals. Be careful about mixing it into soil without soaking it first... it will heave!

The Soil Moist Natural you linked to sounds like another product I found called Zeba, which is made from cornstarch and is safe for crops.

Biochar is also helpful for soil moisture. But of course it's no good for a pet cooling mat! Boy, did I get off topic! :bash: