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Shelflife of DE

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Dilly

Dilly

Cooped Up
11 Years
Apr 15, 2008
483
3
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Hi, I just found a place within driving distance to purcahse DE food grade. Can someone tell me the shelflife so I do not purcahse too much and have to toss it. How do you store it? etc.

Thanks
Dilly Girl
 
I believe it is infinite. Like sand, sand never goes bad.
big_smile.png
 
Considering that alot of the diatoms in the bag are probably thousands, if not millions of years old, I don't think it will go bad in your lifetime.
 
Laughing here I guess I should not worry about ordering 50 lbs then.
wink.png
I may even start using it. from all I have read it is some really interesting uses.

Thanks for the replies.
 
Also, I'm not trying to start an arguement here, but I went to the local chemical supply store here to get food grade DE and the guy was going to sell me the same bag that I purchase for my aquarium filters and pool filter.

I told him I wanted food grade since I was using it for my chicken coop and he laughed. I asked him about if having silicates or anything harmful if ingested, and he said if it made me feel better he's write food grade on it and charge me an extra $20. But he ensured me that DE is DE. A 50 lb bag cost me $12.

My hens and baby chicks have been scratching around and living in it for a few months now with no ill effects.
 
Okay So I do not want or need to get too much of this stuff. Can anyone say how much you usually use of it in a coop that is ten by ten. I also want to use it in their feed Six hens.
 
Quote:
There definitely IS A DIFFERENCE, safety-wise. That some people aren't aware of it doesn't mean it doesn't exist
wink.png


The non food grade DE (sold for pool filters, agricultural use, etc) is made from marine diatom deposits and contains very very sharp silica crystals which are Not Good For You if inhaled.
http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/d1288.htm

It can cause silicosis, a permanent irreversible lung disease. Most cases of silicosis are from people with significant ongoing occupational exposure, but it can also occur from much milder and shorter exposures too. Its effects are not immediate, meaning that it's not like you're going to use pool grade DE one day and be hacking your lungs out the next... so you may not even KNOW that your problems, or your animals' problems, trace back to pool filter DE. Hence some people saying 'oh don't worry'.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silicosis

The food grade DE, which is what you oughta be using, has most of its silica in 'amorphous' form rather than long sharp crystals. It still whacks arthropods that come in contact with it, but while it is no better for you than breathing any other kind of dust it is also no *worse* for you than breathing any other kind of dust. I am not aware that there is any risk of silicosis from the food grade (that is *why* it can be labelled 'food grade' of course!).

If your health and that of your animals is worth saving thirty bucks, fine, but don't say you weren't warned
wink.png


Pat
 

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