Cheapo Fuller's substitute

darthbish · Post by **darthbish** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 7:31 am

Being an Aussie I can't find Fuller's Earth/Clay/whatever you wanna call it "for love nor money", but I've got a great cheap substitute.

I''ve got a Dyson vacuum cleaner that is BRILLIANT, and picks up the finest of dust in the carpet...It's almost like talcum powder in consistency and clayish/grey in colour.
Sounds odd I realise, but it dirtys up a hat just nicely.......and IT'S FREE

conceited_ape · Post by **conceited_ape** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:41 am

Interesting. I actually use talcum powder itself. Perfect for that built-up sand/salt stains around the ribbon of the Cairo hat.

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:57 am

I use ground up cat litter, it is fullers earth just big pieces. About £1.50 for 10 litres, one bag will last FOREVER!

Scooby liked it!

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:12 am

AND if you cat can't find his litter box...

inexpensive_jones · Post by **inexpensive_jones** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:14 am

That ultrafine dust from the vaccuum cleaner is actually dustmite droppings

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:17 am

binkmeisterRick wrote:AND if you cat can't find his litter box...

Those little plush droppings are fine!

Post by **Michaelson** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:26 am

Remind me to never send my hat to KT for a treatment!

Regards! Michaelson

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 9:45 am

EDIT: UN-used kitty litter!

Piker · Post by **Piker** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:09 am

This is different, this is, "KT-Litter."

Costs 5 bucks per 5 oz.

binkmeisterRick · Post by **binkmeisterRick** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 10:38 am

jacksdad · Post by **jacksdad** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 1:02 pm

hey kitty litter works great for spilled or leaky oil from your car. I put it on the garage floor, let it set and and the oil came up great. just an FYI cheaper then the oil dry mixture,and if you have a cat it work for him too. By the way it was new litter not used.

gwyddion · Post by **gwyddion** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 2:26 pm

My dad has a car-repair shop and he also uses kitty litter to soak up the spilled oil. It works like a charm.

But on a hat, how easy can you remove it?

Regards, Geert

Kentucky Blues · Post by **Kentucky Blues** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:33 pm

I wonder how well that would work on a soaked hat....

-KB

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 4:42 pm

gwyddion wrote:My dad has a car-repair shop and he also uses kitty litter to soak up the spilled oil. It works like a charm.

But on a hat, how easy can you remove it?

Regards, Geert

Very easily, just hit the hat a few times and the dust just flies off.

BTW the oil spill stuff is also fullers earth (usually), it is just packaged differently.

gwyddion · Post by **gwyddion** » Tue Jul 22, 2008 8:55 pm

So, in essence, my dad has a 50lbs bag of fullers eart in his shop while I am trying to locate a place to buy it?

Regards, Geert

Kt Templar · Post by **Kt Templar** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 3:12 am

gwyddion wrote:So, in essence, my dad has a 50lbs bag of fullers eart in his shop while I am trying to locate a place to buy it?

Regards, Geert

Yup!

But, make sure it is. Look at the ingredients/contents, make sure there are no additives/unscented. It should say 100% natural etc.

Some cat litter even says, "100% Fuller's Earth" on the pack.

It's just grey or browny grey chips of hard clay like material, grind it down a bit and "hey, presto".

darthbish · Post by **darthbish** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 9:56 am

I picked up an el-cheapo home brand bag of Kitty Litter and did just that..

MAGNIFICENT!!!!

Thanks HEAPS for the advice

John Falcon · Post by **John Falcon** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 10:43 am

I've been told that most "dust" found in the home is little pieces of people skin.

Blah!

Luke Warmwater · Post by **Luke Warmwater** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:28 am

I use 100% Potomac River silt. It's free, plentiful and fun to go out and get.

scot2525 · Post by **scot2525** » Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:33 pm

darthbish wrote:Being an Aussie I can't find Fuller's Earth/Clay/whatever you wanna call it "for love nor money", but I've got a great cheap substitute.

I''ve got a Dyson vacuum cleaner that is BRILLIANT, and picks up the finest of dust in the carpet...It's almost like talcum powder in consistency and clayish/grey in colour.
Sounds odd I realise, but it dirtys up a hat just nicely.......and IT'S FREE

It is also completely unsanitary. I strongly urge that you do not apply this to any gear in the future.

The point in having a good vaacum cleaner, such as a Dyson, is to get rid of everything it picks up. If you continue to use this it could lead too allergies and/or respiratory problems.

maboot38 · Post by **maboot38** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:35 am

Wow darth, that is truly nasty. Dust from your carpet is nothing more than dead human skin and dustmite turds. If you really want that on your head, be my guest, but I would suggest one of a hundred other methods before coating my fedora with skin flakes and dustmite droppings!!

Arkansas Smith · Post by **Arkansas Smith** » Fri Aug 01, 2008 10:43 am

Thinking about where our hero traipses, dead skin may be more screen accurate.

JC1972 · Post by **JC1972** » Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:03 pm

gwyddion wrote:My dad has a car-repair shop and he also uses kitty litter to soak up the spilled oil. It works like a charm.

But on a hat, how easy can you remove it?

Regards, Geert

Use a Dyson vacuum like darthbish's

Indiana Strones · Post by **Indiana Strones** » Fri Aug 22, 2008 7:25 am

conceited_ape wrote:Interesting. I actually use talcum powder itself. Perfect for that built-up sand/salt stains around the ribbon of the Cairo hat.

Me too.

twilekjedi · Post by **twilekjedi** » Thu Sep 18, 2008 11:30 pm

Advance Auto Parts has Thrifty-Sorb on-sale this week for $5.98 for 40 lb. It's 100% Fuller's Earth. It's more particulate (not powder), but you could crush it. Just wear a mask so you don't breathe in the stuff and crush it while in a well-ventilated area. I used it while distressing my husband's Mark VII replica bag and it worked like a charm.

Indiana Joyce · Post by **Indiana Joyce** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:22 pm

I put softpay cat litter into a food processor. I have enough fullers earth to last me until December 21st 2012.

Rob · Post by **Rob** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:41 pm

Am I right in assuming, however, that ground up cat litter doesn't have the brown colour of the Fuller's that other people use?

Indiana Joyce · Post by **Indiana Joyce** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:08 pm

not at all. Mine is a healthy brown. I just finished grinding up the whole bag today in my black and decker ice crusher blender. I kept switching between ice crusher and grind.

Just like a bruised...uh...piece of male anatomy, you can't beat it!

enigmata_wood · Post by **enigmata_wood** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 6:33 pm

household dust is 60-70% dead human skin flakes and hair, 20-25% dust mites and their droppings {that's mostly 'second generation' human skin} the remainder is 'other detrius', which is the scariest bit I reckon.
I think I'll let my hat develop its own gradual patina

inexpensive_jones · Post by **inexpensive_jones** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:21 pm

Looked for the kitty litter...couldn't find the right kind. Thought about vac-dust...not. Went out to my gravel driveway, scooped up some dust and put it in a rag, then began tapping it against the hat. Perfect and Free! Inexpensive Jones strikes again.

Serial Hero · Post by **Serial Hero** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:07 pm

Indiana Joyce wrote:I put softpay cat litter into a food processor.

I hope you give it a good wash afterwards otherwise your meals will have a nice earthy flavor.

I have enough fullers earth to last me until December 21st 2012.

The day the lizard men take over. I can’t wait.

Indiana Joyce · Post by **Indiana Joyce** » Tue Sep 23, 2008 8:56 pm

Yeah, I actually broke the food processor

The black and decker held up fine tho, who wants margaritas??

All you have to do is check on the back of the package for ingredients, if it says natural clay or fullers earth, your good. You can also use the safety spill stuff.

twilekjedi · Post by **twilekjedi** » Thu Sep 25, 2008 11:27 pm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/monster-bo ... 498217563/

Cheapo Fuller's substitute

Cheapo Fuller's substitute

Re: Cheapo Fuller's substitute

Vacuum dust????!!!!!

dodgy Dyson dust

Fuller's earth