Until recently my back garden was a building site, and I happily sanded my kiln shelves clean outside, allowing the kilnwash dust to settle on the rubble.
But now I've cleared the site and planted lots of plants.... can anyone tell me whether I'm poisoning the flowers, or is old kilnwash chemically inert?
(I'm using the usual pink kilnwash)
Is old kilnwash inert?
Moderators: Brad Walker, Tony Smith
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The major component in kilnwash is kaolin which is a form of aluminum-silicate clay. Like most clays, it is probably harmless, but I wouldn't suggest using it for a mud-bath or anything like that as it tends to draw water from the skin as it hydrates.
Tony
Tony
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Yeah, it's sort of a kind of dirt anyway. I might worry about the dye. Maybe you don't want it on your vegetable garden. It could also cause some change in the pH level of your soil if there was enough of it (a lot of plants really don't like things like plaster). I don't actually know this, it may be totally neutral.