Sunday, December 20, 2009

When cleaning up clay after using a pottery wheel- is it safe to wash clay down the drain?

I put the large chunks of clay in my slurry bucket, but what about the small bits that inevitably wash down the sink during cleanup? Is this a problem? Could it clog my drain? Is there a special filter for clay only? I have a small shop sink in my studio that I use.When cleaning up clay after using a pottery wheel- is it safe to wash clay down the drain?
If you can make a receptable for your sink.


It is basically a big bowl of water with a drain near the top.


Your clay, and all the other solids will sink, the chemicals will rise to the top of the water where they can evaporate, (if you use oil-based paints they will float on the top of the water for you to clean away.)


There should be plans on the web.





Clay will clog your drain, and a filter will not work, as the clay particles are too small.





Added:


I was trying to find the link of that post by meeny mo, this is what I found, would work too:


http://www.purifier.com.np/


But you would have to clean out the upper bucket after each use, to prevent it getting clogged.When cleaning up clay after using a pottery wheel- is it safe to wash clay down the drain?
no throw it in the trash
go to www.silverceramics.com


Further in the article they show how to make a particulate filter out of pottery. Maybe you could make that instead of clogging up your sink.
No, it's not a good idea to just wash it down the sink.It's better to save it up if you plan to use it any further. I suggest to put it in a plastic bag covered by a moist piece of paper. If not then just place it in a plastic bag and just throw it in your garbage.

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