When the perfect box for my long imagined solar cooker project showed up on the curb across the street, I was happier than any normal 40 year old should be. After choosing a plan from SolarCooking.org and doing all the calculating and cutting and measuring, I realized that 40 year old men are not supplied with big plastic squeeze bottles of glue the way that 11 year old kids are. At least one plan mentioned wheat glue. Many of these plans are devised and written with the developing world in mind. I was surprised at how easy it was to cook up a batch of glue. The method that I used called for boiling the flour and water mixture for two minutes before removing from heat and mixing in sugar. There is a plan for a bigger batch of glue on ecochildsplay that does not involve boiling and has the addition of a little vinegar. It is a recipe that your kids could do with some assistance.
I used the entire batch of glue on my solar cooker, spreading it with a used toothbrush. I always keep old toothbrushes for those inevitable dirty jobs. I used to clean bicycle chains with them.
Wheat paste can be stored in a container for repeated use. I would advise against leaving it in the pot as that would make for some difficult scrubbing afterward.
If you try wheat glue and it turns out to be unsuitable for your desired application, you can also make glue using milk. Elmer’s Glue uses milk protein and you can replicate their product fairly easily.
Avoiding the consumption of plastic containers is only one reason to make your own glue. It can also save money. Making glue is a good kitchen ‘experiment’ for kids, with the advantage that you don’t have to eat it, although technically you could.
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Posted on February 23rd, 2009
I try my best to avoid insulting people, but the person who filmed this How To video is stupid.
Plastic Bottles – The best bloopers are here
I might be stupid too. I have been operating under the assumption that heating liquids in PET plastic bottles was a proven health hazard. When I took the time to try and confirm my assumption, I was surprised to find out that I couldn’t. PET water bottles are a BIG problem for the environment. Something like 85% of them are tossed into landfills or discarded into our environment after a single use. But PET bottles have not been a big problem for human health. NGOs are even promoting a water disinfection method for rural Africa using PET bottles and solar energy (PDF). Reusing PET bottles repeatedly without proper cleaning and air drying can put you at risk of ingesting dangerous bacteria.
I still contend that it is unwise to throw a plastic bottle of water on an open fire and then drink from it. I managed to find a few quotes from chemists and food scientists saying that they make a personal choice not to consume food or beverages that are contained in plastic. If any of my readers know of any new credible research into potential health risks with reused PET bottles, please let me know.
UPDATE: Beth Terry, writer of FakePlasticFish managed to find a scientific paper detailing how PET water bottles leach the toxin antimony faster when they are heated. Thanks, Beth.
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Posted on December 9th, 2008
I had one of life’s little victories today when I saw that a nearby store sells wooden clothespins without any plastic packaging. This isn’t that surprising since I am presently living in a place where most people do not have clothes dryers. We only use clothespins in the kitchen and on the clothesline but other people seem to find a lot of weird and wonderful tasks for these pinchy little bits of wood and metal. The strangest purpose that I saw on this list was clipping back spaniel ears to keep them out of the gravy train.
I have occasionally used clothespins to clip cords and stuff to my computer desk but there doesn’t seem to be any need with my present arrangement.
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Posted on December 2nd, 2008
I recently got kinda almost scammed. You may have recently noticed a small advertisement in my sidebar that was promoting a wonderful web hosting company that uses solar and wind power to operate their servers. I joined their affiliate program after reading their sales pitch. The idea of having carbon neutral hosting appealed to me. I didn’t go so far as to move my hosting, even though they were selling me hard on it. I have a very reliable host and I would recommend them to a friend.
When I started to lay the groundwork to really promote this great company the next day a funny thing happened. I tried to load their website and it wasn’t there. In fact it is still down after a few days of checking. At first, I joked with Catherine that it must be dark where they are, but after thinking about the situation for awhile I started to get perturbed. Obviously, I am no longer interested in trying to sell this web hosting service to my readers.
I guess the lesson that I can take from this is to be skeptical of companies that are trying to cash in on environmental idealism.
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