Household
Home Food Storage with Diatomaceous Earth
One of the worst pests in the home are weevils. These annoying critters love to live in rice and wheat, and flour as well as legumes and pastas. Consumers may purchase these products and carry weevils home with them. Weevils will then infest the pantry, mating, multiplying, and contaminating pantry foods. Two of the most common pests are known as granary weevils and rice weevils. Once weevils are in the kitchen and/or pantry all is not lost. There are several immediate and aggressive steps to take to eliminate the infestation.
One way to eliminate weevils from the home pantry is mix Diatomaceous Earth with the grains being stored. If weevils are present in the pantry, the first step is to carefully inspect pantry foods, especially grains, pastas, and legumes. Female weevils lay their eggs inside grain kernels and can lay up to 254 eggs. It is best to dispose of infested foods and use precautionary measures to prevent future infestations.
Some individuals freeze their grains for about 1 week to destroy weevil eggs, but it is impossible to sift the dead eggs out of the grain. Others simply store their grain in the freezer on a permanent basis.
Pantry shelves should be thoroughly vacuumed and then wiped clean with white vinegar. Most insects dislike white vinegar in general and it also disinfects naturally.
Mixing about 30 milliliters of DE with every 2.8 kg of grain, legumes, and pasta will effectively destroy weevils without harming the food which will remain safe to consume, if the correct grade of Diatomaceous Earth. The large scale grain storage ratio is about 1 cup of DE per 22 kg.
We only offer food grade Diatomaceous Earth which is food grade and is a completely natural product. This means it contains less than 0.1% crystalline silica. We do not include additives or chemicals to our Diatomaceous Earth. We only mill our DE to reduce the particle size and we never subject it to artificial heat treatment. This ensures that it is 100% safe to use in home food storage.
Non-toxic Household cleaner
There are many more uses for Diatomaceous Earth than most people realise. These tiny, ancient fossils may be used in the home for a variety of effective non-toxic cleaners. One of the most common household chemicals that Diatomaceous Earth can replace is deodorisers. Take a quick look at a short list of ideas.
- Place about a cup of Diatomaceous Earth in a small, shallow bowl to keep the refrigerator smelling fresh.
- Sprinkle a fine, even dusting of it over the carpet about 15 minutes before vacuuming. The dust will absorb carpet odours leaving a clean scent behind.
- Dust the bottom of rubbish bins with a light coating of DE before putting the liner in to absorb bad smells.
- For tough carpet stains sprinkle enough Diatomaceous Earth on the stain to completely cover it. Use a brush to work it into the fibres, allow to set for a couple of hours, and vacuum as usual.
- Place a small amount of DE in a bowl and mix enough water with it to create a paste which effectively polishes metal.
- The same paste may also be used as a soft scrub on bathtubs, sinks, showers, and faucets.
Diatomaceous Earth can be dusted onto oil stains in the drive way or garage floor to help eliminate nasty oil stains. Allow it to remain for about 24 hours before using a paint scraper of metal spatula and dispose of properly.
Our Diatomaceous Earth is organic food grade quality. It contains no additives is chemical free and 100% natural making it both safe and effective for household uses. When using DE to dust any area be sure to wear a light mask to avoid breathing. It is does not contain toxins; however, it may cause a slight irritation, if large amounts are inhaled, especially by asthma patients.
We offer several milled Diatomaceous Earth powders which may be used as suggested above. We also offer a dusting applicator designed specifically to be used with our food grade DE. It has been engineered with a pin which clears the tube should it become blocked.