If you are a parent,you will know the importance of these in your life –
the nappy pads or diaper.
But have you ever thought about what’s inside these that is making your life so comfortable,
and what if I told you the same very thing can help grow plants.
My name is Josh and this is my DIY channel Videoeppo, awesome stuff coming up, keep watching
Welcome back guy’s.
We are now going to rip open a diaper to access what is inside.
I am going to soak it with water first .For better visibility on camera, and to be able
to better identify what we are looking for ,coloured water should be the apt choice.
For this,I am using a sketch pen and its green.
By fiddling with the stopper at its rear end, we can access the cartridge inside.
Now, dropping this in water releases its colour.
It’s better to rip the plastic cover of the cartridge to speed up the process.
I am specifically choosing green, so that
if I need to use the end product for plants, they shouldn’t change funny colours.
If you planning to use this on edible plants, it is better to leave it colourless and all
you have to do is use plain water as the content inside is colorless.
It is difficult to show the difference on camera so I chose to colour it.
The coloured water when poured on the diaper
is absorbed almost instantly.
We have seen this shown in so many ads But I am sure not many have tested it practically
The process was repeated till the contents reached a saturation point.
Using a razor the outer layer was dissected
there we have our green gelly like material inside..
Let me just scoop it out and transfer this into another container…
Now this substance … which is in the diaper is called SODIUM POLYACRLATE… it’s a super water absorbant polymer.
It can expand more than 400 times its weight.
Its colourless,odourless and non-toxic.
I have seen videos in which a diaper is slit open and agitated and then crystals fall out
of it.I got super excited , rushed to the near by store, picked up diaper and did the
same.
The result was not what I expected.
It had some sponge like material.
It obviously cannot be cotton, as it would get heavy when used and is not suitable inside
a diaper.
I went ahead and poured some water and then it turned into this gelly like substance.
The theory is, just the way sugar is converted into cotton candies, sodium polyacrylate is
turned into a cotton like soft cushion for baby bums.
To better demonstrate this, we have equal
volumes of cotton and sodium polyacrylate.Let’s place this in two different glasses and watch
what happens when we pour water.
Cotton is soaked inwater whereas the hydrogel expands and absorbs all of the water.
Its keeps expanding when more water is added.
Now watch what happens when I flip the glass…Hydrogel is held in place … not a single drop…but
the cotton doesn’t do the job.
If I fiddle my fingers in the gel, it feels moist but its not wet.
When I thought about making this video, out of curiosity I googled for this substance
and I found it online.
You should be able to find it in gardening or agriculture stores in case you are considerate
about wasting a diaper
For gardening purposes you will need potting soil.
This is available readymade, but I make my own potting soil by mixing one part coco peat…
one part vermicompost and one part regular soil.
b-roll Go can go ahead and mix one part sodium acrylate
here it would work just fine , or sandwitch it between two layers of soil, just the way
its shown here.
This hybrid hibiscus finds a new home while we do this video.
A single large size diaper can yield enough to fill three pots.
The sides were covered layer by layer and this pot is done.
These methods consume way less water and you can probably skip a day or two even if you
forget to water the plant.
This can be used on existing plants by placing them close to the roots.
Choose a suitable tool to make way for the hydrogel,
place it inside and gently cover the soil.
Do this in two or three different places.
You can see I am using coloured gel I showed previously in the video because this is ornamental plant.
For the curious minds out there, Let me demonstrate what would happen if we over water the plant.
The diaper polymers would absorb all the water and avoid rotting the root.
If you are growing lucky bamboo, you must have seen mosquito larvae swarming after a
week.
Using hydrogel, can solve that problem.
Cover it with diaper polymer and it holds enough water to keep the plants happy and
mosquitoes away
Not only that, placing fresh flower in a syrup of sugar and vinegar ,will help it stay fresh
longer, as they can absorb water and nutrients from this solution
I noticed that the crystal pack I used was a bit slow in absorbing water.
Lets test this too.
By placing equal weight of the polymer from a diaper and the crystals and pouring equal
quantity of water, we can see that the cotton like material from diaper is absorbing water
instantly.
You can place this in zip pouch and freeze it and you have a wonderful icepad.
This hydrogel, infused with potting mix proves to be good seed starter as it takes cares
of over watering.
Showing this process is beyond the scope of this video, But I make a follow up video soon
If you baby diaper is gently used,ie if it
only number in it, don’t get yucky use a pair of gloves and scoop it out.
Urine has ammonia which is a natural fertilizer and your plants will really thank you for
it. If you worried about the smell , , don't be
cocopeat in the potting mix will supress it.
Nature will do the rest.
let me summarise this video with following point
1.Substance inside the diaper is sodium polyacrlate which is a super water absorbant polymer
2.It is in a cotton like state inside the diaper for it absorbs water instantly and provides
the required cushioning for babies
3.We can use this to hold water and moisture in the soil and help the plants grow better
4.Its is separately available online if you don’t want to waste a diaper
5.You can use this for various household hacks and we’ve see a few
Now that was a cool gardening solution for summer
So what do you think of this video,what are other ways you think this diaper polymer or
sodium ployacrylate can be used, let me know in the comments below.
If you like this video, you might like some of my others too.
Please subscribe to my channel videoeppo.
I will back with another video next week.
Until then Bye