What do you do with Clay water in your home studio? This is a very important part of
having a home studio. When you're working with Clay you'll always have Clay water
and even more when you're throwing on the Wheel. Hi, Marie here from Pottery Crafters. In this
video I'm going to go through what you can do with Clay water and how to properly dispose of it. Any
supplies mentioned in this video are listed for you below in the show notes. Let's Dive Right In.
Keeping your pipes clean is very important. You should never ever ever. Did I say enough evers?
Never pour clay down the drain. The clay will clog your pipes.
Of course not right away. It'll take time for the sticky clay particles to build up in the pipes.
The good news is there are several things you can do with your clay water. One way is
to get a sink trap. It costs a lot less than paying for a plumber to unclog your pipes.
I know Potters that have been using sink traps for years, and they work really well.
They're easy to change, and there are a few sizes to choose from.
If you don't intend on getting one there's another way you can dispose of your clay water.
You can throw it outside in the backyard. But if you don't have a place in your yard where the
clay is able to go back into the Earth there's another way you can dispose of your clay water.
This is the way I do it. When I'm done throwing on the wheel I simply strain
the clay water and cover the bucket and let the clay settle to the bottom.
Now this will take a while, so I just let it sit until the next day. You can let your water
evaporate on its own, but that's not really a good idea. There are several problems with this. First
is it would take forever to evaporate especially if you're living in a wet climate
and I don't think you want buckets of clay water all over your studio.
Another reason is the clay will start to grow mold, and the clay water will start to stink bad.
Now mold is naturally present in clay but only in small amounts.
Sitting in a bucket like this is a breeding ground for mold growth,
and if you're allergic to mold you can't let it grow in your clay water.
One of my teachers told me that green mold is better than black mold
so this mold would be better if you're not allergic to mold and you don't mind
the smell then go for it. It actually gives the clay more plasticity making it more workable.
The system I use is pretty easy, and it'll even work if you're living in an apartment building.
First thing you want to do is get the extra water out of the bucket.
Grab another empty bucket. You can slowly pour the water out,
but as you can see the tiny clay particles get disturbed and get in the water.
Then you have to stop and wait for the clay to settle again.
This is where this giant syringe comes in handy.
I bought the biggest one I could find. I left the link for you below in the show notes.
You can suck the water right off the top without disturbing the clay below.
Do you know that tiny clay particles are so small that you can only see them under a microscope?
If you like what you see you can hit the like button anytime during this video.
Get as close to the clay as you can without disturbing the clay. You don't want to get any
clay in the syringe. Once you have sucked most of the water out of the bucket just set it aside and
let the water evaporate. It does take a while for the clay to dry out in the bucket and of course,
the time it takes does depend on the climate you live in and the amount of clay and water in your
bucket. Once the clay dries it comes right out of the bucket. Now if you want the water to evaporate
from the clay faster you can pour the clay into a plaster or bisque bowl like this one. I pour
my clay water into this porous bisque Bowl. This shallow bowl helps to evaporate the water faster.
I set it aside and let the water evaporate. Now you have a few options. If you need some slip as
the water evaporates you can take some clay out for slip. I place my slip in these freezer bags
You can continue to keep an eye on the clay until you're able to wedge it out and reuse
it or you can just leave it. No need to keep an eye on the clay. Just let it dry out.
Once the clay is dry in this shallow bowl the clay lifts right out.
Clay took two days to dry out. Again it depends on the climate you live, in the type of clay, and the
amount of clay water you're drying out. Once your Clay is dried out there are several things you can
do with it. You can throw it away but why would you want to waste it or you can recycle it. It's
much better than throwing good Clay away. I place my bone-dry clay in this bucket. Once it's filled
up I place it in a larger storage bucket. The nice part about storing my clay like this is that I can
leave it as long as I want until I'm ready to recycle it. Who says clay doesn't grow on trees?
I have a great video on recycling this bone dry clay the easier less messy way.
I left a link for you in the comments section below. I also have it at the end of this video.
Now let's take a look at our unusable clay water.
Like the clay that's mopped up from the floor. I have to throw this Clay Away.
I take the extra water off the top, and if you have pets you want to cover it with the pillowcase
and set it aside. You can't cover it with the plastic cover because the water won't evaporate.
This is my dirty clay all dried out. It comes right out of the bucket, and I just throw it away.
You see I have a whole system here to make it as easy as I can without wasting or throwing any
clay down the drain. There you have it. Several ways that you can take care of your clay water.
It's good to know you have options. Give this video a thumbs up and to
see more videos like this in the future make sure you hit the Subscribe button.
Also if you want to see me cover any other topics on this channel leave a note in the comments
section below. Now you can check out this video on the less messy way to recycle your clay. Or this
video on how to set up a home studio. If you do I get to play with more clay. Let's stay dirty.