Is Alum safe to put in playdough?

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Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« on: February 22, 2008, 06:47:08 PM » by TruthSeeker

I have this great recipe for playdough (better than my old recipe), but one of the ingredients is alum. I never even heard of it before, but I have since learned that it is used in baking powders, and to crisp up pickles and cherries. Because of it's name I am concerned about aluminum. Does anyone know about alum and if it is harmful? I know in large quantities it is deadly, but what about kids playing with it? I've read some internet articles about it, but wanted the opinions and expertise of my welltellme friends Wink

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Re: Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« Reply #1 on: February 22, 2008, 06:51:55 PM » by ndmomof6

This is what I found...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alum

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Re: Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« Reply #2 on: February 22, 2008, 06:58:38 PM » by TruthSeeker

Thanks, ndmom. I read that earlier, but it doesn't really say if it's harmful. I know what the government says is safe is NOT ALWAYS safe. I was hoping someone has done research on the matter and could share what they've learned with me.

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Re: Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« Reply #3 on: February 22, 2008, 07:19:53 PM » by Jlynn

As in all things, it seems there are two sides!

http://www.ochef.com/1080.htm

For science last year we were studying rocks/minerals. We had an experiment to grow an alum crystal. Makes really neat crystals. My friend came over and said that looks exactly like my deodorant crystal. Lo and behold...it is! Except you can grow your own WAY cheaper then buying Wink

A link of the safety of it.

http://www.deodorantstones.com/potassiumalum.ivnu

So to me this brings up along the same lines of safety, if alum is on safe in large quantities, is it any better to be using those deodorant crystals on skin? Hmmmm...

I would say home made play dough is still better then store bought. My favorite recipe uses cream of tartar.

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Re: Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« Reply #4 on: February 23, 2008, 09:48:00 AM » by lotsaboys

This doesn't answer your question about alum but here is an excellent recipe that doesn't have it in. We've been very happy with it:
http://www.welltellme.com/discuss/index.php/topic,2997.msg122294.html#msg122294

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Safety of playdough ingredients
« Reply #5 on: May 09, 2009, 09:56:03 AM » by Jade

I'm not exactly sure where to post this, and it might be a really dumb question, but... Roll Eyes

if a child is sensitive to food coloring, will they react to play dough? I'd like to let my child play with some, but they DO seem to be more sensitive than the average child to food colorings (behavioral changes), and I know that we absorb stuff through our skin. SO... any thoughts?

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Re: Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« Reply #6 on: May 09, 2009, 10:50:23 AM » by Roehrmomma

could you use chlorephyll or cumin or a natural dye like these?

Em

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Re: Is Alum safe to put in playdough?
« Reply #7 on: May 09, 2009, 10:38:11 PM » by hi_itsgwen

Here is what I found on Alum (from a discussion of it's use in crystal deoderant stones...but applicable here too):
"when alum reacts with water (“hydrolyzes”), it breaks up into its components, rearranges itself into different clumps, and the aluminum goes with a negatively charged (and large) clump. (Sorry about the hand-waving here, I haven't been able to find the actual chemical reaction.) Supposedly this means that the aluminum cannot pass through the skin cell wall, the apparent basis of the claim of safety.

Disturbingly, however, according to Material Data Safety sheets (MSDS's), when potassium alum hydrolyzes, another resulting chunk is a dilute solution of sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Sulfuric acid is, of course, corrosive, and is probably the reason for the “discontinue if rash forms” warning on the label." from http://www.chemicalforums.com/index.php?board=9;action=display;threadid=3080

Here is another interesting site with lots of natural dye ideas:
http://members.tripod.com/A_Nuclear_Winter/naturalcolor.html

Alum is an astringent, and is usually used as a 'mordant' or dye fixative. Maybe important for a garment, but not for play-doh IMO. I would personally stick with a non-alum recipe.
Beet juice makes a nice red. There are a lot of natural dyes that are simple to make. Here are some good ideas! http://www.ehow.com/how_4473005_make-natural-dyes.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art

« Last Edit: May 09, 2009, 10:40:41 PM by hi_itsgwen »
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