Talk:Diatomaceous earth/Archive 1

Coffin-like?
Diatomaceous earth has a high porosity because it is made of microscopically small coffin-like hollow particles. - I suppose I can kind of imagine that...but coffin-like in what way? The shape of the particles? Mithridates 15:03, 21 February 2006 (UTC)


 * Well, diatomaceous earth is technically composed of skeletons, which at one point contained dead diatom cytoplasm...maybe it was a pun? -- stillnotelf   has a talk page  23:48, 21 February 2006 (UTC)

Are all sources credited?
Much of the material, most noticeably the line about "The most common use (68%) of diatomaceous earth is as a filter medium, especially for swimming pools." also appears at http://www.amigo-business-centre.com/index_bestanden/Page1017.htm

While it is possible that amigo-business-centre.com got the information from this Wikipedia page, amigo's article seems to be much more complete.

Rich Freedman (talk) 18:46, 15 May 2008 (UTC)

"bird shit filter" - diatomaceous earth is the washed remains of millions of diatoms eaten by birds and deposited over the millennium usually at the base of cliffs hence the rather nasty sounding name

Need references for the geology section. Skeletons of both fresh and saltwater diatoms are composed of amorphous (noncrystalline) silica. Both types can convert to more crystalline forms of silica depending upon depth of burial. In addition, crystalline silica (eg quartz) may be deposited along with diatoms in both environments. The amount of this cystalline silica detritus depends on the proximity to the paleo shoreline along with relationship to steams, rivers, fans, and other slope deposits. --cmross6 (talk) 17:40, 20 July 2008 (UTC)

Pronounciation
Am I the only one who thought this was pronounced /ˌdaɪatəˈmeɪʃəs ˈɝθ/ or /ˌdaɪatɒˈmeɪʃəs ˈɝθ/ ? — DIV, Melbourne (128.250.80.15 (talk) 04:06, 12 January 2009 (UTC))
 * Maybe it's a Strine vs. Merican thing. At my end of the world, any unstressed syllable is as likely to be pronounced /ə/ as not.

As a Food Supplement
Some vitamin providers are promoting D.E. as a food supplement. If you read their ads (see www.earthworkshealth.com) it can cure just about everything: arthritis to constipation, skin problems, etc. They sell it as "Food Grade" product for humans & pets.

I can understand how it would be helpful to eliminate insects, but I fear powdering my dogs to eliminate his fleas might be dangerous to his lungs, since I am supposed to =wear a mask when opening the container... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.163.91.155 (talk) 01:12, 19 January 2010 (UTC)

Untitled
Some text in this article has been merged from Kieselguhr. See the history of that page for authorship record.

Someone might want to put something in here about diatomaceous earth as a pest repellant..

The sudden usage of the term 'Kieselgur' is somewhat confusing and out of context. Could someone rewrite this to make the connection a little easier to make? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Etherdave (talk • contribs) 20:34, 18 April 2010 (UTC)

epidemiological studies
We need epidemiological studies into diatomaceous earth progression inside the lungs of animals and humans.

[aside - We need this type of statement for diatomaceous earth that explains its impact on human and animal lungs: Fiberglass passes through lung tissue and is expelled in the urn. Asbestos is too large in diameter and lodges in lung tissue, and the body attacks it which damages the lung tissue.]

I found a limited number of references to diatomaceous earth in lung tissue and if others agree, we should cite them. Sponsion (talk) 17:29, 10 July 2010 (UTC)

Needs expansion
This article should say more about the formation of Diatomaceous earth, as well as where it is found, how it is processed, etc. Zocky 11:21, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

And perhaps a note on its abundance? How much of this stuff is there on earth? mdclxvi 09:02, 14 July 2007 (UTC)
 * I wonder if there has been any research done on an eventual man-made replacement, since "fossilized remains" are pretty obviously a finite resource. Diggernet (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 22:30, 28 May 2010 (UTC).

need info about diatomites as reservoir rocks. In California alone, they contain billions of barrels of oil. --cmross6 (talk) 17:41, 20 July 2008 (UTC)


 * It it also one of the ingredients in my bait snare matt paste (hair wax). Probably worth some form of mention in the article that the ingredient can be found in hair products. Timeshift (talk) 08:19, 17 October 2008 (UTC)

Section 2.4 uses a link that is mere opinion, not remotely creditable. I can't find anything that supports that claim at all using google. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.90.123.177 (talk) 08:12, 17 June 2011 (UTC)

Awful source.
Source 9 is currently a garbage source. Suggest http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~fieldspg/fields/de-test-p.pdf, which contains the same information (explanation of how DE kills insects) 68.30.168.158 (talk) 20:35, 22 July 2011 (UTC)


 * Agreed. More significantly, however, the Wikipedia article doesn't even summarize that "garbage source" accurately. Reading the reference suggested above, I note that its explanation of the mechanism by which diatomaceous earth kills insects is at odds with the usual explanation, to wit, that it abrades (not absorbs) the waxy layer preventing water loss through the insect exoskeleton. I won't even hazard a guess which explanation is correct without further research, so for the moment will leave the article untouched.Floozybackloves (talk) 02:50, 9 December 2011 (UTC)

File:Diatomaceous Earth BrightField.jpg to appear as POTD soon
Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Diatomaceous Earth BrightField.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on March 2, 2012. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2012-03-02. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks! — howcheng  {chat} 18:04, 29 February 2012 (UTC)

Fulling/filling
A recent edit suggests that "filling", not "fulling", was meant. Diatomaceous earth can be used for filtration in a way similar to fuller's earth (which was originally used for fulling wool); this might be the source of confusion. In the context of the article, I think "filtering" was what was meant.--Curtis Clark (talk) 18:25, 7 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Although diatomaceous earth can be used for filtering, I think "filling" makes much more sense in the context of the sentence. Paints, soaps and detergents typically need some type of inert material in their formulations to adjust properties such as viscosity, texture, etc.   Deli nk (talk) 18:52, 7 September 2012 (UTC)
 * Although I see your point, in the context of that section it makes no sense. Since it is unsourced, I've removed it.--Curtis Clark (talk) 02:53, 9 September 2012 (UTC)
 * That's probably best. Thanks.  Deli nk (talk) 18:24, 10 September 2012 (UTC)

Change of absorption to adsorption
I suggest changing all occurences of the word "absorption" to "adsorption" because adsorption is taking place in all the described processes. Adsorption = binding of liquid/gas on the surface of sorbent, while absorption = taking up a substance into the volume of sorbent. Vlachj (talk) 04:43, 2 March 2013 (UTC)

PDF Bug in Section "2.8.2 Marker in livestock nutrition experiments"
When generating a PDF file from the article, the definitions for the terms that appear in the equation are incomplete.

The PDF shows: "Where: %N" etc instead of "Where: %N is percent Nutrient Digestibility" etc. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kiisu Buraun (talk • contribs) 08:48, 9 October 2014 (UTC)


 * Hi Kiisu Buraun, I can confirm the problem, but can't seem to really fix it right now. I changed the equation and explanation so you may render a somewhat useable PDF version. I tried HTML sub tags, but the PDF renderer does not 'sub' the capitals, so for now I used sub combined with small, which works somewhat. Still not very pretty, but I can't do better. Hope this helps. - Regards Snaily (talk) 11:04, 9 October 2014 (UTC)

Thank you. The change is good enough for my purposes. Appreciated. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Kiisu Buraun (talk • contribs) 04:04, 10 October 2014 (UTC)

Rock?
I have to question the characterization as "rock." My understanding is that this material is made up of very porous and finely-divided silicious skeletal remains, more like dust than rock. "Sedimentary rock" is formed from sediment, but is nevertheless rock, NOT dust, powder, or sand. Any of these three can DERIVE from sedimentary rpck, but they are then dust (or sand, or chalk, or powder) DERIVED from sedimentary rock, and are no longer rock, particularly sedimentary rock, per se. I would argue that the sedimentary rock description is misleading, and altogether unhelpful. ("White dirt," mentioned above, is a more useful characterization!) As I am sure someone has secondary citations to support their description, I would point out that ultimately ANYTHING can be sourced. Common sense should apply. Rags (talk) 07:22, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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j0cx0l1g0

Ni-Kieselguhr
Kieselguhr is a synonym for diatomaceous earth (first sentence of article). § Catalyst support said
 * For example, nickel, referred to as Ni–Kieselguhr, can be supported on the material to improve its activity as a hydrogenation catalyst.

Although the bolded text accurately quotes the source, as well as many other texts found by googling "define Ni-Kieselguhr", it hardly seems likely that the element nickel itself (chemical symbol Ni) would ever be called Ni-Kieselguhr, as the sentence asserts. The only sensible interpretation of this wording is that nickel supported on diatomaceous earth, or the combination, is called Ni-Kieselguhr. I have changed the wording in the article to
 * For example, nickel can be supported on the material – the combination is called Ni–Kieselguhr – to improve its activity as a hydrogenation catalyst.

--Thnidu (talk) 16:33, 9 September 2017 (UTC)

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Do people eat it?
When used as a parasiticide in animals and people, do they have to ingest this stuff? I have seen some of this (I believe) in a convenience store in a VERY rural area and was told by the clerk that people just called it "white dirt" and bought it to eat, I couldn't imagine why at the time.72.242.143.24 23:51, 12 December 2006 (UTC)


 * It can be spread in a persons yard to kill fleas. Very cheap and effective.


 * I know that horses have it added to their feed.. AND my roomate and I used it to rid ourselves of bedbugs. VERY effective though it takes a LONG time to clean up and many moppings. (Plus makes you feel rather dry from just being in the environment) 205.233.28.39 20:19, 20 July 2007 (UTC)


 * A lot of people eat this stuff... it is considered to be healthy by many, not just in rural areas. i am suprrised this article does not mention it. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 132.205.103.68 (talk • contribs) 00:34, 26 February 2013
 * It seems to be applied topically for treatment of external pests, such as fleas, tics, lice, bed bugs, and sometimes taken internally, primarily for worms and other parasites, but claims for benefit of ingestion seemingly have no limit. Ingestion of French clay seems an apt comparison, though DE would be a more effective cleanse, being more abrasive.  I don't personally recommend ANY of the above, only reporting what I have gleaned from reading.  "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger" was Nietsche's claim.  I say, "Buyer beware!"  Rags (talk) 07:36, 30 July 2015 (UTC)

Diatomaceous earth is indeed sold specifically for human consumption. From the reviews, buyers appear to consume a spoonful or two daily (usually mixed with juice or another drink). Claimed health benefits include, "Better sleep...Improved Elimination, Improved Muscle Tone, Lower Candida Overgrowth, Releasing Excess Weight, Softer skin, [and] Stronger Hair And Nails." I'd also very much like to see some properly sourced discussion of this on the page. Cjs (talk) 23:15, 30 August 2017 (UTC)

I also. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2602:306:CF99:2080:5C67:E811:76F:52B7 (talk) 18:32, 29 April 2018 (UTC)

terminal ileum
Article states that the terminal ileum is the last third of the small intestine. It is, however, the point where the small intestine ends and the large intestine begins.Longinus876 (talk) 07:39, 21 January 2019 (UTC)

Peter Kasten and his diatomite well
I've found a peer-reviewed source with the story -- but I can't trace it back any further; it's inadequately sourced in the peer-reviewed article. I wonder if we should just chuck this entirely. --Kent G. Budge (talk) 21:40, 2 December 2020 (UTC)

´Other deposits´: (Germany) Neuburger Kieselerde
In german, not in english, therefor with the translation to english: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuburger_Kieselerde to english http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FNeuburger_Kieselerde --Visionhelp (talk) 16:53, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

article needs more info about being taken orally as supplement
Source of minerals (confirmed) and anti-parasitic (unconfirmed). Thanks, Qwesar (talk) 03:08, 27 April 2016 (UTC)


 * The german article, not in english, ´Kieselerde´ https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kieselerde, translation to english http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FKieselerde says more about this.
 * The difficulties already begins with the translation(s) ´Kieselerde´, or ´Kieselalge´, and the confusions do not end there.
 * But getting some better, when getting to the themes Micronutrient and Mineral (nutrient) and Healing clay (Medicinal clay), Mineral deficiency, Micronutrient deficiency.
 * --Visionhelp (talk) 17:06, 4 April 2021 (UTC)

´External link´(at least): differences between (germans) ´Kieselgu(h)r´ to ´Kieselerde´
Found in german a beautiful description about the very differences of ´Kieselgu(h)r´ and ´Kieselerde´. (Sadnessly in addition: Of both words the translation to english does not work exact and well enough, sorry, and makes extra confusion, which I also can not really help this currently. Sadnessly also the english articles to these are not meeting those differences exactly, I fear. But I imagine, there MUST be an english word for these ´pebble-algas´.) (German) https://www.kieselgurwissen.de/kieselgur-und-kieselerde/ (translation to english) http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kieselgurwissen.de%2Fkieselgur-und-kieselerde%2F

To look at it oneself, here the links and the links with to english translations. --Visionhelp (talk) 11:29, 5 April 2021 (UTC)
 * (german) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kieselalgen (english) http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FKieselalgen
 * (german) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kieselgur (english) http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FKieselgur
 * (german) https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kieselerde (english) http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fde.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FKieselerde

Wording change for clarity
This sentence, "Natural diatomaceous earth (freshwater) is preferred by many researchers over chromic oxide, which has been widely used for the same purpose, but which is also a known carcinogen and therefore a potential hazard to research personnel." has some ambiguity. Which type is a carcinogen?

Try this, "Natural diatomaceous earth (freshwater) is preferred by many researchers over chromic oxide, which has been widely used for the same purpose, because chromic oxide is also a known carcinogen and therefore a potential hazard to research personnel."

Or try this, "Natural diatomaceous earth (freshwater) is preferred by many researchers over chromic oxide, which has been widely used for the same purpose, because natural diatomaceous earth (freshwater) is also a known carcinogen and therefore a potential hazard to research personnel."

My ignorance made it necessary to submit both wordings. That I had to submit both wordings demonstrates the problem with the original wording. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.23.193.142 (talk) 11:05, 20 July 2013 (UTC)


 * ´Kieselgur´ the best exact translation seems to be ´diatom´.
 * In german ´(Kieselgu(h)r to english:) Diatomaceous earth´ are products for cosmetics.
 * ´Kieselalge´ is the animal (or bacteria or what, sorry) from which the ´Kieselgu(h)r´ is from. There is no english word, I could find for Kieselalge, too. ´Pebble-alga´ meets it exact.
 * ´Kieselerde´ (to english: Silica; but best direct word translate to pebble-soil or even pebble-earth) in Germany, in german, are products, which can but not must include ´Kieselalge´, Kieselgu(h)r, pebble-alga; despite it is to misunderstand (misleading) so.
 * The following (external) link did help me with to understand it this way:
 * (German) https://www.kieselgurwissen.de/kieselgur-und-kieselerde/ (translation to english) http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=de&tl=en&u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.kieselgurwissen.de%2Fkieselgur-und-kieselerde%2F
 * --Visionhelp (talk) 12:11, 5 April 2021 (UTC)

´See also´: the my note and link to Silica got removed
Without notification, without a letting me know (1), WHERE before it is noted. If it is wanted, doing works for nothing, to make me leave, just go ahead. ((1) This ´letting´ me know I had first to search for, in my ´Watchlist´: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Diatomaceous_earth&curid=773959&diff=1016354984&oldid=1016354512#See_also) Silica and Diatom (still forgotten) belong very strong related, at least to ´See also´ in Diatomaceous earth. But now it is not me to correct this. --Visionhelp (talk) 03:46, 9 April 2021 (UTC)
 * At 18:40 on 6 April 2021, I removed the wikilink for Silica from the "See also" section because it is already wikilinked in the first paragraph of this article in the sentence:"The typical chemical composition of oven-dried diatomaceous earth is 80–90% silica, with 2–4% alumina (attributed mostly to clay minerals) and 0.5–2% iron oxide." (My bold font and yellow highlighting of "silica"). As I wrote in my edit summary, see MOS:NOTSEEALSO, which states "As a general rule, the "See also" section should not repeat links that appear in the article's body.". Is this not enough explanation? I think my edit was an uncontroversial removal of unnecessary duplication, which did not need discussion, personalised notification or your permission. If you want to include duplicate wikilinks, please explain why you think that would be a good idea. GeoWriter (talk) 15:13, 9 April 2021 (UTC)

Hi, GeoWriter. Thanks the notifying. Thanks the note where it is already mentionied and linked. This is a way to work with. Thanks. (The explaining will not help it to You. This includes the following now removed links also:) (So here at suggestion still:) In may opinion these direct relating themes (articles) are important as an extra note to show the direct relation to the article here. While reading and studying and figuring out the details in the article, the focus is not on further going links, at first. One is in the details focused, and searching, what is important and understandable and what does help and what not and sorting and so on. A direct overview do direct relating themes and articles is a help for overviewing and being noted (even) there (if) again. Not everybody must have this necessary to be helped like this. But ´some´ surely. Sorry, works of convictions I do not do and can not effort in addition to the already works and efforts of the single point stuff lots. Quote ""As a general rule, the "See also" section should not repeat links that appear in the article's body.": Ah. OK. A rule. Let me say, here for my this opinion and conviction only a bad rule and a contra-productiv rule, sadnessly. To ´See also´ --Visionhelp (talk) 12:33, 10 April 2021 (UTC)
 * Healing clay (Medicinal clay)
 * Micronutrients
 * Mineral (nutrient)
 * Silica Health effects. Products of Diatom, (´pebble-alga´)
 * Diatom (Group of algas), but where is ´pebble-alga´, the german word ´Kieselalge´ ? ´Human uses´ (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diatom#Human_uses): in Clay.

bed 🐜
how do i use this to kill bed bugs 162.212.71.41 (talk) 16:39, 30 May 2022 (UTC)

Hydrated Silica ?
Is diatomaceous earth made of Hydrated Silica ? The Wikipedia page of that says it is, but nothing on this long page says it is. IceDragon64 (talk) 20:20, 19 June 2023 (UTC)