Disaster! Oil Dri turned to MUSH!!!

[CactusSquirrel]

I was just checking on one of my test piles of dirt for my raised bed and it was a pile of clay mush! I had a pile of dirt sitting in my bed out in the open waiting for the rest to be filled in, it has been raining on and off for the last few weeks. 50% of the mix is Oil Dri. I have just switched alot of my potted cacti and succulents into this mix with Oil Dri in it and have not seen any signs of mushing. This is a total disaster! Did they change their formulation?

[sabotenmen]

Why don't you call the manufacturer and ask?

[Saxicola]

Does the bag have the number 8822 on it?

Edit: Had wrong number at first.

[Bruce]

Sorry about your mush. I know there's a lot of similar-but-different products listed on the Oil-Dri site (http://www.oildri.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;). Maybe you bought the wrong one? I tried a bag Oil-Dri (product number unknown) a couple of years ago and it, too, turned to mush, so I only use Schultz Aquatic Soil or Turface now.

[*Barracuda_52*]

Thats not good wonder what happend, when using dry stall or any type oil dry i always take a handfull and place alittle water on it just enough to cover it and let it sit for few days to see if it stays in chunks or turns to mush. I have never had any probs yet..

[iann]

The one you want, the only one that is safe to use, is #8822.

[Ivan C]

The one you want, the only one that is safe to use, is #8822.

In Ontario Canada the number is #628

[Saxicola]

Ian's # is correct. I accidentally wrote the wrong number at first. Sorry.

[cedillamuerta]

Oh dear. I've been experiencing a lot of the same weather and I just bought a bag of oil-dri. I'll do a test to see because I'm going to be starting seeds in that stuff.

[Peterthecactusguy]

hmm I always check to make sure that it is DE and not some other stuff, and the granular ones are better.. If it's dust it will not work right.

[Andy_CT]

There seems to be confusion here. "Oil Dri" is a product name that has nothing to do with the number 8822, I never looked to see who makes "Oil Dri". Oil Dri was fired clay when I bought a few bags at Walmart in the past. The stuff I got did not turn to mush and I've had some outdoors for 2 years with over 100 inches of rain on it and freezing solid for the winters. They may have changed the product or they may have more than one product. Seems it can't be trusted if some bags are turning to mush now.

8822 is a Napa part # for a product called "Napa floor dry" and is different than Oil Dri. It is DE (diatomaceous earth). My local Napa doesn't even carry their own 8822 floor dry they carry Oil Dri! When I go there I have to special order 8822, every time they pull out a bag of Oil Dri and say this is what you want and I have to say no it isn't.

Bottom line is if you live in the U.S. Go to your local Napa store, ask for part #8822 and accept nothing else.

[CactusSquirrel]

It is just the Oil Dri brand stuff and I bought it at Walmart. Have not seen any Napa products here and we only have AutoZone here it's a small town. I can least return 6 out of the 8 bags I bought. I just don't know what to replace it with in my recipe. Perlite won't hold up and I don't have anywhere to get turface locally. It is bad because it took awhile for this to happen. It's not instant it takes a few weeks of being rained on to turn to mush and you ant tell unless you dig into it. The real pain is going to be unpotting all the cacti and succulents I just repotted.

[Andy_CT]

How far is the nearest Napa store? It is worth it. Call ahead, pre order a bunch and make the trip happen.

[Saxicola]

CactusSquirrel,

Walmart makes a cat litter that should work for you. It is their store brand and it is the non-clumping kind that is unscented. Definitely test it first because they could change the formulation at any time, but a year ago I tried it out based on the recommendation of others and it worked fine and didn't break down. I've since found a source for pumice (sorry, it is local only) so I haven't needed to use the cat litter since.

[Peterthecactusguy]

There seems to be confusion here. "Oil Dri" is a product name that has nothing to do with the number 8822, I never looked to see who makes "Oil Dri". Oil Dri was fired clay when I bought a few bags at Walmart in the past. The stuff I got did not turn to mush and I've had some outdoors for 2 years with over 100 inches of rain on it and freezing solid for the winters. They may have changed the product or they may have more than one product. Seems it can't be trusted if some bags are turning to mush now.

8822 is a Napa part # for a product called "Napa floor dry" and is different than Oil Dri. It is DE (diatomaceous earth). My local Napa doesn't even carry their own 8822 floor dry they carry Oil Dri! When I go there I have to special order 8822, every time they pull out a bag of Oil Dri and say this is what you want and I have to say no it isn't.

Bottom line is if you live in the U.S. Go to your local Napa store, ask for part #8822 and accept nothing else.

Maybe what they have in CT is different then here in AZ but the Oil Dri product I buy is 100% DE. It's made by Marathon Materials and is mined in California, and Utah. The product I use I tested a few times by setting in a glass for a few days. I stayed hard as rocks. I have some that I used for my seedling mixes that months later has the same consistency it did when it came out of the package. My point was that there are two types of Oil dri. One of them had DE but it was more like dust. It was made by Marathon, but it was not the same as the others, and since it was mostly dust It added little volume and made my mix too organic. So I had to buy more, and get the right type.