2x? "sifted" media? Treat media before using?

[Mountaineer370]

Originally Posted by nogreenthumbs

OK, I don't have an outside space or gear to sift the dust out. Should I just put what I'll need in a pot and rinse the crap out of it before I use it for potting?

I'm a "put it in a pot and rinse the crap out of it" person. To me, it makes more sense to plant in clean media from the get-go instead of relying on just flushing the pots to rinse that dust out.

Originally Posted by nogreenthumbs

It should be mostly charcoal and perlite dust, I assume, both of which sound like they would not be great to be caked around roots.

FWIW, I don't think it would be great to inhale that stuff, either. Use caution and pour very slowly. Yesterday, I was making a batch of homemade potting mix for African violets, and when I added the perlite, a big white cloud of dust flew up. I stepped far away until it settled. I haven't used charcoal, but I'm guessing it's pretty dusty, too.

[nogreenthumbs]

Originally Posted by Mountaineer370

FWIW, I don't think it would be great to inhale that stuff, either. Use caution and pour very slowly. Yesterday, I was making a batch of homemade potting mix for African violets, and when I added the perlite, a big white cloud of dust flew up. I stepped far away until it settled. I haven't used charcoal, but I'm guessing it's pretty dusty, too.

I agree. Perlite especially, is supposed to be a type of obsidian which is volcanic glass. The make-up of perlite is something like 70% silicon dioxide. I would assume that the perlite dust will be "sharp" which would work it's way into the lung tissue. Also, back when I was doing DIY stuff around the house, anything that had silica as a powdered ingredient (grout, mortar, cement, etc...) always had inhalation warnings for cancer. Just another reason why rinsing the stuff down with water seems like a good idea.