gunge advice needed

[ukmessyuk]

im looking into gettin some gunge as i want to use something else instead of custard and porridge beans etc dont get me wrong nothing wrong with them just fancy a change with gunge can i scoop whats left and re use it say in a months time or will it have to be disposed off and is it safe if any goes in my mouth any advice is welcome cheers

[Richard]

By gunge I assume you mean natrosol (?). It won't harm you if you get small amounts in your mouth but I wouldn't swallow too much in case it causes bowel problems; it has been used as a bulk laxative in the past! I can't find anything in the literature about its long term stability but I think it would make an excellent growing medium for bacteria. Therefore I wouldn't recommend keeping it for more than a few days.

[Ophite]

I can't vouch for other types of gunge (haven't used 'em), but the most common by far is the Natrasol type.

Natrasol isn't harmful if swallowed. In fact, it's used as a food additive (thickener and emulsifier, E461=methylcellulose, E462=ethylcellulose), and is rumoured to be among the ingredients in the McDonald's milkshake (which explains a lot). However, it's quite unpleasant to taste if it's been coloured with powder/poster paint, of course! Otherwise it's kinda... neutral, and the best way I can describe it is 'a bit like celery', but you'll want to spit it out if you get any in your mouth; it isn't nice (actually I think it's the texture rather than the taste)!

As for the effect on your stomach, it's fluid dietary fibre; hydroxyethylcellulose (or hydroxymethylcellulose, or hydroxymethylcellulose ether). That is what it is. So, if you swallow a little, you'll be fine (though as I said above, it doesn't taste good)! If you swallow a lot, then you may feel a bit bloated and need the toilet a couple of hours later. But you should be alright after that; it won't do you any real harm unless you have some kind of bowel condition where you should avoid fibre, though you should definitely avoid deliberately drinking the stuff (see above; it's not nice!). (If you do have a bowel condition, there's every possibility you may have been prescribed it at some point as Citrucel or whatever... oh, and it's one of the main ingredients in K-Y Jelly too...)

You really don't want to keep it once mixed up for more than about a week if you can avoid it. After two weeks, it's definitely "turned"; still sploshable, but not exactly what you'd call 100% pleasant. It's not the gunge, that keeps ages in powder form—it's the water in it, that goes kinda... stagnant, and it starts developing a distinctive celery-esque smell. (I presume chemical preparations avoid this with distilled water or something, I don't really know for sure.)

I'm not an expert in the field, but I don't think bacteria can grow in it. It's too thick, and it's fibre, not starch or sugar; Wikipedia actually seems to indicate it's used to stop bacterial growth in cultures (because unlike normal liquid growth medium, it's too thick for them to travel though). I certainly haven't seen mould or anything. I may have swallowed a little two-week old, particularly lumpy, chunky gunge a few weeks ago, and there were no noticeable ill effects (beyond tasting bloody 'orrible and making me want to gag)!

But ... no, don't try and keep it once mixed up for extended periods, because you want a pleasant experience when sploshing!

In summary—go for it. It's awesome. But you probably don't want to scoop it up and re-use it a week later.

A few people sell it quite cheaply on eBay now, including Dave from gungetankbabes, I believe. It's cheap enough you shouldn't need to re-use it. I mean, you don't reuse your custard and beans, do you...?




...y-you don't, do you? *winces*

[ukmessyuk]

no i dont reuse my custard and beans lol may have to try natrasol is there anything which is safe that can be used again

[dunktankbabes]

We got around 3 weeks out of the gunge before it was "past its sell by date" . Ophite was the last to use it and that was around 4 weeks which was too long and had too many extra helpings of powder. Like Ophite says it is safe and the grade we have is use in toophpaste so must be safe.

www.dunktankdownload.com

[Ophite]

Like Dave said, it was a bit chunky and funky by the time I used it—but that was largely because of the water and extra powder that had been added after saturation.

The fresher the better, of course. A month is definitely too long, but it's safe, it's just not as nice.

As for anything safe (to what; swallow?) and messy which keeps for ages? You know, I really don't know, I'm afraid; I've always regarded sploshing sessions as potentially destroying every clothing item in them, and gunge as a consumable not a reusable, so I don't really expect anything to survive, and that's perfectly OK because it died doing what I love and what I got it for.

I've reused it a couple of times within a week, and I can vouch that that is perfectly fine.

[ukmessyuk]

im not too worried about smell of anything except poo aslong as i can get messy how much is this natrasol stuff

[Mike Nomic]

is there anything which is safe that can be used again

Yes, outdoor mud - no problems with 'decay'.

Mike.

[ukmessyuk]

is there anything which is safe that can be used again

Yes, outdoor mud - no problems with 'decay'.

Mike.

nowt near me really and not keen on doin anything in public areas