Homemade Mud Jacuzzi
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2021 9:21 pm
Building off the excellent earlier posts about making homemade mud pits:
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=18269
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=20342
I'm about to move into a house (renting), and I want to set up some kind of home mud pit. Here are my initial thoughts... please help me refine them with your suggestions and experience!
Location
As I am only renting the property, I can't do any digging. The garage has a half-bath (toilet, sink, shower stall), so that might be a possibility for privacy and proximity to cleanup without tramping mud throughout the house. I could set up a small preliminary cleanup exit area right next to the tub to squeegee off the big chunks of clay (and also to collect said chunks to replace back into the tub) and lightly rinse off. Then in the garage shower, I'd have a kind of filter rack/strainer/mesh (ideas?) on the floor to filter out other fine particulates, catching them so they can't clog the drain.
Size
While I long for the deep Studio588 pits, if I'm going to do it in the garage, I'll need a more modest-sized container. One thought was to fill one of those inflatable jacuzzis. That would mean paying a premium for the "jacuzzi features" which wouldn't really apply whilst repurposing it as a mud bath. Although... I wonder if it could be possible to intercept the input/output points of the jacuzzi's water heater and connect them to a closed system of tubing, making for a way to circulate hot water and heat the mud? Or I could set it up on a large heating pad (never set hot enough to damage the vinyl of the tub, but enough to percolate some heat up through the mud). Alternatively/Additionally, I'm thinking about using a strong pond liner inside the jacuzzi, as an extra level of containment redundancy, and to protect the jacuzzi in case I ever want to use it for its intended purpose in the future. It would be cool if I could repurpose the jacuzzi to make a heated clay pit... but those things aren't cheap, when all I really need is a sturdy container to fill with mud.
Another consideration is structural strength. Naturally, the inflatable jacuzzis must have been product tested to easily withstand the pressures of being filled with water and the wear & tear of getting knocked around by people climbing in and out... but would it be strong enough to withstand the heavier load of being full of clay? Any other ideas for a strong free-standing container?
Mud
My first thought went to bentonite clay, as that has been tried and true for years at Studio588. Its natural antimicrobial properties will help safeguard against mold or other undesirables. I was actually just able to scoop up 200lbs of Extra High Yield Bentonite (four 50lb bags) for cheap - left over from someone else's well project. And I've mapped a source nearby to get more!
Bentonite does have a smooth, gel-like (sometimes downright jiggly) consistency that feels amazing, but I'm also curious about other clays.
I realize I may be in the minority, but I really like things thick and sticky! I love the feeling of being stuck. In fact, I've also been harboring a desire to do this project but fill the tub up with slime like this! https://youtu.be/7dc49UtOHp0 (But that would be absurdly expensive! If money wasn't an option, I'd fill up a swimming pool with melted marshmallow and cannon ball right into the middle! )
How that would translate to clays is... maybe finding clays with high plasticity? I think ball or kaolin clay might be candidates for being stickier and more plasticier? I want to mix the clay really thick and feel a bit of stretch/resistance/surface tension(?), as if the mud was trying to eat me up and didn't want to let me go!
Thoughts?
So, those are some ideas I had about trying to make a homemade mud spa in the garage. Please let me know if you have any thoughts to improve the idea! I will also have a small backyard (but that creates all sorts of new challenges about privacy, etc). What do you think? After a long day of work, will I be able to pop open a beer and climb into a cozy clay pit to unwind from all of life's troubles???
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=18269
viewtopic.php?f=10&t=20342
I'm about to move into a house (renting), and I want to set up some kind of home mud pit. Here are my initial thoughts... please help me refine them with your suggestions and experience!
Location
As I am only renting the property, I can't do any digging. The garage has a half-bath (toilet, sink, shower stall), so that might be a possibility for privacy and proximity to cleanup without tramping mud throughout the house. I could set up a small preliminary cleanup exit area right next to the tub to squeegee off the big chunks of clay (and also to collect said chunks to replace back into the tub) and lightly rinse off. Then in the garage shower, I'd have a kind of filter rack/strainer/mesh (ideas?) on the floor to filter out other fine particulates, catching them so they can't clog the drain.
Size
While I long for the deep Studio588 pits, if I'm going to do it in the garage, I'll need a more modest-sized container. One thought was to fill one of those inflatable jacuzzis. That would mean paying a premium for the "jacuzzi features" which wouldn't really apply whilst repurposing it as a mud bath. Although... I wonder if it could be possible to intercept the input/output points of the jacuzzi's water heater and connect them to a closed system of tubing, making for a way to circulate hot water and heat the mud? Or I could set it up on a large heating pad (never set hot enough to damage the vinyl of the tub, but enough to percolate some heat up through the mud). Alternatively/Additionally, I'm thinking about using a strong pond liner inside the jacuzzi, as an extra level of containment redundancy, and to protect the jacuzzi in case I ever want to use it for its intended purpose in the future. It would be cool if I could repurpose the jacuzzi to make a heated clay pit... but those things aren't cheap, when all I really need is a sturdy container to fill with mud.
Another consideration is structural strength. Naturally, the inflatable jacuzzis must have been product tested to easily withstand the pressures of being filled with water and the wear & tear of getting knocked around by people climbing in and out... but would it be strong enough to withstand the heavier load of being full of clay? Any other ideas for a strong free-standing container?
Mud
My first thought went to bentonite clay, as that has been tried and true for years at Studio588. Its natural antimicrobial properties will help safeguard against mold or other undesirables. I was actually just able to scoop up 200lbs of Extra High Yield Bentonite (four 50lb bags) for cheap - left over from someone else's well project. And I've mapped a source nearby to get more!
Bentonite does have a smooth, gel-like (sometimes downright jiggly) consistency that feels amazing, but I'm also curious about other clays.
I realize I may be in the minority, but I really like things thick and sticky! I love the feeling of being stuck. In fact, I've also been harboring a desire to do this project but fill the tub up with slime like this! https://youtu.be/7dc49UtOHp0 (But that would be absurdly expensive! If money wasn't an option, I'd fill up a swimming pool with melted marshmallow and cannon ball right into the middle! )
How that would translate to clays is... maybe finding clays with high plasticity? I think ball or kaolin clay might be candidates for being stickier and more plasticier? I want to mix the clay really thick and feel a bit of stretch/resistance/surface tension(?), as if the mud was trying to eat me up and didn't want to let me go!
Thoughts?
So, those are some ideas I had about trying to make a homemade mud spa in the garage. Please let me know if you have any thoughts to improve the idea! I will also have a small backyard (but that creates all sorts of new challenges about privacy, etc). What do you think? After a long day of work, will I be able to pop open a beer and climb into a cozy clay pit to unwind from all of life's troubles???