Crafts & DIY
Man shares incredibly simple and effective method for making clay from dirt
I had no idea that making clay was this easy. This will come in handy for so many projects.
Cherie Gozon
09.02.21

Did you know that it’s easy to make clay with whatever kind of soil?

Pexels|Monstera
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Pexels|Monstera

Contrary to what we know, clay is present in every kind of soil. Even those soils we consider sandy has around 20% of clay in it.

This means that you can yield clay even from sandy soils. However, if you want to make more, you might want to consider using clay soil.

Nonetheless, it’s safe to say that you can make clay with whichever type of soil is available or accessible to you.

This guy showed us how to make clay out of straight-up dirt.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
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YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

In this video, he gathered around half a bucket each of red dirt and ordinary dirt (which he said he just got from the sidewalk).

He also prepared four plastic containers, a sieve, cloth bags, and lots of water.

To begin, pour water into the bucket of dirt.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
Source:
YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

Swirl it intensely so that the dirt and water get mixed and remove other unnecessary particles. You do the same with the red dirt.

The goal here is to get the clay suspended in the water while leaving the solid particles (which are not clay) at the bottom of the bucket.

Then, transfer the water into one of the containers.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
Source:
YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

Slowly pour the water into one of the containers (one for each bucket) and make sure that the solid particles – rocks, leaves, and other things which are not clay – are left in the bucket.

You don’t have to pour everything in necessarily. After all, the clay is suspended at the top portion of the water.

Leave it out for about 20 minutes just to let it settle.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
Source:
YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

After that, transfer them into another plastic container. This time, place a sieve on top of the container before pouring the water in. This will get rid of any trash that’s still in the water. Again, one plastic container for each of the regular dirt and red dirt.

Again leave it out for at least 20 minutes or until the clay settles to the bottom.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
Source:
YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

After leaving them out, you will see that the clay particles have settled at the bottom of the container while the water is suspended on top of it.

The process is working, and you’ll have your clay in a few hours.

Pour out a bit of the suspended water.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
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YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

Then, pour whatever remains in the container into a cloth sack, cloth bag, or old pillowcase. Give it a little squeeze to help take the water out.

Tie it and hang to dry for 12-24 hours.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
Source:
YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

And after all the waiting, viola! You now have your own clay.

YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets
Source:
YouTube Screenshot|Offgrid Secrets

He said he left the bags overnight and it was windy, so the clay ended up being rock solid.

But that’s not a problem. You just have to immerse it in water for a few minutes, and your clay is ready for molding.

Pexels|Anna Shvets
Source:
Pexels|Anna Shvets

Now, you can do your DIY pottery projects at home.

Get all the details from the full tutorial in the video below!

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

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