Ripping up a disposable diaper may seem like a strange thing to do, but the practice has serious benefits for those who like to garden. This brilliant idea is a great way to use up old disposable diapers that your child has outgrown and a great help for people who routinely forget to water their plants. In his YouTube video, “Diapers Help Your Plants Grow!” Grant Thompson, known online as the “King of Random,” demonstrates the procedure.
Thompson begins by saturating a diaper with water to expand the absorbent gel core, which starts out in crystalline form and transforms into a spongy gel as it absorbs liquid. Procter & Gamble, the company that makes Pampers, has tagged the absorbent material as a “superabsorber” due to its remarkable ability to hold almost 30 times its weight in water while keeping the rest of the diaper dry.
Once saturated, Thompson mixes the hydrogel with equal parts of potting soil to create a mixture that releases water slowly into the dirt over time, insuring plants will have plenty of water available to use as needed. The gel will also absorb any extra moisture in the soil, preventing plant roots from becoming waterlogged as a result of overwatering. Thompson notes that just a single adult-size diaper will yield over 12 cups of hydrogel.
To watch Thompson demonstrate the entire process, as well as a few other ways diapers can be utilized around the house, check out the video.