My wife and I are going to final get some alone time in the house without our kids for a couple days. We thought it would be fun to set up a bentonite clay inflatable pool in the house. I have one of those paint mixer tools to put on a drill. My question is, what is the best way to mix it in the pool.

Do you put the powder mix right on the bottom of the pool and mix it with the tool, but does that risk ripping the pool?

Do I mix it in a 5 gallon bucket and then dump it in the pool?

Is it better to mix it and let it sit a day?

For disposal, we have a septic system so I don't think going down the drain no matter how watered down in the best idea. Luckily we live in a wooded area and I was going to put a sewage pump in the pool and run it out into the woods after I had it watered down.

Appreciate any help or suggestions.

I'd go with mixing it with the drill in the bucket - or just put the powder in the pool, let the dust settle, add water so the powder is mostly wet (again avoiding dust) and then both get in to mix it with your bodies

I'd scoop it back into the bucket to use the pump with though, they usually need a fair depth to work. Otherwise just carry buckets of it out to your garden or woodland. I got rid of clay into my garden borders once then planted flowers

Those are all good tips. Didn't think about putting it back in the bucket. Nor the whole mixing with body. Very intriguing!

Fill the bucket with warm water and add the clay and mix.... It is best this way or it's hard work and lumpy. Bentonite isn't the best for realistic mud experience it's not particually clingy. Ball clay and Kaolin is the best i've found....Enjoy

I'm completely new to this. Best places to find the ball clay? I checked around and we don't have any local pottery stores that carry in bulk.

Someone had a similar post recently about mud and wearing a mask while mixing came up. You really don't need to breathe in that dust.

Not, that is, don't use bentonite, it doesn't have the same feel as clay. What you want is a nice sticky clay. Dust is the real issue, it is like working in a coal mine to be breathing it and anything less than an industrial grade mask setup usually still lets a lot of clay in.

Inflatable pools don't like tools, I've found it is best to mix the clay outdoors in 5 gallon buckets. I usually put the clay in first and then gently ad water but it really doesn't make much difference as the clay always ends up on top. Spraying a fine mist of water on top and letting it all set before mixing helps but in the end, the most important part is to just be upwind as you mix and wear a mask. I've never needed a paint mixing tool, my hand can usually mix a 5 gallon bucket up in less than a minute.

And yes, mud lasts a long time so just put anything that is left back in the buckets when you are done and then cover them with a lid or some plastic after adding at least an inch or two of water at the top that you don't mix in. If you store it for a long time, check occasionally to make sure the water hasn't evaporated.

Pottery supply stores are rarely conveniently located and you'll probably have to travel for your clay. If you are buying in bulk, some shops will ship the clay to you. Kaolin is the best, pure white, and mixes up nicely, however, it is the most expensive. Ball clay is the cheapest but can be kind of sticky to mix up. There are middle tier clays like red art and yellow art that look nice and mix well.

Appreciate the follow up and great ideas for mixing. Didn't realize it could stay good that long. I was looking and found a pottery online store that has White Kaolin Clay at a decent price and free shipping.

How much do you think I would need to fill a inflatable pool. 50lbs or 100 lbs

Please share.

It depends on the size of the pool. I have some ball clay and red clay on the way for the long weekend for me and the lady. 200lbs of dry clay. I'll let you know how much I end up with

I would say about 8 ft pool. Let me know how it goes. Unfortunately we won't have any time away from the kids until about October so I have time to weight options.

Do any of you have pictures of what the Clay's are like when mixed and how sticky they are I was looking at getting 500lbs just not shure what to order

This is China clay and a little ball clay. Suns out...muds out....

MudMan, how much was that?

Just eyeballing it, I'd say mudman's got about half of a thickly mixed 50lb. bag in there...which -by the look of the groove in the middle - he's already drug his gentleman's sausage through.

In good old metric that's about 50kg or 2 bags plus some ball clay. I've had this over a year now and mix fresh and add a small amount of anti bacterial. Yes I did a warmth test with my Sausage. Has to be warm for the wife....hence the underfloor heating roll underneath..

What is it that you use for heating?

Yes what did you use to heat it!