Colloidal Silver (Day 19)

This morning I woke up to some requests for how I make colloidal silver. Now, I realize that there are some people that don't believe in this - some are worried they will turn silver, or blue, if they drink this - some say it only works due to the "placebo effect" - and some will swear that it cures everything!

All I can say is in making this for our own use, we have seen many times that it has increased the speed of healing or decreased the time of illness. We have seen absolutely no harm coming from using it either externally nor internally. The most any of us may have actually consumed in a day was about 2 ounces, but on average we usually use just about a tablespoon.

But I'm not writing this to convince you to use it. I'm writing this for those who are already convinced of it's benefits and are looking for a way to reduce the cost of it for their own personal use.

This form of colloidal silver, or silver water, is very inexpensive to make. We feel it has saved us hundreds of dollars in medical care visits and tests every year that we have used it. For us it is but one step in reducing how much we spend, how much we must use our car (to get to doctors), and tends to increase how healthy we are which is to everyone's benefit. :)

We are now closing Day 19 in our quest for creating healthier lives!

THE MAKING OF COLLOIDAL SILVER

This is for those people who believe colloidal silver has healing properties and would use it more if it didn’t cost so much to buy it already prepared.

We have been making it at home for many years now, thanks to a dear friend who told me how he did it (he’d been making it for us for some time) before he moved away, and additional thanks to another couple I knew that were also making it. My one friend forgot to tell me where to get the needed supplies. But the couple I know gave me that info and included tips on making the “generator” (for lack of a better term).

Essentially, you get colloidal silver by creating an electrical circuit that allows for minute silver particles to be disbursed into distilled water... thus the nickname "silver water" in our home. :)

So you need the following supplies:
Silver – best form is like a heavy wire; must be .999 pure silver (we buy it online, on ebay, 1-foot length for about $7 cut in half) (so far we’ve made at least 70 quarts with the same silver rods)
30 volts in battery power – we use four 9-volt batteries that snap together (you can buy them anywhere – for 4 it might be close to $10; a single 30 volt battery at Radio Shack was $15 I think) This is probably the one thing you will buy fairly often if you make silver frequently. (4 9-volt batteries are usually spent with making 20-25 quarts)
Insulated copper wire – we use cut up electrical cord with 1-inch of insulation cut away exposing the copper wires (we simply bought a replacement cord for a lamp for about $2 or $3 at the hardware store and cut on two 1-foot sections of it) (we’re still using the first cut; have enough left for 2 more new starts; so far 70 quarts and counting)
2 Alligator clips with colored insulated ends (one black, one red) (we bought them at radio shack, but probably a hardware store would have them too – didn’t cost too much, $1 or $2 maybe) (we’re still using original clips – 70 qts & counting)
Duct tape (we used about a foot or so each time we’re making CS)
2 Wooden sticks – popsicle sticks or tongue depressors (my son has a huge supply of “popsicle” sticks bought over several years for various “building projects” and we just took 2 of those) (still using original sticks – 70 qts & counting)
1 – nylon scrubber – the kind of thing you use to scour pots, soap-free (you can buy a pack of 12 for $1 at the dollar store) (still using the first one – 70 qts + but may switch out soon)
1 – Quart size glass jar – wide mouth if possible. It’s important that it be glass. It must be clean. It must be clear so you can observe the process when needed. (You can opt to buy some canning jars, or you can just use a clean empty jar from spaghetti sauce or something similar)
Distilled water – I buy it by the gallon for about 70 cents. Make sure nothing is added back in!
Something to store it in… needs to be glass (NOT PLASTIC EVER), should be dark colored – or take clear jars and decorate them with paint so light doesn’t penetrate. :) Lids should be metal (it’s ok to have a rubber seal within the lid but it’s best if it doesn’t have that). Contents should fill jar so that colloidal silver needn’t be in contact with the lid too much. In a pinch we’ve wrapped the tops with aluminum foil. Consider your needs here too. We use a bunch of half-pint jars so each family member can have their own jar from each batch. We also use quart jars to give to family members away from home for awhile.

OK – my best guess, rough estimate of initial costs would be $30. But it would depend too on what you might already have on hand. The batteries and the water are the most consumable.

HOW TO PUT IT TOGETHER

Cut two 1-foot lengths from the insulated copper wire cord. It could be shorter, but start with this and you can adapt it as you learn your own needs. Trim off the insulation about 1-inch on both ends of each length.

Attach one end of each cord to each of the alligator clips. Wrap the copper wire around the conducting screw at least once. Tighten screw. (Optional: we secured this further with a small piece of duct tape wrapped around just the part of the clip where the copper wire and screw are)

Attach other end of each cord to one of the four 9-volt batteries. On the end of the battery that you’d usually snap into the appliance there are two different snap ends – wrap the copper wiring around one of each. Secure each copper wire with a small piece of duct tape (or electrical tape can be used here too; we’ve just switched to that as it seems to last longer; but we did many batches using the duct tape)

Snap the four batteries together.

Fill the batch jar with distilled water to about an inch from the top.

Using the popsicle sticks to stabilize the alligator clips secure clips to rim of batch jar with narrow strips of duct tape.

We’ve found duct tape to work best as it usually keeps sticking even when it gets wet.

Once you’ve secured the clips over the filled batch jar all that’s left is closing the circuit by putting a length of silver in the water from each clip. You MUST prepare the silver wire!

You’ll need to cut the 1-foot length of pure silver in half. Straighten each length if necessary; the straighter, the better. Take each half and scrub from end to end all around with the nylon scrubber. Then using a clean, white paper towel, dampened with distilled water, wipe down each “rod” and rest each rod on a clean towel until ready to place in water.

As you place each rod into the water you want placement to keep it from touching the glass walls or bottom of your batch jar. You also want each silver rod to NOT touch the other. The only thing besides water that should be in contact with the silver is the teeth of the alligator clip.

Adjust the position of the rod to keep them as parallel to one another as possible.

As soon as you close the clip on the last silver rod your batch is “cooking”! Check the time! One quart typically takes about 15-20 minutes. You can check on progress after 5-10 minutes. Usually within 5 minutes you’ll notice some “cloud activity” between the rods. By about 15 minutes you should see lots of dark trails extending from both rods (one more than the other – opposite polarities). If you notice some dark “pieces” breaking away on their own, your batch is done! Even if you don’t see this, stop “cooking” by 20 minutes. Holding the top end of one of the silver rods, release the clip, pull the rod out of the water.

When you remove the rods you will notice they are darkened from the water line down. You may dry the rods with the paper towel. Scrub each rod with the nylon scrubber again and wipe with the damp paper towel before storing away until next batch! :)

Pour batch into appropriate containers for storage.

If you ‘taste’ the silver and would prefer not to, try chilling it in the refrigerator. For those who do taste it I can attest to eventually getting used to it.

For most internal applications all you need is a swallow or two. You can repeat that a few times a day if you feel the need.

For most external applications a little dab on a cotton gauze or soak the end of a cotton q-tip to apply.

Now that you can make your own you’ll find all sorts of uses for it.

Any questions?

Day 18 Comes to a Close

OK, we're now 18 days into my new plan... living greener, getting healthier, etc.

HOW ARE WE DOING?

UGH!!!

Change is never easy!

But we are making progress!

We are trying to remember to use the cloth tote bags we've gathered when we go shopping - but first we must come up with a plan to REMEMBER TO BRING THEM with us!!! LOL It's about 50/50 right now.

We have all agreed that we will not buy anymore chemical cleaning products. The little bits of the few we do still have will get used up unless I can find someone else who might want them. We don't feel it's right to just throw them out. But I do feel like I really don't want to use them anymore. Aside from the chemicals not being good for the environment, and not being good for us, I have some personal issues with how those chemicals affect me and my health as well as the health of some of my not-so-healthy kids! Maybe I will just dispose of them!

Some of the things we're using instead of those chemical cleaners:
Basic H2 - 1 dilution for windows and glass cleanings, a 2nd dilution for average household cleanings (counters, sinks, toilets, tubs, etc)... and even a 3rd dilution formula for the really greasy messes! We made 3 bottles (16 oz ea.) and have done lots of cleaning with them, we even made a 2nd bottle of the #2 formula, but we have only used about 2 teaspoons of the Basic H2 so far (and it's been a month since we started using it). I even wrote the date on it so I will know how long it lasted. (I'm keeping track of expenses - how much we spend on the products we're switching to, how long they last vs. how much the other stuff cost & lasted)
Vinegar
Baking Soda
Borax
We're learning lots of different recipes to combine those three ingredients with plain water to do all sorts of things. I'll try to post some of those here soon.

I also want to mention that we deal with lots of health problems here in my household. We talked some about how to handle this. My business kit came with a month's supply of Vitalizer - a basic supplement strip that includes vitamins & minerals, antioxidants, omega-3s, and even probiotics! I've been taking them for the last 3 days. I have to say they must go to work pretty quickly as I've been under tons of stress and had to do so much more physically than usual for the last several days and 4 days ago I thought I would end up with the whole weekend in bed unable to move, but that didn't happen! We'll see, I'm still skeptical of new stuff - especially if I'm swallowing it! BUT, I trust these supplements more than what I get at Wal-Mart! LOL

Sometimes I dream that coming back to this company will be a really positive thing for me. Though, after ten years of dealing with constant pain and seriously reduced mobility, I don't hope for anything to really reverse that, but it would be nice to find a way to lessen the pain, increase the mobility AND not be worried about side effects that all my prescriptions have! As I build up my business I'll add more of the supplements to my routine, replacing the ones I now get at other places. It's like I'm going to show everyone, personally, by my own experience, that these supplements work better for your body and even faster so you won't need as much of them as you do of the cheaper stuff you get at the discount stores. :) Who knows? I might even get really brave and try weight loss program too! Yes, like practically everyone I know, I need to lose weight too... but I'm even more leary of "weight loss plans" than I am of new supplements!

The other thing we've been working on is a garden!!!
Let me first say that I have the world's brownest thumb... the most success I could have in growing a garden is with a rock garden! LOL
However, we have to find a way to cut costs. We have to find a way to eat healthier. We have to eat organic produce as much as possible. SOOOO... We HAVE TO GROW A GARDEN!
My kids, my sister, my niece, everyone here wants to do it! So I figure if any of them might have a green thumb (we have no idea yet) then maybe we'll have more green thumbs than brown ones and that will make up for my really brown thumb! LOL
So to this effort - now that the snow is gone (except for just a few spots in the shadiest areas) we've been raking up all the debris from fall and winter. Right now it's just in big pile - that's getting rained on tonight. :( Guess we're going to try composting too! Hmmm... something else to work on.
A friend is going to loan us his tiller soon - after we decide exactly where in that back yard we're going to turn the ground over/under! He's at least grown a garden or two - so he's good for some advice too. Maybe he'll teach my kids while his wife & I go out for some sorely lacking girl time we've been missing! ;-)

Well, time to sign off for now. I'll try to post a little more often.