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  • #455567
    TeaTrekkie
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        My daughter made a few bracelets the other day. She noticed some white powder that came off the beads while she was stringing them. I didn’t think anything of it other than it was just what you get with cheap beads. I finally looked closer at them yesterday and the elastic was covered with the dust and it just wouldn’t go away, even with washing them thoroughly.

        So, this morning I’m reading all about bead release and freaking out that she inhaled silica! She probably did about 10 bracelets over the course of a few hours. I know it’s not much exposure, but should I still be worried about this?

        #617114

        Do you know who manufactured the beads? If so, I would contact them and ask what the powder is.

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        #617117
        TeaTrekkie
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            Thanks. I do have the container they came in, but it’s from many years ago and probably from China. We went to Michael’s the other day and saw similar beads with similar dust on the ends there too. :(

            #617115

            I found this thread (click link) which doesn’t help much but it looks like people do wash them but it takes a while to get the cheaper ones clean.

            Maybe you can write Michael’s and ask them what it is, they should have a contact email on their website. I imagine they’ll find out easily enough and let you know.

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            #617113
            Pesto126
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                If they are cheap beads from China – I would be concerned.. but not about such short term exposure… I wouldn’t continue using them though.

                #617116
                trike girl
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                    you can soak them, but you would need a reamer to clean them. I use a dremel attachment to clean the beads I make. Bead release can have a lot of different things in it. I mix two together to get the results I want. If you do clean them with a reamer, you should do it with water. This keeps the dust down and help loosen the release.

                    Kare
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