"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...
A. Learner wrote:
I found a large unlabeled bucket of (leftover?) material in my
in-laws' basement. Nobody seems to remember what it is. It might even
be there when they moved into the place.

The stuff is light grey, granular, gravel-like, with a grain size of
about 0.5 mm to 3 mm. When I soaked a sample in hot water for several
minutes, the grains disintegrated and the sample turned into a dark
grey, muddy mixture.

At first, I thought it was some kind of fine gravel, but gravel
doesn't disintegrate in water. (Does it?)

If we can't figure out what it is, and what it can be reused for,
it'll probably end up in a landfill somewhere. Hate to see that
happen.
Does anyone have a guess what the material might be based on the
description?

TIA

My guess is cement that is no longer good.

Sounds about right- are there any fenceposts, bird feeders, mailboxes,
clotheslines, etc., set in cement, on the property? Not uncommon for frugal
people to use half a sack of sackcrete or similar, and try to store the
rest. It seldom works, since it sucks moisture from the air. I'd just dig a
hole in the backyard and bury it. Not likely to hurt anything.

aem sends...