Uses for Graphite Powder Around The Home

A dirty mess waiting to happen!

Graphite is a slippery sort, leaving a black mark on everything it touches...

A popular lubricant of a generation ago, powdered graphite has lost favor with the Natural Handyman. Let's sort this mess out, before you make a mistake you can't slip out of!

Graphite is an oddity. It is made in nature from carbon. Yes, that's right, the same stuff diamonds are made from. But, having a different upbringing... less subterranean pressure. Instead of becoming a jewel, a thing of great value and strength, graphite became the black sheep of the carbon family!

It is soft, slippery, dirties everything it comes in contact with, and has unusual behaviors.

Not that graphite doesn't have pluses... the lowly pencil makes good use of graphite's ability to mark things. The so-called lead in a pencil is actually a mix of graphite and clay. And, for you budding scientists, graphite is the only nonmetallic material that is an efficient conductor of electricity. Remember the inventive TV character MacGyver... using a pencil to complete an electrical circuit was surely in his bag of tricks!!

The only use for graphite that still keeps it above other lubricants is as a temporary fix for SQUEAKY STRIP WOOD FLOORS. Click HERE to view the full article.

With the availability today of other spray-type lubricants, notably silicone, WD-40®, and greases-for-every-purpose, combined with graphite's bad trait of leaving an un-cleanable mess on carpets and clothing, the use of graphite in the modern home is a poor choice for most homeowner or handyman applications.