Hi Mamas,
My son has a school project. The many uses of the elements. The element he CHOSE was iodine. Why? It sounded cool.
Anyway, he has to do a presentation and dress up as his element. We have thought about dyeing a t-shirt for him to wear. Has anyone done this using iodine? Is there a recipe I should follow? I know that iodine stains things easily, hence the idea, I just don't know if all I need to do is stick the shirt in a bowl of it.
Ideas?
Thanks for the ideas ladies. I was worried about what to use and how to dispose of it after. I didn't think about iodine being toxic since it says that it can be used to clean cuts and such. Glad I asked. I think I will just have to get creative with some RIT dye. Thanks again for helping me not become a news story!! =)
I would hesitate to actually use iodine for the dye - for one thing, it's toxic.
And even once it dries, it would have that "iodine" odor, which I find unpleasant.
Perhaps just dye the shirt orange, using the instructions below?
Try this ... Kid-friendly directions.
http://www.education.com/science-fair/article/ez-dye-fabr...
I'd mix the iodine with water. Mostly water and then enough iodine to make the water a darker color. Then dip the shirt in the water. Leave it until it becomes the color you want. Then squeeze it out and hang it over the tub or in the basement where you're not so concerned about staining.
I would be careful about where I allowed the stained water to stay. I suggest that if you immediately rinse it off ceramic it would be OK but I'm not sure.
Later: Iodine is not toxic. It's a natural substance that our body needs. People in "goiter belts" actually take iodine as a supplement and it's in nearly all multi-vitamine/mineral pills. Just like everything else that's good for us we need to use it in appropriate amounts.
