Thread: Differentiating Alum from Rat POison

im about to grab a vintage full jar of alum i saw at the antique store the other day.
is there any way to confirm that it is in fact alum powder and not some other mystery-white powder.

as i recall it said to dilute 1/30 with water and rinse face with it.

ahh. this jar is only a buck or 2, with an old-timey label, so im gonna get it for sure.
im just curious if anyone knows a way for me to tell if it is in fact alum?

somthing i could mix it with to a certain effect or something like that.

rub some on the inside of your elbow and mix a spoonful into a glass of water and drink it. If you are alive in the morning and no skin irritation you can be sure it is not too terribly toxic.

Other than that I would avoid it to be honest. It probably is what it says but you never know what else may be in the jar either mixed with the alum or straight up.

the alum jar wasnt the one i was thinking of, it was a very plain label. the cool one i was picturing was for some other weird powder.
so i didnt get it

I realize the stuff in the jar is real cheap but for a few bucks more you get something that you know does what its supposed to do and an alum block will last about a year anyway.