Old exploding planet waves humidifier pack…What IS that stuff ?

Got an LGO that had one of those re-called planet waves humidifier packages explode inside it…It leached through the wood at the end block area , and the back began separating and buckling…I tried cleaning the stuff up with naptha , cleaned the whole outside area where it leached through the mahogany , and clean hell out of the separation..I epoxied it back together…All seemed clean and good , and after a couple days , it separated again , and more of whatever it is seeped through the mahogany , leaving even more nasty greasy stuff…Any clues on what my options are ? , Or , what is this nasty stuff ?

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Permalink Reply by Paul Verticchio on September 4, 2015 at 4:56pm

Hi fishin'.

Humidipacks are made by Boveda and marketed under agreement by Planet Waves.

Here's the spec sheet from the Boveda website: http://maxcdn.bovedainc.com/msds/MSDS49.pdf

Here's what it's made of:

Ingredients: Water, Sodium formate, Sodium lactate and Xanthan gum.

You're going to need one of our staff chemists to help you out with this one. If nobody responds, I'd contact Boveda and ask to speak with their tech/engineering staff. They may be familiar with this type of issue.

Best of luck, buddy :)

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Permalink Reply by Ian Barker on September 6, 2015 at 4:06am

Sounds like Xanthan Gum is the offender - the other two ingredients being easily water-soluble. I found this page detailing clean-up options which may help you. Best of luck!