eganstew,

I found kerosene at my local Home Depot store in 1 and 5 gallon containers.

"Kerosene ingestion is, unfortunately, a common and serious cause of childhood poisoning in under-developed urban areas of South Africa and other poor countries (De Wet et al. 1994). The pathology appears to be primarily localized to the lung with other manifestations, for example, in the central nervous system, being secondary to hypoxia and acidosis (Klein and Simon 1986)." Just in case the common sense boat set sail without you, *Don't Drink Kerosene.*

can you use lamp oil in a kerosene lantern? --hhsu

Can someone please tell me whether lamp oil or kerosene can be used as an antifungal? This sounds terrible but I have 2 toes that have awful fungus under the nail. I have heard of people using it for medicinal purposes but wanted to get feedback if possible.

'Does anyone know if I can make my lamp oil fragrant by adding a few drops of essential oil?'

As far as I know, alas, this will not work. I checked all over the place myself.

The problem being the fragrance will simply burn. If you have any doubts, know that if it were possible to do it, shelves in WalMarts throughout the land would already be stocked with scented lamp oils from cherry to grape harvest to vanilla ripple.

Stores did find a way to get around this by selling different scented oil warmers, where you pour a liquid in and light a flame under it, never touching.

I have an antique (Persian) oil lamp above the toilet, with a lighter, makes an excellent way for houseguests to freshen up the air after using the bathroom...finish your 'business', light the lamp and viola! Clean skies by the time you open the door. No embarrassing fog following you out.

Scented lamp oil would be arguably even better, I imagine.

As has been suggested, you might not be able to colour lamp oil with food colouring as the two liquids are immiscible, but you can add coloured water to the oil, and it will form an attractive separate layer below the oil. This is also a useful technique to lift the liquid level if the wick no longer reaches the oil, and you have no spare oil.

Hi, I use Lamp oil for fire shows.

We dip the kevlar balls and ropes in the lamp oil and set it on fire and whirl it around us till it goes out basically.

Now we're starting to do this more often and we noticed that the colored ones don't burn as well and some non-colored ones burn better than others.

Now we want to order bigger amounts, but we can never say in advance how good it will be. Is there some kind of formula or ingredients in lamp oil we should look our for that will guarantee good burning?

Sorry for my strange question, but i cannot seem to get an answer to it anywhere.

If the lantern label on the side says to use simply "petroleum," but the leaflet enclosed with the same lamp specifies "citronella lamp oil" or "kerosene lamp oil," is it safe to use either plain kerosene bought at a gas station or lamp oil that has no other label other than "petroleum distillate?" The different labels are confusing.

Does anyone know if I can make my lamp oil fragrant by adding a few drops of essential oil? I know both are flammable so I want to know before I try it. Thank you.

I know this sounds terrible and I feel like an idiot, but my dog accidentally drank a small amount of lamp oil. She is not acting sick, but should I call the vet?

How does one dispose of lamp oil?

as someone mentioned it can be poisonous, but then again, so is nutmeg. as for info about it, just email the manufacturer asking for an MSDS sheet. they are required by law to send you one. MSDS sheet, meaning material safety data sheet.

So you're aware, the lamp oil bottle I've got says "harmful or fatal if swallowed." And I've been told when asking about water purification for hiking that hydrocarbons do bad things to your stomach. That justified not taking water from a lake that motorboats went on.

To the anonymous person that responded about the grandfather. I thank you for the information. I remember the sugar but didn't remember exactly how it went. You have jogged my memory and I can see my grandmother doing the same.

Now I would like to ask is the kerosene I would find in the store the same as what they used back then? I have been on the Internet trying to get answers from distributors and they have not answered me back.

I would think of using it for myself as I have been reading about the antibiotics and the bad effects they are having on our bodies. Also doctors have given out so much they are almost of no effect. I am looking for other ways of treating myself and maybe others that are willing.

I have a friend, Ed, who also said he was in charge of filling the lanterns and he would ever so often get some down his throat and he did not have colds or flu. Maybe since he is much older then I he might know where to get the kerosene. Esther Mae:

To the person posting the comment about ingesting Kerosene: My grand folks would use home concoctions of kerosene. When my grandfather felt a cold coming on he would get a level Tablespoon full of sugar and then pour some kerosene into it until full. He would, on occasion, put a dab of Vicks Rub into the mixture. When I pressed him the reason he told me that it cured the FLU. He would have gone through the Flu Pandemic of the early 1900's and I believe that is where the use came from. I would not think of using it myself

There was a widely-used insect repellent in this country (NZ) many years ago, when the pioneers were said to have consumed lump sugar dipped in kerosene which, when exuded through the pores kept sandflies away.

It was said to have worked for that purpose, though the personal freshness of a Model T Ford must have been a bit of a drawback I imagine!

Dave (NZ)

Thank for that information. I had forgotten about the cats and hairballs. A friend of mine was telling me that as a boy it was his job to fill the lanterns. He said he would suck on the hose to get it started and once in awhile he would get some of the fluid down his throat. He did not take much but he noticed he was not coming down with colds or flus like the rest of the family.

Basically, my question is; kerosene, is it the same today as it was 50-100 years ago? I know we have the scented stuff but that is not what I am looking for. I was hoping for someone to have used it as well. eganstew

I am guessing your grandmother's use of kerosene as a home remedy was part of a once-popular idea that a host of ills could be cured by "cleaning out your system." Essentially, it probably worked as a laxative. I'm not sure I'd recommend the use of kerosene for this purpose, but petroleum jelly is an effective stool softener, safe when used in small amounts. Veterinarians often recommend, for example, that cats be given a fingertip-size dose of petroleum jelly every few days as a preventive for hairballs.

When I was a child my grandmother would give me a teaspoon of kerosene. I do not know the purpose of it and would like to find out if anyone has any knowledge to why, what, and the purpose. So far I have had one person say it is for parasites, and another said it took care of colds. Does anyone have any information?

You cannot add food coloring to lamp oil. Food coloring is water based and as the saying goes "oil and water do not mix." You can easily purchase colored oil for the same price as clear.

Wil it be safe to burn my lamp oil if I add food coloring into it?

I see that the difference between 'Lamp Oil' and 'Kerosene' is the processing, so can I interchange the two. If not where can I find Kerosene?