Is anyone against using kitty litter on the infield to dry it up?
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A few years back when my son was still playing JV the coach had to use a ton of kitty litter to get the field playable for the fall league championship game. We had had quite a few days of rainy weather that week. Most of it was used around home plate with some around 1B and a little at 3B.
I think the store clerk thought he had one sick cat.........
Here's someone who is:
http://beaconathletics.com/why...agent-is-a-bad-idea/
The Turface web site also disapproves of the practice.
We use it in a pinch on the mound and home plate areas, but never in a large quantity. I disagree with what the article states. I can not disagree with the science because I am not that smart. I do disagree with the reference of it getting slimy. I have used it multiple times and have never experienced anything like that.
Agree with IEBSBL - you can use it in a pinch, just like you can use the stuff they sell at Pep Boys to clean up oil spills in the garage, but it's not really made for field turf like field dry.
You will regret it if you use it as it does not blend in and mix well... And it isn't really that effective.
I use sawdust that I get for free either from HS wood shop or a cabinet maker. After the game you can easily rake off the excess or shop vac it... So 1 no vote for the litter
Another reason not to use kitty litter is the next day you will show up at the field and have to rake out all the cat......"stuff" if you know what I mean
Honestly, I don't think it's worth it. Kitty Litter is absorbent but nowhere near like Turface or Quick Dry. I'm not smart enough to understand the science behind it but you have to use something like 5 bags of KL to get the same as Turface or QD (I'm probably way off on those numbers but you get the idea).
Long run I just don't think it's worth using due to what it will do to the field in terms of appearance and performance of the clay.
I don't use it in large quantities, rain is not a big issue where I am and our field does a great job at retaining water. I use is in situations where we have not done a bang up job getting the tarp set and some water has gotten underneath. I have never used it in large quantities on the infield, nor would I.
I have used it in a pinch... part of coaching in a rural area where you cant just run to the store and get Diamond Pro when the summer teams uses all of it over the weekend and tells no one. It is made from the same stuff(clay), but it will break down faster when it gets wet. It does not get slimy or whatever..... Just make sure you get the unscented, uncolored, etc.