Sandless Sandbags

[Lootman]

My house in Devon backs onto a river that comes down from Dartmoor. Not surprisingly it floods every now and then. The rear garden is about 200 feet long so only part of the garden floods, not the house. But the drains in the road out front back up and so I deploy sandbags at the front of the house when floods are expected. The council kindly distribute these and I have quite a collection at this point. But they are bulky to store and heavy to move.

Anyway I came across these sandless sandbags that weigh almost nothing. They contain a soluble polymer that absorbs water, rather like the way nappies work, and in so doing they claim to form a waterproof barrier if stacked.

http://pressreleases.responsesource.com ... -sandbags/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quick-Dam-Sand ... B0085S0612

They are not cheap, however. They claim to be reusable - after the winter the water evaporates and they can be stored flat until you next use them. I have my doubts about that but, if they are, and of course if they work as stated, then this would be a big improvement on conventional sandbags.

Does anyone here have experience using them?

[redsturgeon]

No experience...it all sounds very Zen though.

John

[Redmires]

These sound like the "save a flush" bags that are used in toilet cisterns to save water. They are flat when they go in, and bulky and heavy when they absorb water - like this

http://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content ... ilet21.jpg

The problem for use in a flood or to divert water is that they take time to swell up. In that time, they could get washed away.

[Lootman]

These sound like the "save a flush" bags that are used in toilet cisterns to save water. They are flat when they go in, and bulky and heavy when they absorb water - like this

http://thirstyinsuburbia.com/wp-content ... ilet21.jpg

The problem for use in a flood or to divert water is that they take time to swell up. In that time, they could get washed away.

They claim to have a design that prevents them sailing away:

"Q: What stops Quick Dams from rolling away?
A: Quick Dam Flood Barriers have an extra wedge stitched along its length, that acts as a wedge & prevents them from rolling away."

http://www.quickdams.com/frequently-asked-questions/

There was also a suggestion that you pre-soak them so they achieve critical mass before the storm. That also solves the issue of them taking time to become swollen.