Turpentine has the annoying property that it will rapidly disassociate from water and float on the top. When running down a sewer line...
Fer cryin' out loud! You're not supposed to dump it in the sewer even if it does come from trees! I didn't even do that 40 years ago. I thought that was common sense. It's flammable.
Here's what Wiki says:
"Turpentine (also called
spirit of turpentine,
oil of turpentine,
wood turpentine and colloquially
turps[1]) is a fluid obtained by the
distillation of
resin obtained from live trees, mainly
pines. It is mainly used as a
solvent and as a source of materials for organic synthesis."
In terms of safety gloves, yeah, if you want. I've used it for decades to clean paint off my hands. It's not effective if you put on gloves first. You have to apply it directly. Here's what Wikipedia has to say about medical uses of turps:
"Turpentine and petroleum distillates such as
coal oil and kerosene have been used medicinally since ancient times, as topical and sometimes internal home remedies. Topically it has been used for abrasions and wounds, as a treatment for
lice, and when mixed with
animal fat it has been used as a chest rub, or inhaler for nasal and throat ailments. Many modern
chest rubs, such as the
Vicks variety, still contain turpentine in their formulations.
Taken internally it was used as a general cure-all treatment for
intestinal parasites, and
candida because of its
antiseptic and
diuretic properties.
[10][11] Sugar, molasses or honey were sometimes used to mask the taste, and bait parasites.[
citation needed]
Turpentine was a common medicine among seamen during the
Age of Discovery. It is one of several products carried aboard
Ferdinand Magellan's fleet in his
first circumnavigation of the globe,
[12] and is still used today as an alternative medicine."
Now I probably wouldn't drink it or rub it on my chest or open wounds unless I didn't have anything better available but I'm not too worried about getting a little bit on my hands once in a while.
