# How do I activate my Charcoal? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 27, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428 "2004-02-27T05:41:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reyemile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/46a35a/32.png) [@Reyemile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reyemile)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/1 "2004-02-27T05:41:17Z")
How do I activate charcoal? I can’t find an on switch, and my Universal AC adapter isn’t helping. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/2 "2004-02-27T05:45:31Z")
Activated charcoal is thoroughly rinsed in distilled water to remove soluble impurities then baked in an oven at around 400-500 degrees F. This drives off the water and volatile impurities adsorbed on its surface. After about 30-40 minutes, it’s ready for use. ---
**Author:** ![Wrenchslinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/94ad74/32.png) [@Wrenchslinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wrenchslinger)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/3 "2004-02-27T07:35:45Z")
Did you try looking for a sticker on the front of it with a 1-800 number to call? ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/4 "2004-02-27T14:51:08Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > Activated charcoal is thoroughly rinsed in distilled water to remove soluble impurities then baked in an oven at around 400-500 degrees F. This drives off the water and volatile impurities adsorbed on its surface. After about 30-40 minutes, it’s ready for use. Would Aquafina (purest widely available water) be sufficient? What about water that was merely filtered through an activated charcoal filter? Would baking it in my own oven (natural gas) add impurities from the combustion products? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/5 "2004-02-27T15:12:50Z")
Take it to a political rally. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/6 "2004-02-27T15:20:00Z")
> [@Jurph](#): > > Would baking it in my own oven (natural gas) add impurities from the combustion products? My earlier reply was partly tongue-in-cheek. Commercially, activated charcoal is prepared in ovens with an oxygen-free atmosphere, and usually at a higher temperature than you get get from a home oven. Sometimes a vacuum is used instead of an inert atmosphere. Baking it at home may partially reactivate it, but it will never be of the quality of commercially-available products. Bake some cookies instead. They’re much easier to make! ---
**Author:** ![Duckster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duckster/32/1244_2.png) [@Duckster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duckster)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/7 "2004-02-27T16:57:39Z")
Whatever you do, do not use LOX with charcoal and then attempt to light it. There used to be be web site at Purdue University describing this technique, complete with photos and movies. The site, sponsored by George Gobel, has since been removed at the request of the university. A [government web site](http://ep.llnl.gov/msds/Chem120/lox-oxidation.html) still has the details posted. ---
**Author:** ![Tusculan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecd19e/32.png) [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2004, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/8 "2004-02-27T20:53:50Z")
Assuming you’ve got a licensed copy, can’t you just hook it up to the Internet and have it contact the producer? ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/9 "2004-02-28T01:23:06Z")
Well to activate your charcoal, first you gotta be sure that you have activated interlocks, got your dynatherms connected, your infracells up, and be sure that your megathrusters are go! ---
**Author:** ![El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/41988e/32.png) [@El\_Cid\_Viscoso](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Cid_Viscoso)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/10 "2004-02-28T01:40:58Z")
Blindfold it, then force it to crab-walk naked across the room with a pickled onion crammed up its ass. That was just the ticket for _my_ Pledge Class! . ---
**Author:** ![spingears](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ebca7d/32.png) [@spingears](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spingears)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2004, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-i-activate-my-charcoal/231428/11 "2004-02-28T01:49:11Z")
> [@Reyemile](#): > > How do I activate charcoal? I can’t find an on switch, and my Universal AC adapter isn’t helping. 😃 “How do I activate charcoal?” Where is the charcoal? “I can’t find an on switch.” What are you looking at to find an “on switch?” “and my Universal AC adapter isn’t helping,” Do/did you have it plugged into the power outlet? Is the adapter plugged into the charcoal" Do you think dopers are dumber than you are? RUASA?