# What or how does lime help with body decay? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 16, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638 "2013-07-16T03:38:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/1 "2013-07-16T03:38:13Z")
My uncle had chicken houses. 10,000 laying hens and 1500 roosters that provided hatchery eggs. Summer heat (July and August) killed them in spite of having large fans in the pens. We’d often collect at least 5 to 10 a day and put them in a pile. We took a load to the dump every week. My uncle spread lime on the birds as the pile grew. It seemed to help. They weren’t as slimy or drippy. Maybe TMI but we had to shovel them into the pickup truck for the city dump trip. He eventually bought a small incinerator that ran off diesel. Not very efficient. It only held a dozen birds and took a couple hours to reduce everything to ash. EPA would make this impossible today. There was huge amounts of smoke. I’ve searched and can’t find what the lime does. Does it Slow down decay? Retard insect growth like maggots? Whats the lime doing? Most people use lime on their yards. It’s supposed to help the soil. I did find this one obsecure reference on a google search. Seems promising but I have no idea what it means. 😉 > [@](#): > > Management of Farm Dugouts as Water Supplies: Use of Lime for Algal and Macrophyte Control ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/2 "2013-07-16T04:02:28Z")
It reacts with water and gets hot and caustic. So it’s eating away at the corpse and also dehydrating it at the same time, which reduces the smell. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/3 "2013-07-16T04:06:08Z")
it combines with water, removing water from being available to bacteria, and makes a high pH environment (basic or alkaline) which retards living things. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/4 "2013-07-16T04:44:57Z")
I’ve wondered about this since I was a kid. thanks! ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/5 "2013-07-16T04:52:43Z")
Don’t forget to use the leftovers to make a tasty drink! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/6 "2013-07-16T06:01:20Z")
In the natural order of things, bacteria and fungi reduce dead life forms to basic materials that get recycled into the environment. However, there is a lot stink and bad smell coming from natural decay. You might say that “quicklime” is an artificial (man-made) way of taking control of the rotting process and eliminating the stench and pollution. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/7 "2013-07-16T13:22:04Z")
The wikipedia article is very incomplete. That’s unusual. They say nothing about its application on lawns or on decaying flesh to keep the smell down. > **[Calcium oxide](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_oxide)** > > Calcium oxide (formula: CaO), commonly known as quicklime or burnt lime, is a widely used chemical compound. It is a white, caustic, alkaline, crystalline solid at room temperature. The broadly used term lime connotes calcium-containing inorganic compounds, in which carbonates, oxides, and hydroxides of calcium, silicon, magnesium, aluminium, and iron predominate. By contrast, quicklime specifically applies to the single compound calcium oxide. Calcium oxide that survives processing without react... My local lawn service applies lime to my yard every January. Its part of their year around service of fertilizing and weed control. I use lime occasionally where the dogs pee. Helps with the odor and flies. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/8 "2013-07-16T15:59:51Z")
I recall one of those detective comic books from many many moons ago (EC, mid-60’s?); the perp buried the corpse with lime. When they caught him, the detective remarked that contrary to popular belief, lime is a preservative for corpses. I assume if it stops bacterial decay for quite a while, that also means it takes longer for the corpse to decay. ---
**Author:** ![Fleetwood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fleetwood/32/271_2.png) [@Fleetwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fleetwood)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/9 "2013-07-16T22:45:56Z")
We use it in the outhouse at our remote camp. Don’t know about speeding decay, but it helps hold down the odor of the sh\*t. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/10 "2013-07-16T23:35:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The wikipedia article is very incomplete. … Wrong page, > [@](#): > > [**Lime (material)**](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lime_%28material%29) > > … When the term is encountered in an agricultural context, it probably refers to [agricultural lime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agricultural_lime). Otherwise it most commonly means [slaked lime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slaked_lime), as the more dangerous form is usually described more specifically as [quicklime or burnt lime](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quicklime). … CMC fnord! ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/11 "2013-07-17T00:27:05Z")
Tyson (and most other poultry processors (AFAIK) requires dead chickens to be incinerated. I had some poultry houses back in the day and used a pot. There’s a McMansion over it now, wonder if the owner knows. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2013, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-or-how-does-lime-help-with-body-decay/663638/12 "2013-07-17T04:49:38Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > The wikipedia article is very incomplete. That’s unusual. They say nothing about its application on lawns…[Calcium oxide - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calcium_oxide) > > My local lawn service applies lime to my yard every January. Its part of their year around service of fertilizing and weed control. What CMC said. Agricultural lime (the type used on lawns) is actually powdered or pelletized _limestone_ (calcium carbonate). The lime spread on corpses to slow decomposition (and thus keep down the smell) is usually _slaked lime_ (calcium hydroxide). The more dangerous _quicklime_ (calcium oxide) can also be used, but will convert to slaked lime regardless as soon as it gets wet.