Used this to make about 100 gallons of non-toxic, non-melting synthetic gelatin for an event at my apartment to manufacture. It was a hit. Using warm water, it expands to 75% of its full size in 4 hours. Everything was ready overnight. It holds a lot of water but is not sticky. Contrary to how Crystal Accents describes it, it washes out the color and stains my neutral carpets heavily to a hot pink that cannot be steam cleaned. Since I'm not using it for its intended purpose, I don't have any major issues with it and am only giving it 4 stars. I highly recommend this product but will be using the clear variety once I replace my rugs.