# A "different" question about lye



## sudsy_kiwi (Nov 5, 2015)

Okay, first, this didn't come from me.
Second, the subject might be a bit macabre for some...fair warning.

So, my girlfriend and her friend are both doing NaNoWriMo, and the friend had a question that worked its way back to me.  I dunno what the hell she's writing, but one of her characters needs to dispose of a body, and she's decided that the way to do that will be by "dissolving" it with NaOH.

Because I make soap, I was nominated as the expert in this matter :Kitten Love: :shock: Now please, rest assured I have never disposed of a body in this manner, nor do I have any intent to...I'm also not a chemist, so I thought I'd turn to my fellow soapers for advice.

My initial thoughts are that, given enough time and NaOH, the soft tissues of a body could indeed be destroyed this way (as they contain fat), but that the skeleton, teeth, and any kidney/gall stones would remain.

Am I correct, and if so...would anyone care to venture an idea as to how much time & lye would be required for an average adult body. Again, I have not killed anyone, I have no plans to kill anyone, and I have no body to dispose of...this is purely for literary research on behalf of a non-soaper.


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 5, 2015)

While I think the question is macabre, it's not odd to.me because I've had to research weirder things for a story LOL. 

To answer your question, yes ,you can, but what is more commonly used is hydrofloric acid (not sure on the spelling).  Both seem to be popular choices for writers when looking for a method of untraceable disposal in novels. Personally, since it's been done to mars and back and might come across as a cliched method, I'd think outside the box and choose another. Hope that answers your questions.


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## mymy (Nov 5, 2015)

Sudsy -  To respond to your question, I would like to relate facts that gigi wrote.  Lye vs hydrofluoric acid.  Lye is more effective to melt down protein and fats, even bones but there will be remaining of calcium that wouldn't dissolve.  This process wont take hours, but days.


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## snappyllama (Nov 5, 2015)

I'm too worried about a Breaking Bad scenario where the caustic body-bit sludge would leak out of a tub.  Plus, imagine the plumbing bills... 

I prefer alligators for all my body disposal needs. It's a win-win (gaters get fed, body is gone). Although the travel time back to a swamp is annoying, at least I can get some good shrimp etouffee as a reward lunch for all my hard work. Mmmm, cajun food.


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## BrewerGeorge (Nov 5, 2015)

The First Rule of Soap Club... :shh:


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 6, 2015)

LOL I told ya it was a macabre question, not necessarily an odd one.


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## Susie (Nov 6, 2015)

There is an old saying in Louisiana, "Be nice to your neighbors, they have gators and alibis."


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## gigisiguenza (Nov 6, 2015)

Susie said:


> There is an old saying in Louisiana, "Be nice to your neighbors, they have gators and alibis."



Oh I like that, made me chuckle


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## sudsy_kiwi (Nov 6, 2015)

Haha, I'm glad this was taken in the spirit I'd hoped...I'd had visions of someone tipping off Homeland Security or something lol.

Yes, I'd advised her that hydroflouric acid would definitely work, but she was hell-bent on using lye for some reason...possibly because using acid is what _everyone_ else uses  

Oh and, I prefer pigs for my body recycling needs :twisted:


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Nov 6, 2015)

"They go through bone like butter"


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## shunt2011 (Nov 6, 2015)

I don't find it odd at all.  For a good laugh my girlfriend (co-worker) and I were both ticked at our husbands and actually researched how to do it......even funnier is one night she had a bit much to drink and texted me asking if she could borrow some lye.   So, if anything ever happens to our husbands and they check our computers at work we are so screwed...:evil:


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## nsmar4211 (Nov 6, 2015)

How would the character get enough lye without it being a suspicious purchase? I vote for the gators/pigs.......


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## kchaystack (Nov 6, 2015)

You can buy lye in 50 lb bags if you want to.  Several here on the forum have talked about how they store it.

But yes, gators and pigs are usually much more eco-friendly.


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## shunt2011 (Nov 6, 2015)

nsmar4211 said:


> How would the character get enough lye without it being a suspicious purchase? I vote for the gators/pigs.......


 
I bought 64 lbs from Essential Depot.  My parents picked it up and drove it back to me.  No questions.   I can also get a 50lb bag locally.


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## mymy (Nov 6, 2015)

Pigs are carnivors?


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## kchaystack (Nov 6, 2015)

mymy said:


> Pigs are carnivors?



They are omnivores.   Will pretty much eat anything they can chew up.


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## dixiedragon (Nov 6, 2015)

mymy said:


> Pigs are carnivors?


 
There was actually a Canadian serial killer who was a major pig farmer who disposed of bodies this way.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Pickton


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## mymy (Nov 6, 2015)

dixie - scary picktons! :'(


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## snappyllama (Nov 6, 2015)

I recall reading about pig farmers being consumed when they had the misfortune to die in the pen. It really gives Charlotte's writing a new, dark twist...

that's some pig (and will eat your face off)

Of course, I'm pretty sure my sweet, adorable cat would also eat me if he suddenly grew to tiger size. He gives me *that* look whenever he's finally caught a moth.


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## tricia819 (Nov 6, 2015)

I was watching "Ask a Mortician" on YouTube and she actually answered this question. It IS possible and currently available to people who die normally. It is called "Liquid Cremation." Use that for your keyword and do a Google search. It is a thing. Also, yes, it does dissolve the soft tissue but, leave the bones and the remaining lye water is washed down the drain. (To be clear, probably a special drain that doesn't drop directly into the water supply.)


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## nsmar4211 (Nov 6, 2015)

Curious why you were watching that? *backs away slowly*....

Wonder if they add more lye as the process goes along or dump the whole amount on at once......Seems to me you be best to add it in increments?


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## afbrat (Nov 6, 2015)

Kind of off topic, but I have to say that this thread is one of the reasons why I love this forum!  You know you're truly among friends when you can talk about body disposal methods!  Lol


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## galaxyMLP (Nov 6, 2015)

This is a weird thread but I thought I'd comment... Lol.

No hydroflouricacid! It would kill you while you were dumping/dousing the body and does not effectively break down tissue (there's a video on YT comparing it eating away at raw chicken to sulfuric and hydrochloric [for science!!]). HF can kill you if a dime sized amount falls on you. It will react with all of the calcium in your body and kill you from the inside out. It will also react with any glass and make it disolve so bye bye bath tub!

I was told that lovely information about HF when I was about to start working with it. Scarrry stuff.

I'm not sure how well lye would work. Either way, all of these would take a pretty long time. Gators are probably the best choice.


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## traderbren (Nov 6, 2015)

This is a fun thread. Please don't make it a monthly challenge. Although I do have a friend with pigs, and an in-law I'd be willing to test on.


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## Dahila (Nov 6, 2015)

Watch elementary there is answer to this question and nutmeg suppose to mask the odor of lye


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## Consuela (Nov 7, 2015)

I got a little lye bead on my skin while making soap a few weeks back.... had a nice perfect little hole in my skin... and FK did it burn.... Oh it burned and hurt soooo bad... but I was at an imperative moment in soaping and stopping - would have resulted in a seizing, so... I kept going...I'm hardcore like that. (Taking one for the team and all that). 

All the while I thought... 

"WOW that's a good way to torture a person... I wouldn't even kill them first... I'd just pour some water on them - then drop some lye beads on them..."

However. 

I'm a mom. And I mean.... I live in Suburbia... I don't have a place to exact such torturous endeavors as I also have terror thoughts of the Breaking Bad Bathtub ShinDig. Nor do I have any enemies (currently) that warrant such thoughts lol


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## Arimara (Nov 7, 2015)

Susie said:


> There is an old saying in Louisiana, "Be nice to your neighbors, they have gators and alibis."



I was about to ask"wouldn't pigs be more efficient but...



sudsy_kiwi said:


> Haha, I'm glad this was taken in the spirit I'd hoped...I'd had visions of someone tipping off Homeland Security or something lol.
> 
> Yes, I'd advised her that hydroflouric acid would definitely work, but she was hell-bent on using lye for some reason...possibly because using acid is what _everyone_ else uses
> 
> Oh and, I prefer pigs for my body recycling needs :twisted:



I found my answer here.



Consuela said:


> I got a little lye bead on my skin while making soap a few weeks back.... had a nice perfect little hole in my skin... and FK did it burn.... Oh it burned and hurt soooo bad... but I was at an imperative moment in soaping and stopping - would have resulted in a seizing, so... I kept going...I'm hardcore like that. (Taking one for the team and all that).
> 
> All the while I thought...
> 
> ...



I don't watch TV much but I do remember a certain scene from Silence of the Lambs towards the end of the movie. I personally don't harbor that much hate for anyone to want that kind of torture to them as of yet.


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## notapantsday (Nov 14, 2015)

snappyllama said:


> I recall reading about pig farmers being consumed when they had the misfortune to die in the pen. It really gives Charlotte's writing a new, dark twist...
> 
> that's some pig (and will eat your face off)
> 
> Of course, I'm pretty sure my sweet, adorable cat would also eat me if he suddenly grew to tiger size. He gives me *that* look whenever he's finally caught a moth.



One of my professors told me that they often get older people who died in their homes and haven't been found in a while. Many of them are missing noses or other pieces of flesh and you can clearly see the bite marks from their pets. Kitty or Fido may be loyal and mourn you for a while, but at some point they have to eat _something_ to survive...

Laundry detergent seems to work quite well:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dF1APXeJ7pM[/ame]

It has enzymes that can break down carbohydrates, fat and protein. In the end, there's only bones left. I would try to dissolve them with acid.


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## OliveOil2 (Nov 14, 2015)

There seems to be a few in history, this one came from Wikipedia:

Leonarda Cianciulli (April 14, 1894 – October 15, 1970) was an Italian serial killer. Better known as the "Soap-Maker of Correggio" (Italian: la Saponificatrice di Correggio),[1] she murdered three women in Correggio between 1939 and 1940, and turned their bodies into soap and teacakes.


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## Dian (Nov 16, 2015)

OliveOil2 said:


> There seems to be a few in history, this one came from Wikipedia:
> 
> Leonarda Cianciulli (April 14, 1894 – October 15, 1970) was an Italian serial killer. Better known as the "Soap-Maker of Correggio" (Italian: la Saponificatrice di Correggio),[1] she murdered three women in Correggio between 1939 and 1940, and turned their bodies into soap and teacakes.



I have always heard that people make the best soap.  I guess this is where it came from.


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## annalee2003 (Nov 16, 2015)

In relation to this thread, the husband came home last night and somehow I brought up the fact that the soap making forum that I was on had a thread about lye and using it to dispose of bodies (he looked a little perplexed, haha). 

Afterwards, he told me that he was listening to an audio book on the way home where a part of it discussed how in certain areas, buried bodies will actually turn into a soapy substance! Conditions have to be perfect though and I guess it's called "gave wax". 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adipocere 

The more you know, haha.


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