# How to protect feet from lye accidents



## alexanderte (Jul 5, 2016)

Do you use anything more than socks when soaping? Until now I’ve only used socks.

Would a pair of Crocs work?

http://www.crocs.eu/crocs-bistro/10075,en_ES,pd.html?cid=100&cgid=work-crocs#start=8


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## shunt2011 (Jul 5, 2016)

Just a closed pair of shoes should be enough to protect your feet. I've never had an incident with lye getting near my feet.


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## alexanderte (Jul 5, 2016)

Okay. I guess they will work then.

Some other questions. If I get lye on my pants – do I need to wash them in the washing machine before using again? Or is it enough to let them dry? Do I need to wash them separately to avoid lye bleaching other clothes?

I had a very small lye accident with a few drops splashing on my pants a couple of batches ago. I’ve made some adjustments to my process to prevent the same from happening again.


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## topofmurrayhill (Jul 5, 2016)

NO:







YES:


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## alexanderte (Jul 5, 2016)

Thanks! I’m a guy by the way. Will probably buy the Crocs.


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## topofmurrayhill (Jul 5, 2016)

alexanderte said:


> Thanks! I’m a guy by the way. Will probably buy the Crocs.



The same applies to you. But I would also suggest a hot assistant.


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## alexanderte (Jul 5, 2016)

topofmurrayhill said:


> The same applies to you. But I would also suggest a hot assistant.


Oh. Okay, I’ll see what I can find… :???:


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## Susie (Jul 5, 2016)

You should wear pants and closed toe shoes.  You should wash the pants ASAP if you get lye splashed on them.  You can wash them with other clothes if you only get a little bit on there.  If you get raw soap batter on them, let it harden up, then wash as usual (it is soap, after all).


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## penelopejane (Jul 5, 2016)

alexanderte said:


> Do you use anything more than socks when soaping? Until now I’ve only used socks.
> 
> Would a pair of Crocs work?
> 
> http://www.crocs.eu/crocs-bistro/10075,en_ES,pd.html?cid=100&cgid=work-crocs#start=8



Crocs are not closed in shoes. They have holes to allow water in and out as they were originally designed as water shoes but I guess you knew that. 
Mix you lye in the sink and pour into the oils in the same sink and there shouldn't be a problem with the lye. 

Uncured batter is just as corrosive as lye and you need to wash it off skin and clothes straight away or it will burn skin and eat a hole in clothes.


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## earlene (Jul 5, 2016)

I wouldn't let the soap batter harden on the pants.  I will do that with an apron, but it's an apron and is meant to collect spatters. But pants, you may want to wear out in public, I'd clean it up as soon as possible.  I have an amazingly very very white streak on one of my white aprons that soap batter stayed on until it had finished saponifying and I can see that it will eventually deteriorate the fabric in that area just the same as bleach does, so I wouldn't want my good clothes subjected to the same process.

Better yet, wear an apron when soaping to get the splatters instead of your pants.  You can find manly aprons, like they wear for bar-b-ques, etc.


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## Arimara (Jul 5, 2016)

alexanderte said:


> Okay. I guess they will work then.
> I’ve made some adjustments to my process to prevent the same from happening again.



This craft is one that forces you to be patient and work carefully. Some people don't/won't learn to do even this.

For the record, the closed clogs are fine but do you have an old pair of boots you can use? It would be preferable to buying some new shoes for soaping purposes unless you work in a hospital or a kitchen of something.


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## dixiedragon (Jul 5, 2016)

Topofmurrayhill- I love it!

OP - lye is dangerous, but it's not radioactive. It can damage clothes so it's a good idea to wear old clothes to soap. I'll admit it - I've soaped in bare feet and a T-shirt. I don't wear a long-sleeved shirt, because if I get soap batter on my bare arm I notice it immediately and I can wash it off. But if I have it on my sleeve I might not notice it and I might get it on my face or on a child or a pet.

If you splash some lye water on your clothes, rinse well with water. if you get some soap batter on your clothes, wipe it off with a paper towel and then rinse with water. Then throw it in the wash as normal.


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## alexanderte (Jul 5, 2016)

Arimara said:


> This craft is one that forces you to be patient and work carefully. Some people don't/won't learn to do even this.


I’m not sure if I’m a patient person, but I love the attention to detail that is required to make a decent bar of soap (I’m not there yet). Since starting out some week ago I’ve had a detailed list of instructions that I follow every time. I make small adjustments to that list as I learn more.



Arimara said:


> For the record, the closed clogs are fine but do you have an old pair of boots you can use? It would be preferable to buying some new shoes for soaping purposes unless you work in a hospital or a kitchen of something.


I have an old pair of Stan Smith that I don’t use.


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## Susie (Jul 5, 2016)

I never soap, cook, clean, garden, or do most potentially messy things in clothes that I intend to leave the house in.  That is just inviting trouble.


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## Arimara (Jul 5, 2016)

alexanderte said:


> I have an old pair of Stan Smith that I don’t use.



Unless they're uncomfortable or have some extreme holes, you may want to save some money and utilize those. the money you save could also be reallocated to soaping what-nots or something else. As for patience, it's a good thing to have. Many of us are not kidding when we have said a 12 week old soap is most times, superior to a 6 week old one. Three months isn't too long a wait anyways 



Susie said:


> I never soap, cook, clean, garden, or do most potentially messy things in clothes that I intend to leave the house in.  That is just inviting trouble.



I'm guilty of cooking  and soaping in the same clothes I go out in. Most of the time, I have had protection on.


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## Steve85569 (Jul 5, 2016)

OP:
Wear gloves when handling lye. Protect your feet by wearing shoes that will not allow direct contact with any spilled lye / lye water. Remove and wash and clothing that has lye on it as soon as reasonably possible. Protect all skin with reasonable caution. Lye burns are painful but can be prevented using reasonable cautions.

Lye is just lye. It does not care what it turns in to soap. Even if it's you. Don't ask how I know.


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## IrishLass (Jul 5, 2016)

dixiedragon said:


> I'll admit it - I've soaped in bare feet and a T-shirt. I don't wear a long-sleeved shirt, because if I get soap batter on my bare arm I notice it immediately and I can wash it off. But if I have it on my sleeve I might not notice it and I might get it on my face or on a child or a pet.


 
Ditto the above for me, only I'll have to change the word 'soaped' to 'soap', since I always soap in short sleeves and with bare feet. [the reason for which I shall explain shortly....] 

***Having said the above, it's important that point out that I _always_, _always, always_ wear goggles, gloves, and an apron, no exceptions whatsoever.*** 

Continuing on.... in defense of my soaping attire (or rather lack thereof) for my feet and arms, it's also very important that I point out that I do my soaping in the kitchen sink where flowing water from my faucet is at my direct disposal and readily available in an instant should I ever get any lye solution or raw soap batter on my skin. 

In all my 10-11 years of soaping, I reckon I can count on one hand the number of times I've ever gotten a few drops of raw soap batter on my bare feet, but because my faucet is right at hand, it was quickly neutralized/cleaned off with water in a matter of seconds without any ensuing damage to myself. 

In regards to any occasional splashes I might get on my arms- I used to soap with long sleeves, but I quickly ceased doing that when I learned one day how impractical and potentially more dangerous that really could be: .....some raw soap batter had splashed onto my long sleeve while soaping and soaked through to my arm (which revealed itself by the tell-tale tingling). I had to stop what I was doing and take off my gloves (which had a little soap batter on them), so that I could take off my apron, so that I could take off my shirt, so that I could finally take care of the skin on my arm. Once my skin was taken care of, I had to run to my bedroom to retrieve and put on a different shirt before running back and re-donning my apron and gloves so that I could finally continue soaping. I learned that day that wearing long sleeves may sound very sensible in theory, but in actual practice, splashes are so much easier and quicker to neutralize if certain items of clothing are not in the way/have to be shed first.


IrishLass


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## Arimara (Jul 5, 2016)

For me, by habit, I always roll up my sleeves when soap. At my old job they always wanted your arms covered around food but when you're actually preparing food to be cooked or for immediate consumption, sleeves posed as a cross-contamination threat. never mind having bits of food stuck on you sleeves and you don't know it.


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## milky (Jul 5, 2016)

I've just started soaping but have designated an old flannel dress to function as a smock. It is long-sleeved but has snaps to pin them up if desired. It also snaps all the way down the front for easy removal.


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## kchaystack (Jul 5, 2016)

alexanderte said:


> Thanks! I’m a guy by the way. Will probably buy the Crocs.



I know guys who would wear both of the things in tomh pics.   And look amazing doing it.


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## lenarenee (Jul 5, 2016)

I love going barefoot,  but when it comes to soap spills I figure that in case of a bad spill I'd remove my clothes in the kitchen and get to a shower as quickly as possible. However,  I'll need clean healthy feet to do that so I always wear shoes.

I think you ask great and thorough questions;  and I'm sure you'll be a successful soapmaker!


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## earlene (Jul 5, 2016)

IrishLass said:


> Ditto the above for me, only I'll have to change the word 'soaped' to 'soap', since I always soap in short sleeves and with bare feet. [the reason for which I shall explain shortly....]
> 
> ***Having said the above, it's important that point out that I _always_, _always, always_ wear goggles, gloves, and an apron, no exceptions whatsoever.***
> 
> ...



I agree completely.  It is so much easier to clean off my arm under the sink when it is bare!  The only time I wore long sleeves while soaping is when I took a class and it was required.  I can barely tolerate long sleeves in the winter, let alone in warm weather. I push them up; they fall down.   I roll them up; they come unrolled.  I can wear them out in the snow when I am outside, but at home inside my house, I really don't care for long sleeves at all.

So I don't even try to wear them while soaping.  I don't wear long gloves either.  I wear the same kinds of gloves I wore as a nurse, wrist high disposable gloves.  I retain dexterity in them, but not in thicker dishwashing gloves, even though I did soap in those at that class because it was required.

I often soap in my everyday clothes, or even in my pajamas, but always with a full frontal apron.  I have several aprons, in fact, but one is my designated soaping apron, which I normally wear when soaping unless it is in the wash.  Then I wear a different one.

I do wear flip flops when I soap because my feet cannot bear shoes inside the house.  They are too hot.  In fact I rarely wear closed toed shoes at all even outside except in the winter or if I am going on a hike or have a need to wear my cowboy boots.  Even though my feet don't like walking barefoot (too painful), I still have sufficient dexterity to lift my leg up and put my foot in the sink if need be to rinse it off.   

I keep my hair back and usually up because even when braided it is too long to be swinging around and landing in the soap.  No I haven't done that, but I did come close one day when I left my braid down.  And I often wear a visor to keep my bangs out of my eyes.  I actually have a visor I keep in the kitchen for that very purpose for when I cook or do the dishes in front of the kitchen window when the sun is very bright.

And I never soap without eye protection, although not the heavy thick constricting goggles that I wore in the cooking class I took.  They are just too hot and heavy.  I just wear my reading glasses.


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## topofmurrayhill (Jul 5, 2016)

earlene said:


> And I never soap without eye protection, although not the heavy thick constricting goggles that I wore in the cooking class I took.  They are just too hot and heavy.  I just wear my reading glasses.



You soap with inadequate eye protection. People have lost vision because lye got past even real safety goggles. Chemical burns to the eye are typically caused by acidic and alkaline substances, but alkaline substances are much worse. It doesn't take much time for lye in your eye to do permanent damage, and you will have trouble keeping your eye open to wash it out because it's so viciously damaging and painful. You can lose your sight and have permanent pain. If you're in easy reach of a shower, soap naked if you want but wear eye protection designed for the purpose.


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## TeresaT (Jul 5, 2016)

Soap naked.  Maybe some of us do...

I don't own many long sleeved shirts because they're annoying.  I found these disposable plastic arm protectors online and use them when I soap.   They're hot as heck in the summer, though.  However, once I clean up everything, I'm able to peel the sleeves and gloves off at the same time; put them in the middle of my puppy pad along with all of the used paper towels; then roll the entire thing into a neat ball and put it in the trash can.  They were cheap, about .22 each.   I'll bet they have something like this for the feet.   

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VNT5AOS/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20


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## earlene (Jul 5, 2016)

TeresaT said:


> Soap naked.  Maybe some of us do...
> 
> I don't own many long sleeved shirts because they're annoying.  I found these disposable plastic arm protectors online and use them when I soap.   They're hot as heck in the summer, though.  However, once I clean up everything, I'm able to peel the sleeves and gloves off at the same time; put them in the middle of my puppy pad along with all of the used paper towels; then roll the entire thing into a neat ball and put it in the trash can.  They were cheap, about .22 each.   I'll bet they have something like this for the feet.



Yes, booties.  We used to have to wear them in isolation rooms, although not plastic like that because it would be a slip & fall hazard.



topofmurrayhill said:


> You soap with inadequate eye protection. People have lost vision because lye got past even real safety goggles. Chemical burns to the eye are typically caused by acidic and alkaline substances, but alkaline substances are much worse. It doesn't take much time for lye in your eye to do permanent damage, and you will have trouble keeping your eye open to wash it out because it's so viciously damaging and painful. You can lose your sight and have permanent pain. If you're in easy reach of a shower, soap naked if you want but wear eye protection designed for the purpose.



I realize that, however I know the risk I am taking and am careful not to splatter.  I could have prescription goggles made, but the heavy goggles to wear over my glasses make me so hot they steam up and then I can't see.  Then I have to wash my hands, remove my gloves and remove the goggles to dry them off so I can see again. This all takes a lot of time and is very annoying to have to do all the time.  I had to do that several times last time I used them.  I'd rather see what I am doing and keep on soaping.

But thank you for the cautionary note.  I know you are right.  Still the reading glasses are more protection than bare-eyed, so I still consider it to be some protection, if not ideal.  I would wear those onion goggles if I didn't need reading glasses.

But you have made me consider seeing my eye doctor and asking about prescription safety goggles.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jul 6, 2016)

Another option is a full face guard, like this. http://www.toolstop.co.uk/components/com_virtuemart/shop_image/product/SSP11E.V2.jpg


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