# Will oven processing in CPOP damage the oven?



## narnia (Nov 28, 2015)

I am new to soap making but am really excited about it!  I made my first batch of goat milk soap in the crock pot and it turned out just fine!

I saw a Youtube video about CPOP and am excited to try that, but my husband is concerned that the fumes from the lye as the soap cooks in the oven may damage the interior of the oven.  Anyone have experience with this and can you tell me what, if any effect, the lye fumes have had on the oven interior?  We have a really nice, expensive new oven, so we would love to know!  Thanks in advance for your help!

Another thought....can the soap be cooked in a toaster oven?


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## dixiedragon (Nov 28, 2015)

Have you looked at a bottle of oven cleaner? That is some nasty stuff! Lye will not hurt your oven. it's not radioactive waste.

I don't see why you couldn't use a toaster oven, if you wanted to try it.


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## kchaystack (Nov 28, 2015)

ok, cpop is not cooking your soap.  It is a way to add some extra heat to make sure your soap goes into gel stage.   You should warm your oven to around 170F, put the soap in, and then turn off the oven.  

Also, the only time you should have 'lye fumes' is when you first add lye to your liquids, and should only last for a few moments.   Once mixed with the oils, your lye will be reacting with the oils, not turning to vapor.  So no, cpop should not hurt your oven.


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## narnia (Nov 28, 2015)

Thank you both so much!!!!  Yes!  Thanks for mentioning the nasty oven cleaner!!  That stuff is REALLY caustic!!

Now I can OP in peace!!


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## cinnamaldehyde (Nov 30, 2015)

Just wanted to chime in that I've CPOPd for a long time and have never had any damage to my oven.

Good idea on the toaster oven!  I could move my whole "soap-eration" to the garage if I got a toaster oven.

I <3 CPOP!  Gives a great finish to the soap.


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## narnia (Dec 3, 2015)

dixiedragon said:


> Have you looked at a bottle of oven cleaner? That is some nasty stuff! Lye will not hurt your oven. it's not radioactive waste.
> 
> I don't see why you couldn't use a toaster oven, if you wanted to try it.



When I told my DH about the oven cleaner, he reminded me that our oven is self-cleaning and that we are not supposed to use those cleaners.


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## McGraysoldtowngifts (Dec 3, 2015)

I work for Lowe's and we sell a ton of Appliances There is nothing in the process of soap making that will damage an oven. I would wipe it down with a damp cloth after each use before you cook food in it just in case you had any spills. But I am overly careful and this may not be needed.

  Todd


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## dixiedragon (Dec 4, 2015)

Maybe call the oven company? See what the inside of the oven is made of?


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## cmzaha (Dec 4, 2015)

Just make sure you do not volcano the soap out into the oven. Lye will hurt my self cleaning oven. Also keep in mind you do not have to cpop to make a soap gel. A heat pad can be put under your mold, cover and insulate. The heat pad will promote gelling but you need to check it periodically for overheating. I would just leave it long enough to heat it all up then turn off the heat pad, that is when I gelled soap. Another way is to put your mold in a crate, the smallest that will hold your mold, put the lid on and insulate the crate with a blanket or two, depending the temp in your room. I personally detest using the cpop process. The other trick is to heat the oven to 170º F, turn it off and leave the soap in until your mold cools back down. Some in here can give details about the cpop process since I do not use it unless trying to fix a batch for one reason or another.


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## narnia (Dec 4, 2015)

McGraysoldtowngifts said:


> I work for Lowe's and we sell a ton of Appliances There is nothing in the process of soap making that will damage an oven. I would wipe it down with a damp cloth after each use before you cook food in it just in case you had any spills. But I am overly careful and this may not be needed.
> 
> Todd



Thank you!  It's a new Electrolux that we love, so we do not want to damage it in any way.


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## narnia (Dec 4, 2015)

cmzaha said:


> Just make sure you do not volcano the soap out into the oven. Lye will hurt my self cleaning oven. Also keep in mind you do not have to cpop to make a soap gel. A heat pad can be put under your mold, cover and insulate. The heat pad will promote gelling but you need to check it periodically for overheating. I would just leave it long enough to heat it all up then turn off the heat pad, that is when I gelled soap. Another way is to put your mold in a crate, the smallest that will hold your mold, put the lid on and insulate the crate with a blanket or two, depending the temp in your room. I personally detest using the cpop process. The other trick is to heat the oven to 170º F, turn it off and leave the soap in until your mold cools back down. Some in here can give details about the cpop process since I do not use it unless trying to fix a batch for one reason or another.



Yikes!  If lye will hurt the oven, then we had better use our cheap toaster oven just in case it does volcano!  :-|


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## dixiedragon (Dec 4, 2015)

You could also wrap the mold in a towel so if there is a volcano, the towel catches it.

Not helpful right now (Unless you are in the southern hemisphere), but in hot weather you can CPOP in the trunk of your car or in a solar oven. A solar oven is basically a cardboard box with aluminum foil to reflect sunlight. I'm actually going to make one soon so it will be ready to cook with this summer. 

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Simple-Cardboard-Solar-Oven/?ALLSTEPS


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## McGraysoldtowngifts (Dec 4, 2015)

dixiedragon said:


> You could also wrap the mold in a towel so if there is a volcano, the towel catches it.
> 
> Not helpful right now (Unless you are in the southern hemisphere), but in hot weather you can CPOP in the trunk of your car or in a solar oven. A solar oven is basically a cardboard box with aluminum foil to reflect sunlight. I'm actually going to make one soon so it will be ready to cook with this summer.
> 
> http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Simple-Cardboard-Solar-Oven/?ALLSTEPS



I remember using these in the Boy Scouts to bake bread in the middle of the woods one day they do work very well.

  Todd


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## narnia (Dec 4, 2015)

dixiedragon said:


> You could also wrap the mold in a towel so if there is a volcano, the towel catches it.
> 
> Not helpful right now (Unless you are in the southern hemisphere), but in hot weather you can CPOP in the trunk of your car or in a solar oven. A solar oven is basically a cardboard box with aluminum foil to reflect sunlight. I'm actually going to make one soon so it will be ready to cook with this summer.
> 
> http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-a-Simple-Cardboard-Solar-Oven/?ALLSTEPS



How creative!  Thank you!


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## BrewerGeorge (Dec 4, 2015)

I you like CPOP and are afraid of your oven getting damaged, it would not be very hard or expensive to set up a dedicated box to gel your soap.

Something like this controlling a cheap socket with one of these inside a cooler or even a cardboard box should do the trick.  I don't know the exact desired temp for gel (although I know that the 170F oven minimum is too high) but this would let you set any temp below 122F and the heater would automatically turn off if the temp rose above the setpoint.

Even cheaper, but slower moving options would be to use a water bath and aquarium heater inside an enclosure.


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## coffeetime (Dec 4, 2015)

On the homemade solar ovens-aren't most of them made with aluminum foil? If that is the design you are looking at, I would stay away from the aluminum. Lye and aluminum react badly. And there is still active lye when you put your mold in, so if it volcanoed, I'm not sure but I would suspect it would react.


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## BrewerGeorge (Dec 4, 2015)

coffeetime said:


> On the homemade solar ovens-aren't most of them made with aluminum foil? If that is the design you are looking at, I would stay away from the aluminum. Lye and aluminum react badly. And there is still active lye when you put your mold in, so if it volcanoed, I'm not sure but I would suspect it would react.



Good point.  You could use mylar, I suppose.


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## houseofwool (Dec 4, 2015)

I use a cheap styrofoam cooler for gelling. Mine were free from the local hospital pharmacy. My BIL is a pharmacist and that is what temperature sensitive meds are shipped in.


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## Susie (Dec 5, 2015)

I would use the heating pad under the mold with a small cooler (AKA ice chest) inverted over the top like Carolyn said.  It is a cheap oven substitute, and you can use it anywhere you have an outlet.  Just be sure to check it to prevent overheating.  

I am drooling over the Solavore Sport.  I just think this would be great to have!

http://www.solavore.com/


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## mymy (Dec 5, 2015)

hi guys, i made cp of oatmeal, honey and milk soap just now.  After i added honey in, the color became light orange, within 1 hour it turn into creamy beige. Is that normal?


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## shunt2011 (Dec 5, 2015)

Totally normal. My OMH is a lovely creamy beige color


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## mymy (Dec 5, 2015)

thank you for the reply shunt!    i thought I'd already ruined the batch.


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## Atihcnoc (Dec 5, 2015)

narnia said:


> When I told my DH about the oven cleaner, he reminded me that our oven is self-cleaning and that we are not supposed to use those cleaners.



Do you know how the oven self-cleaning? the temp. for that it is very high, as well you have the option of cleaning your oven with the very caustic products, that is not forbidden. Today most of the ovens are self-cleaning.


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## narnia (Dec 5, 2015)

Due to lack of time, I decided to just crockpot it again, since I am so unfamiliar with CPOP.  I have to have 5 bars of soap ready for tomorrow.

It's cooking now, but I am very concerned!  It looks nothing like my first batch!  This one came to trace much faster, like within 5 min., and jelled within 30 min.  My first batch took 30 min. to trace and 4 hours of cooking!

This batch has sooooooooooooo much oil in it...it is literally swimming in oil!!  I am afraid that I may have messed it up using a different recipe!  : (


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## traderbren (Dec 6, 2015)

With all due respect, perhaps you should tell your friend you are not able to give her soaps right now. You don't know how they will hold up over time, and by using a new recipe you've not tested, you are doing yourself and your friend a huge disservice.
HP and CPOP might be safe to use the next day, but they melt away quickly , don't lather as nice, and don't feel as nice as a nicely cured bar. I would hate for your friend's friends to not appreciate your soap at its full potential.


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## Susie (Dec 6, 2015)

Soap takes 4-6 weeks to be good.  Period.  It does not matter whether it is CP, HP, or CPOP.


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## narnia (Dec 6, 2015)

Hmm...never knew these things!  I am glad to be learning from you all!

The soap that I made last night turned out fine.  I was planning to attach a tag to not use till after Christmas and explain that it needs to cure, so I think we are safe here.


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## McGraysoldtowngifts (Dec 6, 2015)

If you need soap quickly you could always use a Melt and Pour base. You would be able to use it right after it sets up. Then you could save your other soap and let it Cure properly that way if there ends up being an issue with the batch you can catch it before it is used.

     Todd


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## dixiedragon (Dec 6, 2015)

coffeetime said:


> On the homemade solar ovens-aren't most of them made with aluminum foil? If that is the design you are looking at, I would stay away from the aluminum. Lye and aluminum react badly. And there is still active lye when you put your mold in, so if it volcanoed, I'm not sure but I would suspect it would react.



The solar oven is cheap to make - the most expensive part would be the glass or plexi glass top. So I figure, if there's a major spill, just toss the whole thing. Everything else is literally cardboard and foil.


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## McGraysoldtowngifts (Dec 6, 2015)

dixiedragon said:


> The solar oven is cheap to make - the most expensive part would be the glass or plexi glass top. So I figure, if there's a major spill, just toss the whole thing. Everything else is literally cardboard and foil.





    If you wrap the plexi in a clear plastic wrap I would think it would protect it enough to save the plexi if you caught it soon enough.


  Todd


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## penelopejane (Dec 6, 2015)

I thought goat's milk soap was better if it didn't gel in which case you would put it in the fridge rather than the oven. Is this right? 

For other recipes wouldn't you know when you pour the batter into the mold if it has worked or not (ie: going to volcano)? So heating the oven to 100 deg F, turning it off and putting the soap mold in a box and wrapping it in a towel wouldn't be an issue for a good oven.


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## narnia (Dec 8, 2015)

McGraysoldtowngifts said:


> If you need soap quickly you could always use a Melt and Pour base. You would be able to use it right after it sets up. Then you could save your other soap and let it Cure properly that way if there ends up being an issue with the batch you can catch it before it is used.
> 
> Todd



How would I do a melt and pour goat milk soap?


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Dec 8, 2015)

narnia said:


> How would I do a melt and pour goat milk soap?



You buy one 
https://www.google.at/webhp?sourcei...ie=UTF-8#q=goats milk melt and pour soap base


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## shunt2011 (Dec 8, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> I thought goat's milk soap was better if it didn't gel in which case you would put it in the fridge rather than the oven. Is this right?
> 
> For other recipes wouldn't you know when you pour the batter into the mold if it has worked or not (ie: going to volcano)? So heating the oven to 100 deg F, turning it off and putting the soap mold in a box and wrapping it in a towel wouldn't be an issue for a good oven.


 

I gel all my milk soaps.  I use Goat's Milk, buttermilk, cream and coconut milk.  It's generally a pale beige color if I don't color the batter.


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## dixiedragon (Dec 8, 2015)

penelopejane said:


> For other recipes wouldn't you know when you pour the batter into the mold if it has worked or not (ie: going to volcano)? So heating the oven to 100 deg F, turning it off and putting the soap mold in a box and wrapping it in a towel wouldn't be an issue for a good oven.


 
If you have made a lot of batches, you can usually see it coming. But you may do all the usual stuff (same recipe, procedures, etc) with a new FO and it happens unexpectedly. I have never had a true "volcano". I have had soap overheat and start to rise in the mold and then I spend the next hour stirring it every 5 minutes or so to release heat until it leaves the "danger zone". I have to use my thermometer, b/c other wise I get impatient and convince myself that it's cool enough to mix and it's really not!


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## Susie (Dec 8, 2015)

I have only had a couple try to volcano on me, I put ice and cold water into the sink, and held the mold in there (submerged to JUST below the lip of the mold) until it stopped rising.


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## ngian (Dec 8, 2015)

shunt2011 said:


> I gel all my milk soaps.  I use Goat's Milk, buttermilk, cream and coconut milk.  It's generally a pale beige color if I don't color the batter.


The beige color is mostly from milk's/honey's reaction with lye, but is it for the gel phase / high temperature also? Meaning than one can get very little beige colour if the soap loaf is kept in a cold environment aka fridge?


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## penelopejane (Dec 8, 2015)

dixiedragon said:


> If you have made a lot of batches, you can usually see it coming. But you may do all the usual stuff (same recipe, procedures, etc) with a new FO and it happens unexpectedly. I have never had a true "volcano". I have had soap overheat and start to rise in the mold and then I spend the next hour stirring it every 5 minutes or so to release heat until it leaves the "danger zone". I have to use my thermometer, b/c other wise I get impatient and convince myself that it's cool enough to mix and it's really not!




Thank you. I haven't experienced that yet!


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