# Disposing of Lye



## lakshjdflj (Feb 3, 2015)

Hi everyone, 

I hope you will forgive me for creating an account and immediately asking a question, but I really didn’t know where else to turn, as I don’t know any soap makers in real life. 

I have a bottle of lye (crystals in a plastic bottle) that I would like to get rid of. 

I have made soap a few times, and had good results, but I was recently reading how dangerous the stuff is. I’ve always covered my arms, worn gloves and goggles etc, but I didn’t realise just how caustic it really is. 

Anyway, I have lots of hobbies vying for my attention, plus lots of little niece and nephews, and nowhere secure to keep the lye. I have decided that for this phase of my life soap making isn’t a good fit. 

But I don’t know how to get rid of the lye! I don’t want to keep it in the house because of all our kid visitors. I didn’t want to put it down the toilet in case 1) it’s bad for the water system 2) it’s bad for the plumbing 3) water + lye = explosion. 

I thought about tipping it out on a faraway piece of our property, but how long would it stay caustic for? We have lots of wild bunnies here, might it blind them? 

Could I just tip it down the drain? We have an easily accessible one, but again I’m concerned about pipes, the water system, and explosions. 

As you can see I don’t know enough about this stuff to handle it safely, so I’d like to get rid of it. Any assistance would be much appreciated. 

And sorry to be a downer! I know when used properly it is a fantastic substance, and hope one day I can get back into soap making because I had a lot of fun!


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## MorpheusPA (Feb 3, 2015)

lakshjdflj said:


> I hope you will forgive me for creating an account and immediately asking a question, but I really didn’t know where else to turn, as I don’t know any soap makers in real life.



Most of us created an account and immediately asked a question.  Criticizing you for it would be extremely hypocritical.  



> But I don’t know how to get rid of the lye! I don’t want to keep it in the house because of all our kid visitors. I didn’t want to put it down the toilet in case 1) it’s bad for the water system 2) it’s bad for the plumbing 3) water + lye = explosion.



Don't use the toilet for that reason--lye volcano.



> I thought about tipping it out on a faraway piece of our property, but how long would it stay caustic for? We have lots of wild bunnies here, might it blind them?



Lye isn't safe to discard on soils as it'll destroy the natural balance of fungi and bacteria in them (my other hobby being organic gardening).  The sodium is also toxic to the soil and can hang around for very long periods of time--I've counseled plenty of people on how to abolish high sodium levels, and that was just from some road salt.  Sodium bonds easily to soils and doesn't let go easily at all.  Look up "salting the earth" for more information on that one!



> Could I just tip it down the drain? We have an easily accessible one, but again I’m concerned about pipes, the water system, and explosions.



Lye's been used for drain cleaning for ages.  Run the water very cold, and s-l-o-w-l-y pour the lye right down the drain.  Wear eye protection, and if you get any on yourself, flush thoroughly with the cold water that's right there with you.

If you have a septic tank, it can do a real number on the bacteria, mold, and fungi in your tank.  You may need to restore those, or might decide you don't want to do it at all if you have septic.

In that case, contact your local waste disposal folks to ask how to get rid of it.  Sometimes you can drop it off (for a fee).  Sometimes they have other suggestions that may work for you.



> And sorry to be a downer! I know when used properly it is a fantastic substance, and hope one day I can get back into soap making because I had a lot of fun!



No biggie.  Someday you'll come back to us.  This hobby doesn't die easily...


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## Susie (Feb 3, 2015)

It is used for cleaning drains, so if you don't have a clogged drain, I would pour it very slowly down a sink with water running full force.  It will be fine.

ETA-I forgot about septic systems!  Yes, either use some sort of bacteria replacement or call your county waste dept. to see how to dispose of.


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## kchaystack (Feb 3, 2015)

google chemical disposal with your city name.  or hazardous waste disposal and your city name.  Many places have a drop off point for things like old cleaners, paint, solvents, pool chemicals.  They should be able to take care of your lye.  

Or you can try and find another local soaper on craig's list or even on this site and just give it to them....


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## lakshjdflj (Feb 3, 2015)

Thanks for the replies and kindness everyone! I'm very glad I checked as my two favoured options were the toilet or the bottom of the garden, so very glad to know better. 

I will cover up carefully and slowly pour it down the outside drain (we don't have a septic, thankfully).


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## DeeAnna (Feb 3, 2015)

I would dispose of modest amounts of lye down the sewer, whether septic or municipal. There's honestly not much risk that a septic system will be affected, unless your septic is in really bad shape. 

Disposing of most of a bottle of solid lye is another matter entirely -- that's a LOT of lye to flush down the sewer. I don't think I personally would do that, and I've been an engineer working in the chemical industry. If sewer disposal is the only option, I would dispose of the lye a little bit at a time over a number of weeks or months. Bear in mind that lye used to clean a sewer line is not added in large quantities -- just a teaspoon or two of solid lye is all that's used per dose. 

I definitely would not dispose of a large amount of lye on or in the soil in the open environment. Far too much risk of injury to someone or some critter.

The best way would be to take it to a hazardous waste drop-off location in your town or local region (assuming that's available to you). Another good option would be to give it to someone who can use it in their occupation or hobby -- a plumber, perhaps? Too bad you don't live near another soaper.


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## MorpheusPA (Feb 3, 2015)

lakshjdflj said:


> Thanks for the replies and kindness everyone! I'm very glad I checked as my two favoured options were the toilet or the bottom of the garden, so very glad to know better.
> 
> I will cover up carefully and slowly pour it down the outside drain (we don't have a septic, thankfully).



Make sure to be flushing with water, even in the outside drain.  Adding lye to existing water will heat it up dramatically and release some awful caustic fumes as it reaches the boiling point (which it will).

I'm presuming the outside drain runs into the storm runoff system?  Potentially there's a slight environmental exposure issue there, so I might avoid doing it for that reason.  Internal drains that run into the sewer system will undergo processing, chelation, and pH balancing before the water is released into nature.


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## Susie (Feb 3, 2015)

^What MorpheusPA said.  No outside drains unless they go through a normal sewage treatment system.


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## dixiedragon (Feb 3, 2015)

We have a septic tank, and we have on rare occassions used lye for clearing drains. Only for a BAD clog. In your place, over the next week or so, I'd dissolve the lye in water and pour it down each drain in my home. 

Also, to help your septic tank, you can pour sour milk down the drain. It's full of bacteria that are good for the septic tank. Our plumber told us this.


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Feb 3, 2015)

Dixie, there might well be a lot of good milk soap in your tank then!


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## dixiedragon (Feb 3, 2015)

Milk + Lye might have made milk soap in my septic tank, but I doubt it is GOOD milk soap!


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