# Whats the Cheapest Place to buy Lye in Australia?



## Jkownz

I have used up the old 1kg can of Caustic Soda that I found in my Fathers shed, Now where can I get some more:?:  In Victoria Preferably Melbourne or Geelong.


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## ChrissyB

Do you have a bunnings warehouse?
I buy my lye (caustic soda, mechanix brand) from them for $13 for a 2kg bottle. It's in the cleaning section.
Otherwise, www.heirloombodycare.com.au sell it for a reasonable price.


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## gekko62

You can get it in the supermarket,mechanix brand & it's with the hardware/tools. Around 3 bucks for 375g.Bunnings sounds cheaper tho. Or,like chrissy says,heirloom,or escentials is good too.


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## Galavanting Gifts

Yep, i'm a Bunnings buyer here too.


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## Jkownz

Thank's, I will drop into Bunnings tommorrow. $13 for 2 kg's sounds ok to me.


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## roadannii

Im up in North Queensland and I get it for $25.70 for a 5kg container at Thrifty Link which is like a Mitre 10/Bunnings type place. Im in a remote place so I daresay it would be even cheaper where you are!

If you go to this link:
http://www.thriftylink.com.au/home/storelocator.asp

It will tell you where your nearest store is - its so cheap.


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## Galavanting Gifts

roadannii said:
			
		

> Im up in North Queensland and I get it for $25.70 for a 5kg container at Thrifty Link which is like a Mitre 10/Bunnings type place. Im in a remote place so I daresay it would be even cheaper where you are!
> 
> If you go to this link:
> http://www.thriftylink.com.au/home/storelocator.asp
> 
> It will tell you where your nearest store is - its so cheap.



Oh my goat!!! roadannii, what brand Lye is that? Mechanix brand I get from Bunnings has small black pieced in it, does yours have that?


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## gekko62

escentials has 5kg for $20.But a min $75 order & postage.That thriftylink price is fantastic! (Plus it's not taking up to 2wks to arrive.Dunno whats going on up there at the mo...)


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## ChrissyB

GG, it definitely shouldn't have black pieces in it, that's possibly aluminium that they add to drain cleaner. Are you sure its 100% lye?


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## Galavanting Gifts

ChrissyB said:
			
		

> GG, it definitely shouldn't have black pieces in it, that's possibly aluminium that they add to drain cleaner. Are you sure its 100% lye?



Chrissy, yes it's deffinately 100%, the black flecks are not consistant or in abundance just every so often I come accross them and have to pick thim out, it looks as if they havn't been processing the cs properly and it gets contaminants or something in it like dirt?. I should contact them and ask them what it is.


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## gekko62

Galavanting Gifts said:
			
		

> ChrissyB said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> GG, it definitely shouldn't have black pieces in it, that's possibly aluminium that they add to drain cleaner. Are you sure its 100% lye?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Chrissy, yes it's deffinately 100%, the black flecks are not consistant or in abundance just every so often I come accross them and have to pick thim out, it looks as if they havn't been processing the cs properly and it gets contaminants or something in it like dirt?. I should contact them and ask them what it is.
Click to expand...


I've had problems with mechanix lye tonly the occasional can,but when I mix it with H2O it has dirty looking specks in it & a scummy layer forms on the top,which eats into my plastic jug.I gave up on it actually,buy my lye in bulk from soap suppliers now.Perhaps there're different grades?


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## roadannii

The brand is KCB - Ive taken some pics so you can recognise it if you see it. I googled it but couldnt find anywhere online in Aust to buy it - but I think I posted a link to the store locator for Thriftlink up above somewhere if that helps?

Please excuse the sexy sideways photos! LOL - oh and I just realized its 4kg too not 5kg!! Sorry - but its still great value for money.


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## Lynnz

Wow thanks roadanniiI see they have a store in goodna which is not too far from me.............I normally buy from Escentials but if I need in a hurry I now know where to source.


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## Bubbles Galore

Does it start to clump up in the big containers?

I've been buying from the supermarket in 500g pots (Mechanix) and now I have quite a few containers that are hard. Very annoying.


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## gekko62

Bubbles Galore said:
			
		

> Does it start to clump up in the big containers?
> 
> I've been buying from the supermarket in 500g pots (Mechanix) and now I have quite a few containers that are hard. Very annoying.



A little,but not so bad as I've had some of the mechanix.Those clumps are rock solid & near impossible to dissolve! I keep mine in the 5kg bucket it came in,wrapped in 2 plastic bags & still get a few clumpy bits on the top.I just try and use the clumpy bits first.But theres always more when I open it again! Even the air in the bucket affects it. Not looking forward to summer!



			
				Lyn said:
			
		

> Wow thanks roadanniiI see they have a store in goodna which is not too far from me.............I normally buy from Escentials but if I need in a hurry I now know where to source.



Hi Lyn!    Welcome from another brissie gal


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## Bubbles Galore

gekko62 said:
			
		

> A little,but not so bad as I've had some of the mechanix.Those clumps are rock solid & near impossible to dissolve! I keep mine in the 5kg bucket it came in,wrapped in 2 plastic bags & still get a few clumpy bits on the top.I just try and use the clumpy bits first.But theres always more when I open it again! Even the air in the bucket affects it. Not looking forward to summer!



I've found that the safest and most efficient way of getting rid of the lumps is to take them out carefully with a spoon and put them into an empty Mechanix container and shake really hard. This pulverises the lumps back into powder. I'm just sick of doing it. Why aren't the containers air tight I wonder?


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## gekko62

Bubbles Galore said:
			
		

> gekko62 said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> A little,but not so bad as I've had some of the mechanix.Those clumps are rock solid & near impossible to dissolve! I keep mine in the 5kg bucket it came in,wrapped in 2 plastic bags & still get a few clumpy bits on the top.I just try and use the clumpy bits first.But theres always more when I open it again! Even the air in the bucket affects it. Not looking forward to summer!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I've found that the safest and most efficient way of getting rid of the lumps is to take them out carefully with a spoon and put them into an empty Mechanix container and shake really hard. This pulverises the lumps back into powder. I'm just sick of doing it. Why aren't the containers air tight I wonder?
Click to expand...


I know the mechanix containers aren't airtight,but even if they were,I think the little bit of air that gets shut in is enough to cause clumps.The ones I get are more like damp looking clusters & even using a clean dry scoop every time,it has dampish lye beads stuck to it when I'm done. Next time I'm going to try decanting into smaller containers I KNOW are airtight,see what happens then :?


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## Bubbles Galore

That's a great idea Lisa. Tupperware would do the trick. I might scour the Op Shops for some old but good Tupperware.


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## Chell789

ChrissyB said:


> Do you have a bunnings warehouse?
> I buy my lye (caustic soda, mechanix brand) from them for $13 for a 2kg bottle. It's in the cleaning section.
> Otherwise, www.heirloombodycare.com.au sell it for a reasonable price.


So it’s the one you can get from Bunnings warehouse that we can use for the lye sorry new to making soap


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## Relle

Chell789 said:


> So it’s the one you can get from Bunnings warehouse that we can use for the lye sorry new to making soap


Chell who you are replying to hasn't been here in 8 yrs. This thread is from 2009. It's best to start new threads, rather than posting on a thread this far back as information might have changed.
To answer your question - you can buy lye at Coles. I haven't bought lye at Bunnings myself, you can buy lye from soap suppliers, just Google soap suppliers in Australia and you should get a few pop up, then check each one if they have it available.


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## Chell789

Ok


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