# Where to store while curing...?



## wearytraveler (Jan 10, 2017)

So, here in the north east the temps are dancing at (and have already dipped below) the freezing level and since I'm making a few batches here and there in the coming weeks, I ask this;
To store in a cold garage where temps will be extremely cold but dry or, store in a dry but pretty warm utility room that houses my water heater and furnace?

Thanks.


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## BattleGnome (Jan 10, 2017)

I live 20 miles from Lake Superior, I sympathize with your weather.

My soaps are all in the basement for curing. They aren't necessarily in the utility room, but it is one of the lease climate controlled rooms in the house. My decision for that was easy access+space. The question I would ask is: do you want to go in the cold garage for every batch? 

(Science wise I think the utility room is a better choice but I admittedly am not one of the more scientific members, you might want to wait for them)


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## Catastrophe (Jan 10, 2017)

10 minutes East of Lake Ontario here, mine are in my formal dining room (that we use as a schoolroom...we use the breakfast nook for our dining table, but my soap stuff is all over the table, so we eat at the bar in the family room!)  No way am I tramping through my cold garage to play with my soap LOL


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## Steve85569 (Jan 10, 2017)

Mine are in the basement. It's warm where they are and I get to walk by them every time I head down to feed the wood stove.


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## Millie (Jan 10, 2017)

Finger Lakes - so humid in the summer, so cold in winter! I keep them in the guest bedroom then they go all over the house when we have a guest. Not very practical.


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## navigator9 (Jan 11, 2017)

You want good air circulation. You don't want direct sunlight. Too much heat isn't good, but I'm not sure about freezing temps. Part of what happens in the curing process is evaporation, and if the soap is that cold, I'm not sure how that impacts the rate of evaporation. But I bet someone here will have more information for you.


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## ngian (Jan 11, 2017)

Based on my latest experiment, the rate of evaporation is higher when the humidity is lower. That doesn't mean that you will not have a good cure in a humid environment but it seems that it will take a relatively more time for the soap's moisture to evaporate. 

In a humid environment it would also be a good idea to have the soap cure in an area with good ventilation, as others stated, so as for the soap to not sweat.


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## kchaystack (Jan 11, 2017)

Water sublimates (goes from solid to gas with out becoming a liquid).  It is slower than evaporation, but as long as the humidity is low (and cold air does not hold as much water as warm air) water content of your soap will still go down.  Might take longer.  

When I was in MI, I stored everything in my basement.  Even tho the furnace was  down there it was easily the coldest part of the house (tho it was not below freezing, it was cold) and my soaps never seemed to suffer.


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## Makayla (Jan 12, 2017)

I worried about this too because I really have no other place to cure my soaps but in a cold room. I'm not exactly sure about the temperature or humidity but I think the temperature might as well even go below freezing or just be close to that point, because it really is cold and it's never heated. While I for sure don't think this is ideal, I just tried out my first soap which was stored there for 4 weeks (and it was soap that didn't use any "hard" oils), and it didn't seem to suffer in any way. It's pretty firm, and nothing bad happened to it (except for the "slime" which seems is normal for these kinds of soaps anyway), so there's that.


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## dixiedragon (Jan 12, 2017)

I'd put some in each place and see what works best. I'm inclined to say the utility room. I do think that cold can slow down the curing process.


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## maya (Jan 12, 2017)

My apothecary is unheated and it is where I store my soap.


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## TeresaT (Jan 12, 2017)

I live in Tennessee.  It was in the 20's on Monday and 68 on my way home today, so I'm probably not a great help or example.  However, I store my soap in an empty bedroom in the back of the house.  The window is closed and the vent is covered.  On cold days, it is cold in there and warm days it's warm.  I don't have an air conditioner.  So my soaps sweat (literally) all summer long.  (I don't have to CPOP in the summer ) The only concession I make is there is a ceiling fan in there that keeps the air circulating in the summer so it isn't so stagnant.  I sometimes have the window open when the humidity levels are low-ish (below 75%).


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## Susie (Jan 12, 2017)

Even if you have to cure your soaps in humid conditions, just cure them longer.  I prefer my soaps to cure 8 weeks.  Remember that they are eventually going to live in a humid bathroom, after all.


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## TeresaT (Jan 12, 2017)

Susie said:


> Even if you have to cure your soaps in humid conditions, just cure them longer.  I prefer my soaps to cure 8 weeks.  Remember that they are eventually going to live in a humid bathroom, after all.



Haha!  Good point, but  I don't think anyone cures soap as long as me.  I cure for at least three months before sharing.  I was just talking to a friend about this today at work.  I found some 16 month old soaps that I totally forgot about last week or the week before.  I pulled them out of hiding and gave him a couple to try out.  They were the ugliest soaps on earth!!  He and his wife loved them.  So now I'm going to start curing my soap for a minimum of six months instead of three.  I'm actually going to try to cure for a full year before sharing.  Mind you, most of my soaps are 45% lard. They are about 65% hard oils and don't "need" a lengthy cure.  I've got a good supply of soaps that I  made this summer that will be 2017 Christmas gifts.  I just like a good long-cured bar of soap.


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## Susie (Jan 12, 2017)

I like them cured a long time, also.  But I am gearing up to start selling, so curing for months is just not practical.


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## wearytraveler (Jan 12, 2017)

Thanks for all the suggestions.  I think I'm going to put up a rack for storing/curing in my utility closet. The humidity level there is pretty constant where in the garage it can fluctuate from winter to summer.  Now I'm wondering if the soap scents will get picked up by the furnace and passed around the house...?

Thanks again!


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## Gerry (Jan 12, 2017)

Susie said:


> I like them cured a long time, also.  But I am gearing up to start selling, so curing for months is just not practical.



I'm so confused. :-?

Don't get me wrong Susie, since it's not just your post here. I see this kind of thinking is almost ubiquitous among those who sell.  The funny thing is, I don 't see this kind of attitude among all the other craft kind of projects (for sale) that I see.  For example...

Even the most huge and volume factory Prosciutto takes a year to 18 months to be ready for sale.  Most red wine take much more time than this.  Cheese makers may wait 5 years or more to release their best products... like aged cheddar or  parmesan.  My favorite Scotch whiskey is 12 years old!

I'm sorry, but from experience I don't believe that soap at 4 to 6 weeks old is at its best.  In  every other industry, no sane person would think of selling their product far from its best.  What makes so many soapers different?  Goodness sake, I've even read soaper's ads saying if you buy their soap "please let it sit for awhile so that it cures out a bit".  OMG!

While most sellers wont ever admit it, something happens to soap as it ages.  Soap is a complex thing, like wine in a way.  It is "alive" and there are reactions occurring even after it's lost most of it's excess water.  You try even a pure lard soap after 1 month of curing, then try it after 7 months and you'll know what I mean.  Like night and day.  

Sorry, but from a commercial/business standpoint, I don't see how making soap is any different from other business products that also take time before sale.


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## Scooter (Jan 12, 2017)

TeresaT said:


> I live in Tennessee.  It was in the 20's on Monday and 68 on my way home today...



Ugh, NC has had the same weather this week.

I've just been making soap since last summer but I think my plan going forward will be to concentrate soap making in the winter so the soaps can have a few months of dry-ish weather to start out with.


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## kchaystack (Jan 13, 2017)

Gerry said:


> Sorry, but from a commercial/business standpoint, I don't see how making soap is any different from other business products that also take time before sale.



Because we are small home based crafters, we do not have the luxury of large warehouses to store products for months to years.  The other items you mentioned require the long ageing time to get to the 'good enough to sell' stage.  They also get better with even more age just like soap.

So, if a soaper starts selling at the 'good enough to use' point, they are not going to cycle thru all their stock immediately, and some bars with have time to cure longer. Just like wine and cheese.


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## Scooter (Jan 13, 2017)

kchaystack said:


> So, if a soaper starts selling at the 'good enough to use' point, they are not going to cycle thru all their stock immediately, and some bars with have time to cure longer. Just like wine and cheese.



I am not a seller, but I think my own soap was pretty great at 2 months and I would not hesitate to buy a balanced 3- or 4-oil bar from someone else at that age. If it were something like a Castile bar I would want more age on it, of course.


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## Millie (Jan 13, 2017)

I can see the argument from both sides. Kchaystack has a good point about storage. There is also the issue of having your money tied up in curing stock. And if you sell out of a product, it's easier to keep a customer if you can reproduce the item in a month, rather than "see you in a year!" On the other hand, I am seeing far too many soaps in local gift shops that haven't been given enough time to cure (and I think many people start selling long before they know their craft). Soaps falling out of too large cigar bands, scents fading, even soaps warping.

I think the answer is to know your market. If you sell in a coop or natural foods market, you'll need to be able to restock in a jiffy. The soap is also going to be used fairly soon by the customer, who is looking for a functional soap rather than a 'fine wine' kind of soap. A short cure time is fine. If you sell to a gift shop, go for the long cure! They do want the fine wine kind of soap, and the packaging will need to reflect that. The store wants products that will look good and smell good for at least a year. If the soap shrinks out of its packaging, or the scent dissappears, it's not going to sell.

I hope I haven't offended too many people. I want you to be successful. I don't sell my own soaps, but I did work for many years as a professional buyer, and happy to answer any questions from a gift shop point of view if it helps. Good luck all brave self employed crafters!


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## earlene (Jan 13, 2017)

Millie said:


> The soap is also going to be used fairly soon by the customer, who is looking for a functional soap rather than a 'fine wine' kind of soap. A short cure time is fine. If you sell to a gift shop, go for the long cure! They do want the fine wine kind of soap, and the packaging will need to reflect that. The store wants products that will look good and smell good for at least a year. If the soap shrinks out of its packaging, or the scent dissappears, it's not going to sell.
> 
> I hope I haven't offended too many people. I want you to be successful. I don't sell my own soaps, but I did work for many years as a professional buyer, and happy to answer any questions from a gift shop point of view if it helps. Good luck all brave self employed crafters!



I just thought I'd comment on this one bit here about soap buyers wanting to use the soap right away.  That is not my personal experience when I buy or acquire soap.  

When I bought commercially made soap, I bought in bulk & stored them for a very long time, rotating the old to the front and the new to the back.  The reason I did this was two-fold:  1. Cost of soap in bulk is less per bar, and 2. Soap improves as it ages.  I've always bought & stored soap in this way.  I still have store-bought soap that is probably at least 3 years sitting in the cupboard.

Now when I buy hand-crafted soap when I travel, only once did I actually open it and use it right away.  Most of the time, I bring it home with me and let it age for quite a long time before it's ever used.

Maybe I am an uncommon consumer, though.  I don't really know.


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## Gerry (Jan 13, 2017)

kchaystack said:


> Because we are small home based crafters, we do not have the luxury of large warehouses to store products for months to years.



But because you are all small home-based crafters, wouldn't the volume be correspondingly low?  Forgive me since I have no idea what the volume turnover is for the average home soap business.   But let's just say I was selling an equivalent of 50 large 7 oz bars a day, 7 days a week.  For a 3 month cure, that's only 4,500 bars that would need to be stored and I can (very inefficiently) store 500 bars in a single 7 shelf bookcase.  Obviously if I were in business, I'd rig a much more efficient storage system that would probably double or triple the number of bars in the equivalent space.  So at 50 bars a day cured to 3 months, I wouldn't even need a whole room for them - just one side of one room.

Of course I may be completely off and the average soap maker sells 100's or 1,000's of bars each day which obviously would make storage in the home office or spare room a bit more problematic! :mrgreen:


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## Millie (Jan 13, 2017)

I should have mentioned that gift shop customers often buy presents months in advance, and who knows how long it will take for the recipient to use it. In shop, there were a few scents that sold poorly day to day, like patchouli, but a few customers would pop in from time to time to buy a whole case.

Earlene, did you know to set aside soap before you began making your own?


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## penelopejane (Jan 13, 2017)

earlene said:


> I just thought I'd comment on this one bit here about soap buyers wanting to use the soap right away.  That is not my personal experience when I buy or acquire soap.
> 
> I've always bought & stored soap in this way.  I still have store-bought soap that is probably at least 3 years sitting in the cupboard.
> 
> ...



I think you are a soap-educated buyer. A lot of people have no idea that long cure time makes a soap better. They try handmade soap, it's mushy and they don't try it again. Totally unaware that the same soap will be great in a couple of months. 

I don't know about other people but I think it looks really unprofessional when websites say "sold out" of certain products. Is it really difficult to modify a website and remove a product?


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## Gerry (Jan 13, 2017)

earlene said:


> Now when I buy hand-crafted soap when I travel, only once did I actually open it and use it right away.



Don't tell me you use those dreadful hotel soaps while looking at your newly bought crafted soap... Hahaha!


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## mx5inpenn (Jan 13, 2017)

penelopejane said:


> I don't know about other people but I think it looks really unprofessional when websites say "sold out" of certain products. Is it really difficult to modify a website and remove a product?



I don't like the term sold out either. I do understand the need for a way to keep the product available if it will be stocked again in the near future, such as "temporarily out of stock" or something similar. Sold out implies to me that there will not be more, so I see no reason to have a "placeholder." It isn't necessarily difficult to remove the product from most pages, but I see the desire not to when it will be back.


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## shunt2011 (Jan 13, 2017)

I use out of stock generally because they aren't quite ready. I try to keep enough stock but you never know when you may get a run on a scent that doesn't always sell like crazy.  I have a few that sell like hot cakes and sometimes it's hard to keep up with the demand.


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## earlene (Jan 13, 2017)

Millie said:


> Earlene, did you know to set aside soap before you began making your own?



Yes, I've been doing that for most of my life.  I thought it was common knowledge.



penelopejane said:


> I think you are a soap-educated buyer. A lot of people have no idea that long cure time makes a soap better. They try handmade soap, it's mushy and they don't try it again. Totally unaware that the same soap will be great in a couple of months.



Maybe they don't seek the same kind of education and that's why they don't know.  Long before I made soap I learned this although I can't tell you where I learned it.  Probably from my mother, father, grandmother or other family member.



Gerry said:


> Don't tell me you use those dreadful hotel soaps while looking at your newly bought crafted soap... Hahaha!



No, I bring my own soap with me when I travel.  Sometimes I use the hotel soap to hand wash a clothing item if I forgot to bring my own laundry soap (I usually bring it, but sometimes not) or there isn't enough hotel shampoo.  For the most part, those hotel soaps get stains out really well.

I have actually always brought home the hotel soaps to use in making my laundry detergent.  But now that I use my own homemade soap for making laundry soap, I have this excess of hotel soaps I plan to donate to the the local Food Pantry.  Yes, I have a great big tin Laundry Soap container full of them.  But the container itself is another story.  :think:


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