another 100% CO laundry soap question

[Guspuppy]

If I cool my lye water to room temp before doing a 64-oz batch of laundry soap (100% CO) will it still want to overheat? I tend to soap hot/no waiting and almost had a volcano my last laundry soap batch.

 

[shunt2011]

It can. I always use room temp lye and my 100% Co does get hot and sometimes cracks. I just watch it.

 

[Guspuppy]

ok thank you!

 

[Saponista]

I soap at room temperature too - the first time I did it I wasn't expecting it to heat up so fast. I walked way for five mins and it had exploded out of the mould in a big volcano!

 

[artemis]

I do mine in a 12-bar cavity mold. The bars still get really hot, and they still crack, but I haven't had a volcano yet. I'm almost disappointed, really. The kids would think it's pretty cool!

 

[Guspuppy]

I ended up putting the lye water on the porch and then forgetting about it while I snaked my tub drain. It was about 40°F out that day and it got quite cold! Also I had been melting my CO jug in hot water and that too cooled off, although to CO was still liquid. I actually poured the lye water into a plastic mug and heated it in the microwave for 30 seconds before soaping, because I was afraid lye water at 40° would re-harden the CO before it ever got made into soap! I sb for a long time to make sure it saponified too. Seemed to work and the soap in the mold got warm but never anywhere close to hot!

 

[Steve85569]

I hate to admit it but I am impatient enough that I usually make small enough batches of laundry soap that the mold is able to contain the volcano.
artemis is right. My granddaughter loved watching it. She even put down her smart phone thingy for a while.

 

[Catastrophe]

I read on another forum a few days ago that you should never reheat lye water directly. They said if it had to be warmed, you should do it in a warm water bath. Anyway, I've never reheated lye water (when I accidentally froze it outside, I just let it come to room temp in the house), but just in case there is a potential problem with reheating it, I thought I would share.

 

[Guspuppy]

I did wonder about that! I only put it in the microwave for 30 seconds, barely enough to take the chill off the very COLD lye water. By the time I remembered I was making soap it was getting late and I wasn't going to have a chance for several more days so I went ahead and did it. But thanks for the warning!!