I have a soap in mind that I do not want to go through gel phase. Cannot use my refrigerator. Can I simply place the freshly made soap outside in the cold weather for a couple of hours? If yes, should I do that immediately after the pour?
Can I prevent gel by placing CP soap outside in the 🥶?
- Thread starter LynetteO
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Room-temperature air that is moving is more efficient at removing heat from an object than cold air that isn't moving.
If you want to put the mold outdoors on a breezy day, that would work especially if you keep the mold in the shade (as opposed to in the sun.) But you could keep it in the house too -- raise the mold on a few soup cans and train a fan on it so air blows over the entire mold.
Yes, cool the mold immediately after the soap is poured for the best chance of keeping the soap as cool as possible.
You could chill the mold ahead of time if you wanted. That would also help a little, especially if your molds are thick wood like mine.
If you want to put the mold outdoors on a breezy day, that would work especially if you keep the mold in the shade (as opposed to in the sun.) But you could keep it in the house too -- raise the mold on a few soup cans and train a fan on it so air blows over the entire mold.
Yes, cool the mold immediately after the soap is poured for the best chance of keeping the soap as cool as possible.
You could chill the mold ahead of time if you wanted. That would also help a little, especially if your molds are thick wood like mine.
@DeeAnna Thank you for the 🌬 info. 
Inside propped up on cans, with fans 4forced air, in a chilled mold sounds like a winner!
in my finished . Leaning towards dirt free with the use of cans & fans instead.
Inside propped up on cans, with fans 4forced air, in a chilled mold sounds like a winner!It’s super super 🌬 outside today. Debris flying everywhere & I can just imagine dirt &
in my finished . Leaning towards dirt free with the use of cans & fans instead.
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
Does it have to be a loaf mould? Or are individual moulds an option? The larger the surface, the more reaction heat can be carried away with whatever source of 🌬 in use.
Well maybe you could incorporate the leaves and dirt into the design?It’s super super 🌬 outside today. Debris flying everywhere & I can just imagine dirt &
That makes sense! The ONLY time I have had a soap NOT gel was leftover soap batter poured into a silicone cupcake liner that didn’t get insulated.
Most of it has been covered by others... but I would recommend:
- Put molds outside or chill them prior to pouring soap in mold.
- Use a mold that throws off more heat (less insulating)....wood loaf molds I have hold the heat really bad.
- Elevate bottom of mold so air can circulate under it.
- You could place the molds outside for colder air. We do this, I put a small oscillating fan on them to keep the air blowing across them. This even helps with them inside too.
- Discount your water in recipe to lessen chance of gel
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
Good point!
In my early days of soapmaking I noticed that when I used 4-5 oz. individual cavity molds, set on the clothes dryer in the laundry room, lightly covered with a paper towel, they didn't gel.
Another option if it is cold outside & you have a cold non-insulated garage, is to put the mold in the cold garage. Especially if the floor is concrete and cold. It is considered poor manufacturing practice to place soap molds directly on the floor, so if you sell, I do not advise this practice. But for personal purposes, if you simply lay down a clean plastic bag between the concrete & the mold, your mold will not get dirty.
I have done this in the dead of a Midwest winter (snow & ice outside; very cold garage) and it works to cool down soap fast.
But if I don't want to get cold myself, then I just raise the mold up on a cooling rack in the kitchen. (I don't heat my house a whole lot in the winter - low to mid-60's Fahrenheit is max in the winter.)
I have done this in the dead of a Midwest winter (snow & ice outside; very cold garage) and it works to cool down soap fast.
But if I don't want to get cold myself, then I just raise the mold up on a cooling rack in the kitchen. (I don't heat my house a whole lot in the winter - low to mid-60's Fahrenheit is max in the winter.)
Zany_in_CO
Saponifier
I have cooled CP in the mold in the garage during winter. Do not place it on the concrete floor.
I learned long ago that those who stored their lye containers on concrete caused the lye to absorb moisture through osmosis. Whether that would happen to soap in a mold, I do not know but better safe than sorry.
I have cooled CP in the mold in the garage during winter. Do not place it on the concrete floor.
I learned long ago that those who stored their lye containers on concrete caused the lye to absorb moisture through osmosis. Whether that would happen to soap in a mold, I do not know but better safe than sorry.
That's very interesting. I had to go look up the permeability of plastic, (related to the 3rd sentence), since lye is often stored in plastic. Apparently it is a possibility, which I would never have given much thought. But I do not store my lye in the garage.
However, dry lye inside of a plastic bottle (or bucket) is not exactly the same thing as partially saponified soap batter inside of a soap mold (made of unspecified material at this point.) And then again, moisture content inside of concrete can vary based on the materials to make the concrete as well as if the concrete has a moisture problem (water pipes encased inside a concrete floor, or subterranean water leakage into the concrete, etc.) Even so, the actual mold itself would also have impact, and we all know that molds come in all sorts of materials, some of which are more permeable than others. But still... how much moisture would get sucked up through the bottom of a mold (unspecified material) in the first place. And how long would it take? And how long would someone leave that mold in the garage? When I did so, I only left it in the cold garage for a few hours or at the most overnight, not even a full day. So even if water were to be pulled by osmosis through the sanitation layer below the mold, then through the bottom of the mold, it seems unlikely there would be much actual water vapor ending up in my soap. However, in my case with these particular soaps, the molds were encased in a stainless steel cage, which is not permeable to water as far as I can find.
But either way, it's just good practice not to put a soap mold directly on any floor (concrete or otherwise), as it is considered unsanitary and not a 'Best Manufacturing Practice.' But if I had a concrete slab table (like those picnic tables at some rest areas), I'd still put down a towel or something between the mold & the table, simply because it makes for easier clean-up should any leakage occur. And, yes, I have had soap leak out of molds in the past a couple of times (not the ones encased in a stainless steel cage, though). I really would not be concerned that my soap was going to absorb water through the various layers in between the soap and the concrete. But it certainly is an interesting concept.
ResolvableOwl
Notorious Lyear
Another point against storing lye crystals cold, is that it'll catch even more moisture once the container is opened in a warmer room (condensing humidity) than it already does by itself and its phenomenal hygroscopic properties.
I consider PE/PP as safe for lye storage (as long as the bottles are securely closed). These plastics are very effective blocking water vapour (yet only a mediocre diffusion barrier for oxygen, but this isn't an issue with lye; it makes sense, however, that oils are stored in PET).
I consider PE/PP as safe for lye storage (as long as the bottles are securely closed). These plastics are very effective blocking water vapour (yet only a mediocre diffusion barrier for oxygen, but this isn't an issue with lye; it makes sense, however, that oils are stored in PET).
