Cleaning Up After Making Soap

[danahuff]

I have a practical question about cleaning up after making soap.

Some of the books/sites I've read maintain that you must wait 24 hours after making soap before cleaning up soap-making materials. The reasons given range from issues with the caustic nature of soap (just use the gloves?) to the belief that the soap will gunk up your plumbing.

My question is, will it really cause plumbing issues? It is so hard to clean up materials with hardened soap on them, and it takes forever. I am wondering now if I'm doing it for no good reason. If it is true that it's bad for plumbing to clean up right after making soap, then I'll keep waiting, but if this is just a myth, I am going to stop doing it.

What has your experience been?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

I always clean up right afterwards...I wipe as much of the soap batter off all the utensils and pots, then rinse them as much as possible and *TRY* to get the oily residue off. I think if you have old plumbing or a septic system, it may be more of a problem to do it this way. I figure it this way: Lye is used to clean out pipes, and soap gets washed down the drain every time you bath, wash dishes or do laundry. As long as your not trying to push a pound of gloopy soap batter down the drain, I think you'll be fine. Just run lots of hot water down the drain afterwards.

I don't wanna get wrenches or putty thrown at me from the professional plumbers, so I will quietly back out of the room now... :shock:

 

[DragonQueenHHP]

I clean right after I put a little vinegar in my water to do in any lye and wash away

 

[danahuff]

Thanks, that is helpful. I didn't understand why I had to wait when lye was used in plumbing, but my guess was that the soap saponifies in the pipes, clogging them. But I also figured surely if you use enough hot water, it would rinse through the pipes and into the sewer. Wiping off as much as you can before you wash makes a lot of sense. I can't believe I didn't think of it.

 

[Hazel]

I do it both ways. Sometimes I put the bowl and utensils in a bucket with a snap on lid and let it saponify. BTW, the bucket used to hold 35 lbs of cat litter. It works really well to hold almost everything but I make small batches.

If I clean up right away - I've already scraped out as much as I can so I take paper towels to wipe off everything. I use Dawn dish detergent and some vinegar to wash everything. Sometimes after I've washed everything, I might put the bowls and utensils in the dishwasher for an extra cleaning. I don't do this often - just when there is some space in the dishwasher and I want to turn it on.

I also add some Dawn and vinegar in the lye pitcher, add hot water and then insert the stickblender and turn it on. It cleans the interior of the bell, then I wipe it off and rinse it.

A suggestion was made to use old clothes to wipe out everything, let saponify and then toss them in with a load of laundry.

 

[Lindy]

I clean up right after making the soap so everything is ready for me when I'm ready to make more soap. I've never had any problems with it clogging the pipes and I have slow drains. When my drains get too slow (about every 6 - 9 months) I just take some of my lye and pour it down the drain.

Mind you, having said that, I have dried soap to go clean up because I was crazy busy trying to get ready for a trade show.

 

[Genny]

If you have a septic system you want to wait because you don't want lye going down your drains and killing the bacteria. Also, grease can build up if you're dumping a lot down there. When done cleaining up, I'd make sure to dump some lightly boiling water down the drain to help clean out the pipe.

 

[danahuff]

I don't have a septic system, Genny, so no worries there. I went ahead and tried just wiping the materials down and removing as much soap as I could today and kept my gloves and goggles on as I washed things up, and it worked out really well.

I also emailed Anne Watson about this from her website because I had just read her books and didn't see a mention of waiting 24 hours to clean up. She said she had never heard of any soapmakers having plumbing issues, and if I had, she would be interested to know about it. She suggested the same things you all are suggesting: wipe off as much as you can, use hot water, use blue Dawn, and keep on the gloves and goggles. She believes that needing to wait after a small batch (I usually just make one three-four pound batch at a time) is probably not necessary, but like you all, thinks if you are talking about a large amount of soap and oils, then it might be best to dispose of it by putting it into a sealed container and throwing it away.

Thought I would pass that along. OK. No more painful cleanup for me! Yay!

Thanks, everyone.

 

[Lilahblossom]

If I like the fragrance, I wait til next day. If not I have a dishwasher.

 

[SoapAddict415]

Lol, I used to have 3 dishwashers but my oldest son moved out when he turned 20! Now I'm down to 2! I remember reading a post on here where a soaper did have plumbing issues & the repair was costly but it was some time ago. She also suggested wiping any excess soap batter off of everything before washing. I have a collection of old towels/rags that I use just for cleaning my equipment, I toss them into a small bucket & add them to my load of towels when I do the laundry.

 

[Jerry S]

This is really an interesting topic since a lot of us have regular plumbing in their homes while others have a septic tank as I do. I have always been paranoid of putting anything caustic or harsh down my drains because I’m afraid that it will have adverse effects on my septic system. Since I live in a rural area on a small acreage I do have ample room to dispose of the water used in cleaned up soaping utensils.

I hope that I’m not being detrimental to the environment but what I do is put all my soaping utensils in a pot of hot water and let it set for about an hour. This tends to melt all the partially saponified soap off everything leaving a soapy scum at the top of the pot. I remove the utensils and wash them with soap and water. Then I discard all the soapy water over a huge bunch of juniper and hibiscus bushes that I have surrounding the yard. This seems to keep all the aphids off the hibiscus bushes and it doesn’t seem to bother the juniper bushes either. I’m not selling my soap so I really don’t have that much cleanup to throw out, maybe residue from making 150 bars of soap in a year…. :wink:

 

[green soap]

I do not have a septic tank but live in a desert and water is precious. Soap is also precious.

So I do it two different ways, depending on whether I will make more soap that day or not.

I make small batches, and my latest purchase was a two quart silicone bowl. The soap batter comes out almost 100% but if there is any left, I allow it to dry and it just flakes off. I collect the flakes and also shreds from beveling, for 'regular' and salt soaps (separated) and I do all sort of things with the soap debris. This saves both water and soap. I also leave the soap in the spoons/spatulas, when it hardens I scrape it off. I do wash the spoons though.

Them silicon bowl thingies are pricey, so I only have one right now (planning on buying a second soon). So if I have to make ten batches of soap that day, well, then the gloves get on and I wash the containers and spoons. I have very little soap batter on the bowl, so I do not need a lot of water, and I do not get lots of lye down the drain either.

 

[Loolee]

This is one reason that I like HP soaping... clean-up is SO easy.

 

[Jerry S]

Thanks for the comments Green Soap...sounds like you have the clean-up thing down to a pretty good system with that silicone container. I really have to admit that I hate cleaning up after soaping...I don't like handling the soapy containers or the utensils but I do wear gloves so that keeps my hands clean.
I found one other tip that may or may not be to everyone’s advantage. Instead of using old rags for clean up, I installed a toilet paper holder right over my work area and I use the paper a lot. I guess I use to much water cleaning out my soap container and lye pan out in the back 40 but I do it over some roadside succulents that grow there and as mentioned do throw any soapy water over my shrubbery. It actually does keep the aphids off the leaves…Green soap, I noticed that you’re in southern California as I am and I agree with you about how precious the water is…The water company gangsters really have everyone down here in San Diego county over a barrel with the water rates…but that’s another story and I’ll stop here with that before one of the moderators disciplines me….lol…..This is a great forum and of all of them on the web it’s one of my favorites..
Jerry in So. Cal.

 

[Hazel]

but that’s another story and I’ll stop here with that before one of the moderators disciplines me…

Why would we discipline you for complaining about California? None of us live there.

BTW, my brother has lived in CA for over 20 years. I've heard many complaints about this state. :wink:

 

[Jerry S]

Sure there is Hazel. Becca, Crafty Kate and Green Soap including myself all live here in the Golden State…lol, I love California and used to live in Minnesota…ugh!! Burrr….lol. But alas, California does have problems as almost all of the states do right now…
Hazel, you do have a good point about throwing utensils in a pitcher of vinegar and water with a little soap…and letting them neutralize… I may try that next time I make a batch of soap.
Jer

 

[green soap]

LOL...California is a wonderful state, it just does not rain enough.

This year has been worse because of the heat. I look at my garden and want to cry...

 

[Hazel]

Sure there is Hazel. Becca, Crafty Kate and Green Soap including myself all live here in the Golden State…

I meant none of the moderators live in California so we don't care if you complain about it.

 

[markwadsworth]

I have been taking everything out and blasting it with the water hose the best I can. Then going inside to wash up better.

 

[Jerry S]

.....lol.....that's one of my techniques as well Mark...I love the soap and soaping but hate the clean-up…
jer