Crying salt bars

[Navaria]

I've tried searching the forum but didn't have any luck which leads me to believe I have screwed something up somewhere. I made my first batch of salt bars 3 weeks ago today. Last night I noticed they were dripping wet. To the point you pick them up and 2-3 drops of water fell off the bottom. I zap tested it to make sure it wasn't lye. Nope. It's salt water. My son (smart arse he is) said they were crying. I *believe* they're 100% co and I used 75% Himalayan pink salt. I'm can't say for certain because the card with my notes is soaked from the water and the ink blurred to the point it's almost gone. That's another lesson learned. But why are they crying?? Are they supposed to do that??

 

[Rowan]

It's a pain when that happens! I've found my salt bars do this when its humid or its wet outside. It's quite normal. As soon as mine are cured/dry, I shrink wrap them and it stops. It seems to be a common problem for everyone depending on weather conditions

 

[Obsidian]

Is it humid where you live? It fairly normal for salt bars to weep if its humid, you can try placing a small fan in your cure area to help keep them dry.

 

[paillo]

When mine do that I put them in a plastic bin of plain old white rice, layers separated by paper towels until they dry out. It really helps. I'm in central Virginia for now, where it gets damp and humid any time of the year.

 

[lisajudy2009]

This is good to know! I purchased salt to make some too!

 

[Navaria]

Thank you! It's not extremely humid right now compared to how it can be but my drying rack is in my basement which can get humid. I'll put a fan on them and see if I can make them happy so they stop crying. Thanks for the quick replies guys!
On a side note, I was telling my bf about the salt bars and he said I better get on that "Web site thingie" I go in and ask about it. Someone there will know. Lol

 

[shunt2011]

I make a lot of salt bars and the only time I have sweating issues is when it's really humid out. Even at shows when it's hot I don't have much in the way of problems. But when the humidity is high I will get a small amount of it.

 

[LittleCrazyWolf]

I've had the "crying salt bar" problem too when it's humid. I bought some DampRid and moved our small dehumidifier upstairs for a few days to help them dry out faster. I've just been using the DampRid for a while now and haven't seen any more tears.

 

[cmzaha]

One observation I have made over the years is the salt used can make a difference. Some salts will weep more than others and I am sure it is due to the mineral content of the salt. I went back to using plain table salt for my salt bars, 50/50 with Pacific Sea Salt, extra fine grind, and never have any weeping even in higher humidity. http://www.sfsalt.com/inc/sdetail/calspa-natural---10lb-value-pack/516/520. The sea salt from Costco is also fine but is considerably more money if making a larger batch. When I make salt bars I am using 100% salt

 

[Seawolfe]

^^ what Carolyn said. You dont know how much or what other minerals are in the Himalayan pink salt - even if someone else made a superfabulous non-weepy bar with Himalayan pink salt, they might not have as much humidity as you, or your may have more other minerals than they. For peace of mind, use plain, fine grained, non-iodized salt, and nothing but the salt.

 

[galaxyMLP]

My first pink Himalayan salt bars with 35% salt were SUUUUPER weepy. They were made with 100% OO though. I put them into a container with a towel and a container or damp rid. They had to be in there for 2 weeks to stop. Of course, I lived in the middle of swampy Florida so humidity is a huge issue.

I re-made the recipe with a mix of sea salt and Himalayan and they are much better. I'm also now in an area that is less humid (still humid and still Florida, though). And I used less water overall in the recipe. I also made them CP and not HP. Still 100% olive oil though.

I also had an 80% coconut oil salt bar and that one wept a little but not too bad either.