Curing CP soap?

[grammy1954]

I am new to making CP soap and I am IN LOVE with it. I need some advice on curing the soap. I do not (yet) have a special box to store the soap in for curing. Until I do, I have some questions: Where is the best spot to put the soap for curing? Does it require a steady temperature? If so, what temp? Does it need to be enclosed to retain the scent, or open for more drying? I am putting mine on top of my clothes dryer (move it when drying clothes). Do I cover it lightly with a towel or waxed paper to keep off dust, etc? Thanks for your help!

 

[krissy]

find somewhere with good ventilation and air flow, and a steady temperature and let it sit to cure for 4 wks, then if you want to box, do so in something that has air vents.

 

[lsg]

I have cured soap on waxed paper lined cookie sheets on the counter of my spare bathroom. You can cure soap just about anywhere that is clean and fairly dust free and not full of moisture and humidity. I am currently using a wooden dish drying rack to cure my soap. I set this rack in the bathtub of the spare bathroom. We rarely use this bathtub as we use the shower in the other bathroom. So the soap can cure there undisturbed.

 

[Soaplady22]

I can address a couple of issues here - yes, a covering is advisable to keep of dust and lint, so that's why a box. I leave mine open on a tray lined with wax paper - but it's out in a dedicated building so no dust and the like. At least not that I can tell!!

Room temperature should be fine. Fluctuations won't hurt, as far as I know. I'm just telling you what I do. It's warm here now so I have my 3 latest cured batches here in the house, wrapped and ready to go - cuts down on sweating and the like. When I first make my soap I don't have sweating issues, but some of my old soaps have sweated from being in a hot environment I suppose (they are over a year old now). These are soaps that I never wrapped - just made to use for coloring later so I haven't lost anything. I just cut off the "funny" spots and grate on up. So far, no problems. But I do not make a ton of soap any more - I'm into just selling to friends and family now, and the 3 batches I made upon request for our son's wedding in July. Now THAT was fun!!

Anyway, welcome to the board !!
(We are about the same age, BTW!!)

 

[Iris Reola]

One thing that I've found to be very useful is cookie cooling racks, as the air can move freely around the soap. The soaps that I've put on cooling racks are curing much better than the ones that were places on flat surfaces and turned the soaps regularly.

 

[IrishLass]

I cure mine on stackable, rubber-coated cooling racks from Pampered Chef against one of the walls in my guest bathroom that has been curtained off. There's no shower or bath in there, so there's no chance of the room getting steamed up and humid. After 4 weeks have passed, I then store each batch in its own covered cardboard box with a few air holes punched out so they can breathe until I'm ready to package.

IrishLass

 

[simplymcghie]

I have about 4 heavy duty cardboard strawberry boxes that I got from costco (out of their boxes bin) and I line it with craft canvas. They I just stack those up with the soap and they get tones of ventilation because of all the vent holes. I store this on top of my fridge in the kitchen.

 

[carebear]

i store mine in a separate room with a dehumidifier. i do not believe it is healthy to have scented soap curing in my living space.

i cure mine on craft canvas on stainless steel shelving. the craft canvas periodically gets run through the dishwasher (without the drying cycle)

 

[grammy1954]

Thanks so much for all your help and suggestions!

 

[turbo]

I cure mine on a wire rack. Just for fun I took a bar and weigh it every day to track water loss. The bar was made on 7/21/2001. For the first few days, it lost around 1 gram per day. Today it is still losing at a rate of 1/2 gram per day. The bar has lost a total of 6.7 grams. It could lose up to 18 grms total. I have noticed a difference in loss rate when the temps were high and the ac ran nonstop. One of these days I may build a graph( in my vast amount of free time...)


Mike

 

[MissMori]

I just put mine of a shelf lined with freezer paper. Some people turn the soap periodically to try to help even out drying and prevent any warping of the soap. I don't think that's really necessary unless you use a lot of liquid in your formula.

 

[DottieF.]

I use free boxes from my local grocery store produce dept. Ask your produce manager for the hydroponic tomato boxes (trays) or strawberry boxes. They are flat trays about 18" X 24". I line them with paper towels, put the cut bars on their side, cover with more paper towels and can get 45 or more large bars of soap in each box. The boxes have built up corners so there is good air flow for the bars. I have stacked them 16 boxes high and never had them tip over. (That's at least 720 bars in 3 sq. feet of floor space. It is a pain when what you want is at the bottom, though!) Dottie

 

[nadine1073]

My husband made me a curing rack last weekend.. haven't tried it yet. Can't wait!!!

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/1001051o.jpg/


It has screen mesh so I won't have to turn them. :O)

 

[soapbuddy]

My husband made me a curing rack last weekend.. haven't tried it yet. Can't wait!!!

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/849/1001051o.jpg/


It has screen mesh so I won't have to turn them. :O)

What material is the mesh screen?

 

[nadine1073]

It's plastic mesh.. not sure if it will mark on the soap

 

[brnicholas]

It shouldn't mark the soap unless the soap is soft. I have industrial type wire racks like you might find in a hardware store and the wires are too far apart so I place plastic needlepoint canvases on top. It works just fine and set the soap on end so that I can fit more in. Guest soaps I lay down flat and stack them with canvas in between. I've never had a problem. But my soaps are already hard when I slice them.

Br Nicholas

 

[soapbuddy]

It's plastic mesh.. not sure if it will mark on the soap

Than you should be fine. I was thinking if it's metal, your soap might be more prone to DOS.