Curing round soaps

[Vicki C]

Okay smart people, maybe this has been addressed before but I couldn’t find anything - I’d love to know how people cure their round soaps. @TashaBird you make tons of round soap, do you have a nifty way to cure / store them? I am imagining a long cardboard semicircle or M shape that they could sit in vertically in a tidy row, and I might try to make something like that, but maybe someone has a brilliant solution. My method has been just to have them lying flat, but that takes up space and the down facing side isn’t getting any air flow.

Thanks!

 

[violets2217]

Not @TashaBird ..... But I cure my round soaps standing up. Before I built my curing rack, I had under the shelf coated wire racks in my linen closet. I covered the with freezer paper to make sure there was no soap touching exposed metal. They were pretty cool because the wire kept the round soaps in place, and it didn't take over too much of my space for curing soaps. Plus it made my linens smell real pretty. With my curing racks they fit well in between the slats if the shelves. I just need to be careful placing them, sometimes the wood edges can mark the soap edges if they are too soft. I'm sure if you had some strips of cardboard to put in or on what ever you cure your soaps in on either side of a row of soaps will keep them from rolling.

 

[Vicki C]

I cure them in big produce flats from BJs which generally works well but not really for round soaps. I think I’m going to start playing with cardboard to see what I can come up with.
Curing rack…. (No Vicki, work with what you have…)

 

[dibbles]

I cure my round soaps standing on edge. They don't tend to roll, if that is the problem you have. Maybe lay a plastic straw or chopstick beside a row of them on the side they tend to roll off to?

 

[ResolvableOwl]

I'm abusing upcycling the shabby plastic drawers that pig's ear pastries come with. They have a ribbed bottom where upright/leaning soap bars find some hold.

If stacked up a bit steeper, double that amount of soaps (not only round ones) fit in there. They touch the ground and each other at single contact points, so there is no major covering that impedes evaporation. In case of sweating, the drawers are water-proof (lifesaver with salt bars, lol).

Two downsides: they are a bit flabby for the weight I put on them, so they're not really mobile when full, and secondly, someone has to eat all these puff pastries in the first place.

 

[Vicki C]

I don’t know what that thick rough cardboard (used for packaging these days instead of styrofoam) is called (pressboard?) but I’m sure there is packaging for something that would be just right.

 

[amd]

I cure mine standing up, and lay a thin strip of cardboard along side them so they don't roll. My soap dungeon floor is not level, even though the shelf is, it has happened that my clumsy self has bumped the shelf and caused them to roll. The piece of cardboard (laid flat, not standing up) gives just enough ridge to stop the roll.

 

[kagey]

May I suggest looking at cardboard egg cartons to stand them up?
they're often pliable enough to reform to fit the shape you want.
You could then stack them on top of each other if you have room.

 

[TashaBird]

I use a box with old broken arrows. Not fancy, but it works.

 

[Vicki C]

I use a box with old broken arrows. Not fancy, but it works.

This is amazing…

 

[Ford]

Any wedge shaped items. Either side will do. I use strips of cardboard. Even a chopstick will do.

 

[Susie]

Bamboo skewers work well also. Just anything you can prop under the edge to stop the rolling.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I use a box with old broken arrows. Not fancy, but it works.

I've finally found a use for all those broken arrows i have lying around!

@Vicki C - I cure mine on their edges too. I don't worry about rolling - they're in a box so can't roll out.

 

[Vicki C]

Reviving this thread because today I had an idea that WORKED! I cure my soaps on trays on bakery racks - the trays are 18”x26”. Today I bought a sheet of corrugated pvc at a box store that was 26” x 96”.
It cuts easily with scissors and is PERFECT for round soaps! I could cram them onto every row, but won’t - the soaps touch if I do that. These are mostly 2.75”, a few are 3.”
Apologies to my metric speaking friends but you get the idea.

 

[TashaBird]

@Vicki C Brilliant!

 

[Vicki C]

@Vicki C Brilliant!

I like your technique but I don’t have any broken arrows… or unbroken arrows for that matter.