Dumb Dumb Moments: Zany's Faux Seawater Recipe

[Shelley D]

So I tried making the faux sea water with better Baking soda. I am definitely sure it was the baking soda. So I made it again And it kinda did the same thing but not that bad and there was no white goo floating in it. It went cloudy but looked a bit like powder floating in it this time. So I strained it and the lye and faux sea water went clear again. I think all I did was strain out the baking soda cause this is what was left in the cloth. Any thoughts about this?View attachment 73393

I'm not an expert by any means, but when I made the faux seawater I made the salty water first by heating the distilled water, adding the salts and stirred until they were dissolved, then made salty water ice cubes, then made my lye solution with the salty ice cubes. The solution was cloudy but no floaties (or sinkies ). I just stirred until the lye dissolved, letting it sit a minute or 2 between stirrings. I wasn't worried about it being cloudy because it's a lye solution, so there's chemical reaction going on, and I used it without straining because the lye was fully dissolved. Just sharing my experience

 

[dibbles]

Well, here's what I would do... dump the white stuff back into the water. Nuke in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir until clear. If it's a little bit yellow, nuke again for 20 seconds. The object is to get the sodium bicarbonate ( baking soda) to dissolve completely.

The way I read this is that the lye had been added to the faux sea water. Nuking it sounds like a very bad idea. I think you maybe missed that bit of information?

 

[AliOop]

I'm not an expert by any means, but when I made the faux seawater I made the salty water first by heating the distilled water, adding the salts and stirred until they were dissolved, then made salty water ice cubes, then made my lye solution with the salty ice cubes. The solution was cloudy but no floaties (or sinkies ). I just stirred until the lye dissolved, letting it sit a minute or 2 between stirrings. I wasn't worried about it being cloudy because it's a lye solution, so there's chemical reaction going on, and I used it without straining because the lye was fully dissolved. Just sharing my experience

Great idea to freeze it into ice cubes after mixing in the salt and bicarb!

(which reminds me that I have some rice water ice cubes in my freezer that I need to use some day soon).

 

[KiwiMoose]

I'm a big fan of freezing ice cubes of aloe, sea water, rice water, coconut like, oat milk, goat milk..... you name it!

 

[Zany_in_CO]

The way I read this is that the lye had been added to the faux sea water. Nuking it sounds like a very bad idea. I think you maybe missed that bit of information?

Good catch!
Just to be clear: Make the faux seawater first then use it to make the lye solution.

 

[janesathome]

I'm a big fan of freezing ice cubes of aloe, sea water, rice water, coconut like, oat milk, goat milk..... you name it!

My fridge freezer is half full of weird ice cubes - dandelion infused, rice, coconut, coffee … it would be a mystery to any visitor just looking for ice!

 

[Shelley D]

My fridge freezer is half full of weird ice cubes - dandelion infused, rice, coconut, coffee … it would be a mystery to any visitor just looking for ice!

My husband said I have to quit making new stuff to freeze! I am taking over our little freezer with baggies of frozen cubes and he wants room for meat!

 

[KiwiMoose]

My husband said I have to quit making new stuff to freeze! I am taking over our little freezer with baggies of frozen cubes and he wants room for meat!

We had to buy a small chest freezer to put into the garage because our kitchen one is so full of 'soap stuff'.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

We had to buy a small chest freezer

Too bad you bought a small one... hope you can exchange it for a bigger model fairly soon... either that or learn to sit on your hands while staring at the screen full with stuff you "think" you need.

 

[Mobjack Bay]

I’m so glad to hear that I’m not the only one with a freezer full of little cubes of stuff.

 

[Shelley D]

We had to buy a small chest freezer to put into the garage because our kitchen one is so full of 'soap stuff'.

We were trying to figure out where we could put a small chest freezer in our tiny apartment

I’m so glad to hear that I’m not the only one with a freezer full of little cubes of stuff.

I have gallon sized baggies of frozen milk blend and frozen rice puree made in regular sized ice cube trays, plus a baggy of frozen milk blend made in mini cube trays. The minis make it easier to measure my weight plus I made an ice cube tray of partially filled cubes. I need to make the brine/faux seawater and freeze it so I have some ready for the next batch of soap

 

[AliOop]

I need to make the brine/faux seawater and freeze it so I have some ready for the next batch of soap

I honestly find it easier to add the bicarb and sea salt to some of my extra water. Besides, my freezer is already full with rice water cubes, coconut cream cubes, dairy milk cubes, etc. etc.