Ended up with undissolved lye

[aab1]

For the first time ever I managed to end up with undissolved lye cemented to the bottom of my jar after I poured out my lye solution, I obviously hadn't mixed it enough.

I then added a bit more water to the jar (I had used almost a full water discount) to dissolve some more but some remained undissolved but solidly stuck to the bottom of the jar.

Other than having a slightly higher superfat than intended, is it possible that solid lye would have ended up in my soap mixture and not be dissolved by stick blending it until trace?

Should I not sell this batch or is it safe?

Thanks

 

[judymoody]

I would err on the side of caution. As you specialize in salt soaps, in my opinion it is very difficult to tell the difference between salt and lye crystals just by looking at the soap.

 

[sistrum]

As far as I know lye wont dissolve in oils, so if lye crystals went in your soap batch I would think they are still there. If it happen to me I would not sell it.

 

[aab1]

The thing is all the undissolved lye was firmly stuck/cemented to the bottom of the jar so I don't think any undissolved bits would have ended up in my soap mixture but I still prefer not to sell this batch.

What should I do with this batch? I don't mind using it for myself as I'm quite sure there is no lye crystals in it but I'd be worried about selling or giving it to anyone.

If there was lye crystals in it and I used it on myself how serious of a burn are we taking about? I don't mind risking a burn on myself that will heal in a few days if it means I don't have to throw out this batch of 24 small bars.

Other than risking it on myself and throwing it out, is there anything I could do like rebatch it to ensure it's safe?

Thanks

 

[kazmi]

Test your lye to make sure is still good and nothing is wrong with it first. If nothing is wrong with your lye and if the lump at the bottom was caused by letting the lye/water sit without thoroughly mixing before cooling then you might be ok to rebatch. Look for lye pockets while you're cutting up your soap to rebatch.

 

[BlackRiverBubbles]

I had a batch that I thought had lye crystals when I poured so I rebatched and then used it for laundry soap...maybe not ideal, but no waste either

 

[judymoody]

The thing is all the undissolved lye was firmly stuck/cemented to the bottom of the jar so I don't think any undissolved bits would have ended up in my soap mixture but I still prefer not to sell this batch.

What should I do with this batch? I don't mind using it for myself as I'm quite sure there is no lye crystals in it but I'd be worried about selling or giving it to anyone.

If there was lye crystals in it and I used it on myself how serious of a burn are we taking about? I don't mind risking a burn on myself that will heal in a few days if it means I don't have to throw out this batch of 24 small bars.

Other than risking it on myself and throwing it out, is there anything I could do like rebatch it to ensure it's safe?

Thanks

I have never rebatched salt soap so take this with a grain of, well, salt.

Given that your recipe was probably not lye heavy I would try rebatching in a crockpot in the normal way if you want to go that route. Not sure how it will melt down with all of that salt though.

If I were you, thought, I'd keep it for home use, maybe for cleaning or laundry (if you shred it). I've been told that high CO soap is excellent for cleaning bathrooms. The salt might make it even better.

I have gotten the occasional lye burn from a stray crystal. If you attend to it right away and flush with cool water, it's not all that bad. It smarts.
If you do try it on yourself, obviously keep it away from your face - lye burns in the eye area can be extremely serious.

I once had a lye crust at the bottom of my pitcher and made my soap as usual. When I cut it, I found out that it was riddled with lye crystals (not oozy weeping pockets, just areas of whitish discoloration). Yes, they zapped! I rebatched and while it was ugly, the soap was very nice to use.

Here's a photo of the crystals. You might want to cut open a bar just to see if anything looks unusual.

 

[azimuth]

When in doubt, throw it out, or re batch... You don't want to be subjecting anyone with lye burns.

 

[aab1]

Thanks for all the info. I will cut one or more bars into thin slices to see if I can find anything abnormal.

This recipe was superfatted at just over 10%, but with the undissolved lye it's certainly superfatted much more than 10%, would such a high SF soap still be useable for laundry?

By the way, this was my 3rd batch in my new guest size silicone molds by Crafter's Choice and they are the first batch that almost every bar had a broken off corner that stayed stuck in the mold. Could it be the higher superfat due to the undissolved lye? The other difference is that I waited 24-48 hours to unmold these while I normally unmold after just a few hours.

Thanks

 

[judymoody]

This recipe was superfatted at just over 10%, but with the undissolved lye it's certainly superfatted much more than 10%, would such a high SF soap still be useable for laundry?

By the way, this was my 3rd batch in my new guest size silicone molds by Crafter's Choice and they are the first batch that almost every bar had a broken off corner that stayed stuck in the mold. Could it be the higher superfat due to the undissolved lye? The other difference is that I waited 24-48 hours to unmold these while I normally unmold after just a few hours.

Thanks

Good question regarding the laundry soap. That could be an issue.

The SF % shouldn't cause unmolding problems, I don't think. Maybe the molds just need to season a bit?

 

[aab1]

I sliced 2 bars very thinly and they looked fine, but I know that doesn't mean others won't have problems.

Since it's a soap I really like (orange scented sea salt soap) I'll just keep them all for me, they are small bars anyway. I wouldn't have wanted to sell them even if it was just the broken corners.

I made another batch in these molds and it came out fine like the other 2 batches but I took them out before they were completely hard but still firm, perhaps waiting until they are hard and brittle was the cause of the broken corners. What do you mean by the molds need to season?

Thanks

 

[judymoody]

I remember reading reviews of the WSP silicone loaf molds when they first started selling them. The consensus was that the first few batches weren't unmolding cleanly but as they were used, the residue left from previous soap batches caused future batches to stick less. These soapers were rinsing their molds with water only or weren't cleaning them at all. Kind of like having a cast iron pan that needs to be oiled after use in order to perform at its best.

This may be an urban legend and I don't know if it applies to individual cavity molds or salt soap, but there it is.

 

[Lidyax]

I remember reading reviews of the WSP silicone loaf molds when they first started selling them. The consensus was that the first few batches weren't unmolding cleanly but as they were used, the residue left from previous soap batches caused future batches to stick less. These soapers were rinsing their molds with water only or weren't cleaning them at all. Kind of like having a cast iron pan that needs to be oiled after use in order to perform at its best.

This may be an urban legend and I don't know if it applies to individual cavity molds or salt soap, but there it is.

I just bought and used silicon molds and the soap didn't unmold smoothly at all, some still stuck on the bottom, esp since the soap is so soft. I wonder how those people use silicon with very intricate details to work, such as seventhtreesoaps on Etsy. Her owl soaps are so lovely!


Sent from my iPad using Soap Making

 

[aab1]

I normally don't have problems with silicone molds unless I unmold when he soap is still too soft.

With these last molds, out of 6 batches, only the one where my lye didn't fully dissolve had broken corners in probably 75% of the bars, and it was the 3rd of 6 batches, the 2 first and 3 last batches were fine.

Thanks