How do you clean up your raw soap?

[Cuckoo Bananas]

When I clean up after soap making i wash everything in almost boiling soapy water, i try to get as much soap as i can out of everything first but of course there is still a little bit and i notice no matter how much i try i just can never get my stuff spotless in my first cleanup, it gets an oily residue still and i can only get rid of it by cleaning the pot again the next day. I have left the pot and stick blender with the raw soap overnight or for a day and then cleaned up and this is better but I hate leaving mess and I doubt its good for the equipment anyway.

Whats some advice from the soap masteres here to get a great cleanup in minimal time and effort so I only have to do it once? :wink:

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I usually just clean up the stick blender and leave the rest out of sight until the next day. I do that because of the water situation as what you say is correct and it's difficult to get things clean in the first go. You could wipe out with paper towels first and that would help. If you've got a water efficient and power efficient dishwasher (mine uses 6.5 litres) you could put them in the dishwasher after wiping with paper towel. :wink: That's probably what I will do tonight as I've loaded the top drawer of the dishwasher and still have room for a couple of things.

 

[whisks]

would that wreck the dishwasher?

 

[andreja]

I don't recommend putting raw soap in dishwasher. What happened was all of my dishes and glasses (still few loads after I washed soapy dishes) were cloudy, I had to wash everything by hand. Later I found out that too strong alkaline solutions can cause etching. It was very hard to get rid of it. I think at the end I had to wash my dishwasher with vinegar.

After soaping I let my equipment soak in hot water and then wash it as usually. Waiting until the next day works great too, but I hate dirty dishes too.

 

[evatgirl73]

As I'm finishing up I stick things to soak in hot water w dish detergent and vinegar. I always clean up right after soaping, it would drive my DH nuts if the dishes sat for a day. I haven't really had any trouble getting everything clean... there may be a very slight greasy feeling to some of the plastic items but not much at all.
Then I clean out the sink with more detergent to make sure I got all the residue off.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I don't recommend putting raw soap in dishwasher. What happened was all of my dishes and glasses (still few loads after I washed soapy dishes) were cloudy, I had to wash everything by hand. Later I found out that too strong alkaline solutions can cause etching. It was very hard to get rid of it. I think at the end I had to wash my dishwasher with vinegar.

After soaping I let my equipment soak in hot water and then wash it as usually. Waiting until the next day works great too, but I hate dirty dishes too.

Correct! You have to wipe out the container first. :wink:

 

[Guest]

Cleaning

Because I milk dairy goats, I have my hot water set to 125 degrees. I take my stainless steel mixing bowl, fill it with hot water and dish soap, let everything soak for about 15-20 mins and then just wash regularly. Rinse good and everything is clean. The plastic handled spatula with rubber scraper part does feel a bit greasy, but it is clean. I never have any left over soap bits stuck to anything, not even the stick blender.

Gotta have HOT water. If your water from the tap isn't that hot (I have no kids in the house), then boil some and use that.
IDLaura

 

[jennikate]

I am of the I let sit overnight soak in hot water few mins and wash as usual club. It works for me. Plus I can keep soaping stuff seperate from reg dishes better that way.

 

[holly99]

I put all my stuff in a tub and let it sit for a day or two.

 

[Cuckoo Bananas]

Thanks everyone. I think I might just try washing all the bits that didnt come in contact with the raw soap + the sb and then just putting the pot and spatula out of sight for a day or two. Hate to do it but I guess thats the only way to get rid of that oily feel. I was looking for more info on it last night and I did see an interesting note somewhere to only use soap in the cleanup not detergent cant remember why though :wink:

 

[campbellsoap]

I take the sprayer at the fascet and spray the stuff on the sides so it goes into the pot and I fill the pot 3/4 full of hot water. I normally let it sit overnight and the next morning I boil the water in the pot. I dip the spatula, hand blender, and other stuff into the water. After it boils for a little bit I pour the water outside and then put the pan and other stuff in the dish washer.

jackie

 

[andreja]

Correct! You have to wipe out the container first. :wink:

Oh, believe me I did! I had the same problem even when I washed my pots first with dishwashing detergent, didn't rinse and put in dishwasher. And there I thought I was so smart for putting some detergent (for dishwashing by hands) to help clean my pots better in dishwasher.

 

[Manchy]

if i don't have to use the dishes the same day, i leave them unwashed, but i don't pour water over it. by doing this, all the leftover bits will become solid soap by the next day, and it's very simple to wash it with the sponge - no oily residue or anything, and very clean

 

[Vintageliving]

I wipe off as much as possible with paper towels and then let the pot and utensils sit a day or two. I wash them by hand.

Waiting to wash them solved the problem of the residue that would remain when I washed immediately after wiping with the paper towels.

 

[TRex]

I wipe off everything with an old rag. The rags go into the garage to dry. Then I wash everything. Later when I am doing laundry, I pull the oldest rag from the nail and add it to the wash. This way I feel that I am not just wasting soap. With the excess wiped off the soap equipment it will clean up better. Just the way that I do it.

TRex

 

[Vintageliving]

TRex, great idea. Thanks!

 

[whisks]

I wipe off everything with an old rag. The rags go into the garage to dry. Then I wash everything. Later when I am doing laundry, I pull the oldest rag from the nail and add it to the wash. This way I feel that I am not just wasting soap. With the excess wiped off the soap equipment it will clean up better. Just the way that I do it.

TRex

i like that because i don't like waste of any sort. i was leaving everything so the raw soap could saponify and i'd save the washing water to pour into my washing machine, but i'm using TRex's idea as well now. thumbs up.

 

[islandbeauty]

i let mine soak in hot water until the next day.

 

[Fuzled]

I know this thread is a month old, but new soaper question about washing.. Most of ya'll seem to wipe it down, let sit and wash in very hot water.

Does this include the utensils you used for the lye and lye water? (Pitcher and spoon for me)? I will grind thru the mess of the soap caked things, but I'm worried about properly cleaning those things that didn't get mixed with oil. Also, do you wipe down your counters with vinegar?

I've got cats that get every where, so I want to make sure I don't leave lye hidden some where..

Thanks for your input!

 

[rubyslippers]

Well Fuzled, if you've got little critter cats around that love to jump on countertops, I'd be sure to wipe everything down with vinegar. I clean everything right away by wiping my soap pot and utensils with paper towels (but I do like TRex's rag suggestion) and wash everything in very hot water. The pitcher and utensils I use for lye gets a prewash in a vinegar solution prior to going into the hot water and these items I wash last. Everything in my kitchen gets spritzed with a vinegar solution for a final wipe down. Even if I am making multiple batches on the same day, I go through this procedure between batches --- can't help it, it's my OCD!