How much is enough?

[ShirleyHailstock]

I had taken the lye water, heating up, into account and had bought Stainless steel mixing bowls instead of glass or plastic. Plus it should last forever, right?...

I'm actually looking for stainless steel bowls at a reasonable price, meaning finding them at the thrift store.

 

[Kathymzr]

Talk about Lye—lol. So I bought some nice clear plastic jars that I thought would be handy. The label said they were sturdy. I put my Lye in and the water. As it heated up I watched the plastic curl and shrink in agony. Now I use a stainless steel small pot that will fit on a bowl of ice water to cool fast. I don’t use glass or plastic. Ahh, lessons learned!

 

[Edward Sebastian]

Talk about Lye—lol. So I bought some nice clear plastic jars that I thought would be handy. The label said they were sturdy. I put my Lye in and the water. As it heated up I watched the plastic curl and shrink in agony. Now I use a stainless steel small pot that will fit on a bowl of ice water to cool fast. I don’t use glass or plastic. Ahh, lessons learned!

Yeah, I read the horror stories of it. which is why I got the stainless steel mixing bowls.

 

[Arimara]

Talk about Lye—lol. So I bought some nice clear plastic jars that I thought would be handy. The label said they were sturdy. I put my Lye in and the water. As it heated up I watched the plastic curl and shrink in agony. Now I use a stainless steel small pot that will fit on a bowl of ice water to cool fast. I don’t use glass or plastic. Ahh, lessons learned!

Yeah, I read the horror stories of it. which is why I got the stainless steel mixing bowls.

If that happened in type 2 or 5 containers, especially type two, I'd understand the fear more. Those types of plastic containers are generally the recommended types. Type 7 is a mixed bag of nuts and types 1, 3, 4, and 6 are poor choices for soapmaking.

 

[DeeAnna]

My guess is the clear plastic container that "shrunk and curled in agony" was PET, polyethylene terephthalate, recycle code #1. PET containers can indeed be very thick and sturdy .... and PET is fine for weak acids, weak alkalis, and water, as long as the material is cold or cool. Basically PET is great for iced tea, drinking water, and lemonade and not so good for anything else.

If a person does not want to use plastic containers for working with lye or soap batter, that's a reasonable choice to make. But I would hate to see advice given that implies stainless steel is the only option for this purpose, because it is not. Sturdy containers made of polypropylene or polyethylene, recycle codes #2 and #5, are quite suitable and safe for working with concentrated NaOH, KOH, and soap batter. More: https://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.asp

 

[Edward Sebastian]

My guess is the clear plastic container that "shrunk and curled in agony" was PET, polyethylene terephthalate, recycle code #1. PET containers can indeed be very thick and sturdy .... and PET is fine for weak acids, weak alkalis, and water, as long as the material is cold or cool. Basically PET is great for iced tea, drinking water, and lemonade and not so good for anything else.

If a person does not want to use plastic containers for working with lye or soap batter, that's a reasonable choice to make. But I would hate to see advice given that implies stainless steel is the only option for this purpose, because it is not. Sturdy containers made of polypropylene or polyethylene, recycle codes #2 and #5, are quite suitable and safe for working with concentrated NaOH, KOH, and soap batter. More: https://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.asp

Oh, don't get me wrong, I didn't say plastic mixing bowls were bad, I planned on buying the glass mixing bowl. But decided, as far as expenditure and probability, to go with the stainless steel bowl. Lasting longer, if not forever.

 

[Kathymzr]

Yes, I totally agree stainless is not the only type for mixing Lye! I just happen to like my little pot. I make small batches!

 

[bookreader451]

I bought the 32oz ziplock bowls with lids for lye water. They are cheap, easy to grip and look cool with my skull and crossbones on them in sharpie.

 

[Edward Sebastian]

I bought the 32oz ziplock bowls with lids for lye water. They are cheap, easy to grip and look cool with my skull and crossbones on them in sharpie.

LOL!