ISO cleaning hack

[Zing]

Hey, Soap Peeps! I have one of these thangs:

I have soaked it in water & Dawn for several days and scrubbed with a sponge for a long time. It still feels oily. Hit me up if you have any tricks on cleaning it. Thanks!

 

[AliOop]

I have that same tray! I have no hacks, but this is what works best for me.

Put it in hot hot hot soapy (Dawn) water for a few minutes.
Run more hot water over it to rinse off the soap (and hopefully at least some of the darn beeswax)
Quickly wipe it with a dry paper towel, or five.
If I come across resolidified wax while drying, then back into the hot hot water it goes, to rinse and repeat.

This seems to remove most of the wax, but I admit, it never feels completely wax-free. Would love to hear if anyone has better luck with a different process.

 

[dmcgee5034]

I have that tray, too. Have you tried the Dawn Power Wash after the Alioop process? That stuff as a final step really seems to remove the oily residue.

 

[squidstings]

"Power Wash" is just Dawn with an added solvent. Amazing stuff, but if you have some >95% ethanol or isopropol alcohol on hand.... Mind you, the sprayed foam really works!

A cationic or amphoteric detergent? Dawn is Anionic with nonionic.

Hydrogen Peroxide? There's other mild oxidizers.

Soak it in lye water?

 

[Maple_Street_Bath]

I have a one step process...
Step 1: pour directly into tubes with no spilling.

Just kidding. I scrape mine with a plastic thingy, use a paper towel to wipe out any holes. If I see any spots that are particularly difficult, I will hit it with my hot air gun with the tray placed on paper towel. Wash in hot water with Dawn.
If they still feel sticky or slick after that, I spray with iso alcohol and wipe with a paper towel.
Still sticky? I throw it in my dishwasher. (really, any oil/wax that's left is going to be minimal by this point. There's more oil on my cooking pans than on this lip balm tray at this point.)

I have seen some videos where people do the scrapey thing with the filled tubes still in the tray. I guess it kind of makes sense then that the overspill wouldn't get pushed into the empty tray holes... I just can't bring myself to do it. The naturally rounded tops on lippies is too satisfying.

Occasionally they're a pita to clean, but I wouldn't make lippies without one.

 

[squidstings]

I have a one step process...
Step 1: pour directly into tubes with no spilling.

That's what I did. I was a little flexible on the "no spilling" rule. Disposables. My biggest batch was 16 Oz.
I guess that makes this a comment from the peanut gallery lol

 

[LidiaG]

Hey, Soap Peeps! I have one of these thangs:View attachment 80642

I have soaked it in water & Dawn for several days and scrubbed with a sponge for a long time. It still feels oily. Hit me up if you have any tricks on cleaning it. Thanks!

I was checking them out on the weekend! After I took me 30min to make the lip balms and 4 hours for the clean up. I did a bigger batch 60 from 10 that I had done before, lol. I made a BIG mess and pretty much had to wipe down every single lip balm container. Not fun!
I was shaking my head while I was cleaning them and thinking.. there must be a better way!

I see that some companies send these with the 50 pack and was planning to try it next time.
Is this tool helpful?

Step 1: pour directly into tubes with no spilling.

Yes that is what happened on my first time making them! I might try a porcelain jug with a good spout.

but to answer @Zing! Could you put this tool in the freezer?
I wonder if the plastic material is flexible enough, and once frozen if you flex it if the excess would come right off?

 

[Zing]

I have a one step process...
Step 1: pour directly into tubes with no spilling.

Just kidding. I scrape mine with a plastic thingy, use a paper towel to wipe out any holes. If I see any spots that are particularly difficult, I will hit it with my hot air gun with the tray placed on paper towel. Wash in hot water with Dawn.
If they still feel sticky or slick after that, I spray with iso alcohol and wipe with a paper towel.
Still sticky? I throw it in my dishwasher. (really, any oil/wax that's left is going to be minimal by this point. There's more oil on my cooking pans than on this lip balm tray at this point.)

I have seen some videos where people do the scrapey thing with the filled tubes still in the tray. I guess it kind of makes sense then that the overspill wouldn't get pushed into the empty tray holes... I just can't bring myself to do it. The naturally rounded tops on lippies is too satisfying.

Occasionally they're a pita to clean, but I wouldn't make lippies without one.

I literally was laughing out loud at "pour directly into tubes with no spilling", first as WTHeck Yeah Right and then with Oh, Joke Alert!

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Pretty much do what @AliOop does. Once it is completely dry, I store the tube holder and scraper in a gallon zip lock bag and don't look back (so to speak). I agree that it never feels totally wax/oil free.
Let us know how it goes for you.

 

[Ford]

Plastic is an oil based product. Not that it's oozing oil. It just never has that squeaky clean feel.

 

[Tammyfarms]

I was checking them out on the weekend! After I took me 30min to make the lip balms and 4 hours for the clean up. I did a bigger batch 60 from 10 that I had done before, lol. I made a BIG mess and pretty much had to wipe down every single lip balm container. Not fun!
I was shaking my head while I was cleaning them and thinking.. there must be a better way!

I see that some companies send these with the 50 pack and was planning to try it next time.
Is this tool helpful?


Yes that is what happened on my first time making them! I might try a porcelain jug with a good spout.

but to answer @Zing! Could you put this tool in the freezer?
I wonder if the plastic material is flexible enough, and once frozen if you flex it if the excess would come right off?

I don’t make a lot of lip balm, about 10 at a time, but this tool is absolutely necessary in my opinion. Makes pouring so much easier, keeps the tubes upright and keeps the tubes clean. I still try to not spill as I like the look of a poured top. But let’s be honest, there’s always a spill.
Unfortunately I have no great advice for cleaning the oily residue.

 

[Midnight_Sun]

If I may ask an unrelated question: what tool is this? I’ve been curious about lip balms.

 

[Tammyfarms]

If I may ask an unrelated question: what tool is this? I’ve been curious about lip balms.

Here you go.

 

[Zing]

If I may ask an unrelated question: what tool is this? I’ve been curious about lip balms.

All I have to say is DO IT! Lip balms are so cheap and easy to make. To think what I've spent on store bought....

 

[Nona'sFarm]

All I have to say is DO IT! Lip balms are so cheap and easy to make. To think what I've spent on store bought....

Also, mine keep my lips from cracking in the winter - still had cracked lips with store bought lip balms and I tried every brand available to me.

 

[Zing]

Also, mine keep my lips from cracking in the winter - still had cracked lips with store bought lip balms and I tried every brand available to me.

Right? What I notice is that I have to use my lip balms waaaay less than store bought.

 

[Vicki C]

Mine warps under water that is too hot, so I don’t put it in the dishwasher. I just hand wash it with dish soap (not Dawn because I make dish soap) and a soft scrubby, don’t want to get it all scratched up, and it gets clean. (Clean enough… )

 

[melinda48]

Plastic is an oil based product. Not that it's oozing oil. It just never has that squeaky clean feel.

I have found that washing well and then spraying with cleaning vinegar - followed by another rinse works well.

 

[Tammyfarms]

All I have to say is DO IT! Lip balms are so cheap and easy to make. To think what I've spent on store bought....

Yes! Anyone thinking about making lip balms definitely should! One great thing about making your own is that you can customize it to what you like. Make tiny batches because it doesn’t take much to fill a tube. There are lots of great recipes posted here.

 

[melinda48]

"Power Wash" is just Dawn with an added solvent. Amazing stuff, but if you have some >95% ethanol or isopropol alcohol on hand.... Mind you, the sprayed foam really works!

A cationic or amphoteric detergent? Dawn is Anionic with nonionic.

Hydrogen Peroxide? There's other mild oxidizers.

Soak it in lye water?

I don't think I would soak it in anything that had any lye - just in case! I wash mine with Dawn Powerwash, wipe out as best I can, use heat gun on stubborn spots, wipe it out again and call it good.