grayceworks
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On a side-note... anyone have suggestions on good healthy-making things to inhale with steam?
Lye Fumes
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FlybyStardancer
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Ugh oh... I should probably stop mixing my lye-water there, then... (Even though it needs to be replaced anyways.) It's just that it works SO WELL as a fume hood to keep me safe!
Some tips gleaned from my days in the chem lab --
Add the lye to the water very, very slowly.
Keep the lye container covered with a LOOSE fitting lid. Anything made of lye-safe materials will do -- food wrap, a plate, etc.
Use a tall narrow container rather than a shallow wide one.
Choose a lye container that is a generous size so there is a lot of "head space" above the lye solution. Here's what I use: http://accupitcher.com/Accu-Pour-products.html
Add the lye to the water very, very slowly.
Keep the lye container covered with a LOOSE fitting lid. Anything made of lye-safe materials will do -- food wrap, a plate, etc.
Use a tall narrow container rather than a shallow wide one.
Choose a lye container that is a generous size so there is a lot of "head space" above the lye solution. Here's what I use: http://accupitcher.com/Accu-Pour-products.html
Uh, well, a "loose fitting lid" means any covering that cannot hold pressure within the container. Food wrap or a plate will work. A screw-top lid that is just barely screwed on. Something like that.
Make sense?
Make sense?
Something that just rests on top, rather than actually securely closes the container.
AustinStraight
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Not sure if this is what you mean, but... When I get a stuffy nose, I like to put one drop each of peppermint, eucalyptus, and rosemary (or 2-3 drops of an essential oil blend for breathing) on a bowl of steaming hot water & inhale the steam (with a towel over your head to make it like a mini-sauna). Then I blow my nose and feel all better :-D You could use any skin-safe essential oil that way if you just wanted to enjoy the benefits of the essential oil in a different way.
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This is sort of along the same lines - I made a goats milk soap last night and since the goats milk is frozen I don't really get fumes but I noticed after I poured my goat milk/lye into the oils then put the bowl that had the milk/lye mixture in my soapy water/vinegar mixture it smelled super awful for about 30 seconds - is this normal?
The smell did not stay long and the curing soap smells good with my eucalyptus spearmint fo so I don't think the soap was ruined or anything - it just caused me some concern.
The smell did not stay long and the curing soap smells good with my eucalyptus spearmint fo so I don't think the soap was ruined or anything - it just caused me some concern.
grayceworks
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Peppermint, and rosemary I have. Don't have any eucalyptus... hmmm. Trying to get rid of the beginnings of a cold and be able to breathe better. I have menthol crystals that I got to use in foot lotion. Wonder if they're ok dissolved in water and turned into steam...
Yes, Jules, sometimes Milk or beer or whatever can be a little stinky when mixed with lye. I think your soap will be perfectly fine!
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After a day of research, I wanted to make soap. And then I found this thread. I used lye-based drain cleaner a few times years ago and thought it was absolutely awful. I'd hate to make a business or hobby of anything that smells so bad.
Also, I think not as a renter (I do not want to replace expensive components of someone else's home) with a bird, a cat, and my own health to protect--unless there's a way to prevent the toxicity and corrosion. 'MagicalMysterySoap' said ice cubes help. Have you tried them?
The only location in my apartment that makes sense to me is a bathroom with the vent on and door closed, but there are probably metal fan blades in the wall that could rust, and there are metal fixtures throughout the bathroom. Additionally, the bathroom may take a while to completely air out. A WWII style vapor filter may protect my lungs, but the bathroom may be unusable for a day?
After a day of research, I wanted to make soap. And then I found this thread. The ice cube idea is encouraging, but I don't have space for ice cube trays. Maybe just refrigerated water would help enough. Or water put in the freezer for a while. I don't know how long it would take a quart or so of water to freeze, but 4-12 hours in the freezer seems maybe a good range to test.
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Jennifer, this thread is over 5yrs old and graceworks who you are asking questions to, hasn't been here for 2 yrs, so probably won't see this. The best idea is to start a new thread asking what you need to ask linking to this old thread. Most people in the old posts are no longer here, the date of the posts are in the left hand side of the posts. It's best to stick with current threads, not old ones.
newlee
Well-Known Member
I mix my lye water outside at arm's length. Since I make small batches (10ozs of oil), I don't need to stir. I just swish the mixture around and it dissolves pretty quickly. And I leave it outside, except for today-too hot.
I use crushed ice for my lye solution. It helps keep the excess heat down and makes for a faster batch to trace. I got this tip from a YouTuber, Soap 101. She has quite a few videos up for beginning Soapers.
Waiting to see if you start a new thread, then I will leave my answer
Being brand new to the forum, Jennifer may not know exactly how to start a new thread yet....
Jennifer, when you click into any of our subforums, such as the Lye Based Soap Forum that we are in here at the moment, up at the top right of the page you'll see a little brown box that says, "Post New Thread", which I've circled below:
Just click on that, type the title that you'd like to name your thread in the title box, then post your whatever you'd like to say in the main text box area, then hit the Post button as normal.
For what it's worth, lye fumes are only volatile and smelly when the solution is first mixed with the water and things are really hot. When cooled down there are no fumes or smell. You'll be able to use the room you mix your lye in the same day once aired out. It doesn't take long if you've got some ventilation going on.
Also for what it's worth, I've been making soap for 13+ years and so far all my metal fixtures are fine wherever I've mixed my lye, such as in my bathroom with the vent fan on, on top of my stove with the vent hood fan on, and in my garage right next to my parked truck and washing machine/dryer.... and all are well- there's been no corrosion.......even though I don't use ice cubes. I just mix my lye in room temp water.
If you'd like to mix your lye with ice cubes, but have no room ice cube trays, just buy a bag of ice at the grocery store. It's pretty inexpensive.
IrishLass
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I don't see where to start a new thread.... Oh, I see now that someone posted instructions. Will read that reply now!
My page is not showing a 'Post New Thread' button above the page numbers. Perhaps it's because I have a basic membership. But people are replying to this thread. So, maybe it's not necessary to create a new post?
Thank you greatly for the additional information, IrishLass! (Btw, I didn't realize I could use a handle when I entered my full name, but I don't see how to change that now.)
I'm happy to hear that you've not experienced any noticeable corrosion, and it seems that if I refrigerate my soap alongside food (no money for a spare fridge, even a mini one), I may not poison myself with lye vapors. My nose is pretty sensitive, though, so if I notice anything off once the soap is made, it will just have to cool outside of the fridge--perhaps placed on top of something cold.
I've read that distilled water is ideal. I'm not sure of the water used to make bagged ice.
And since I haven't made ice cubes in many years, I just Googled the time it takes: 3-4 hours. If I want to stick with distilled water and make cubes, I could use up all of my frozen bread or put it in the refrigerator for 4ish hours while freezing enough cubes for a large master batch of lye dilution. Or I could just use a jar of water and bring it close to freezing.
I'm thinking that I'd like to use a thick glass container (large bowl, large beer mug, 1/2 gallon canning jar, etc.) using ice cubes either outside or in a bathroom with vent on since I don't open windows this time of year with it being 108-114 degrees outside. I might be able to swirl the ice and lye outside and forego a spoon, but I am still concerned about heat. If not using ice, I've read that the lye solution can reach 200 degrees. Perhaps ice would result in a barely warm solution. I'd hate for so much heat to be generated that the canning jar would break or be too hot to hold and swirl.
I've read that saponification during the first 1-3 days also produces heat, but I don't know how much to expect with room temp oils and a lye solution produced with ice cubes.
For long-term room temperature (80+ degrees this time of year) storage of the solution, I'm not sure if a plastic Ball canning jar lid would create a tight enough seal. The other other option would be a metal canning jar lid.
Being brand new to the forum, Jennifer may not know exactly how to start a new thread yet....
Jennifer, when you click into any of our subforums, such as the Lye Based Soap Forum that we are in here at the moment, up at the top right of the page you'll see a little brown box that says, "Post New Thread", which I've circled below:
View attachment 40398
Just click on that, type the title that you'd like to name your thread in the title box, then post your whatever you'd like to say in the main text box area, then hit the Post button as normal.
For what it's worth, lye fumes are only volatile and smelly when the solution is first mixed with the water and things are really hot. When cooled down there are no fumes or smell. You'll be able to use the room you mix your lye in the same day once aired out. It doesn't take long if you've got some ventilation going on.
Also for what it's worth, I've been making soap for 13+ years and so far all my metal fixtures are fine wherever I've mixed my lye, such as in my bathroom with the vent fan on, on top of my stove with the vent hood fan on, and in my garage right next to my parked truck and washing machine/dryer.... and all are well- there's been no corrosion.......even though I don't use ice cubes. I just mix my lye in room temp water.
If you'd like to mix your lye with ice cubes, but have no room ice cube trays, just buy a bag of ice at the grocery store. It's pretty inexpensive.
IrishLass
My page is not showing a 'Post New Thread' button above the page numbers. Perhaps it's because I have a basic membership. But people are replying to this thread. So, maybe it's not necessary to create a new post?
Thank you greatly for the additional information, IrishLass! (Btw, I didn't realize I could use a handle when I entered my full name, but I don't see how to change that now.)
I'm happy to hear that you've not experienced any noticeable corrosion, and it seems that if I refrigerate my soap alongside food (no money for a spare fridge, even a mini one), I may not poison myself with lye vapors. My nose is pretty sensitive, though, so if I notice anything off once the soap is made, it will just have to cool outside of the fridge--perhaps placed on top of something cold.
I've read that distilled water is ideal. I'm not sure of the water used to make bagged ice.
And since I haven't made ice cubes in many years, I just Googled the time it takes: 3-4 hours. If I want to stick with distilled water and make cubes, I could use up all of my frozen bread or put it in the refrigerator for 4ish hours while freezing enough cubes for a large master batch of lye dilution. Or I could just use a jar of water and bring it close to freezing.
I'm thinking that I'd like to use a thick glass container (large bowl, large beer mug, 1/2 gallon canning jar, etc.) using ice cubes either outside or in a bathroom with vent on since I don't open windows this time of year with it being 108-114 degrees outside. I might be able to swirl the ice and lye outside and forego a spoon, but I am still concerned about heat. If not using ice, I've read that the lye solution can reach 200 degrees. Perhaps ice would result in a barely warm solution. I'd hate for so much heat to be generated that the canning jar would break or be too hot to hold and swirl.
I've read that saponification during the first 1-3 days also produces heat, but I don't know how much to expect with room temp oils and a lye solution produced with ice cubes.
For long-term room temperature (80+ degrees this time of year) storage of the solution, I'm not sure if a plastic Ball canning jar lid would create a tight enough seal. The other other option would be a metal canning jar lid.
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Okay, my answer, if you can set a fan in the kitchen facing away from your work area, mix your lye solution in the kitchen sink. It is the safest and all you need to do is cover your nose and mouth for a few seconds, which about how long the fumes last. I mix 1-2 gallons at a time and am not bothered with fumes, in fact, I do not cover my nose, but do not get it down near the bucket.
Absolutely Do Not mix lye solution in a glass container, it will /can etch the glass causing the glass to eventually break. Also the more you move lye solution containers the more chance of an accident. If you are beginning I would not use Ice, it is hard to tell if the lye is fully dissolved. You can put your container in the sink into an ice bath to hasten cooling.
Absolutely Do Not mix lye solution in a glass container, it will /can etch the glass causing the glass to eventually break. Also the more you move lye solution containers the more chance of an accident. If you are beginning I would not use Ice, it is hard to tell if the lye is fully dissolved. You can put your container in the sink into an ice bath to hasten cooling.
You're not seeing the "Post new thread" button because you're not in the right place -- you're looking at an existing thread. You have to go to the forum index before you can create a new thread in the forum.
Go here to the lye-based forum index -- https://www.soapmakingforum.com/forums/lye-based-soap-forum.11/ -- and then you will be able to follow Irish Lass's instructions.
***
Yes, you really should start a new thread. It's a point of etiquette on SMF to not revive older threads. Other forums are different, so it's not a universal rule, but it's strongly preferred here.
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