Lye Fumes

[AZJen]

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.

If I don't start with ice, how hot would the initial solution be? I fear that the jar would crack if placed into an ice bath. I've heard that some soapers' solutions are reaching 200 degrees (near boiling). Maybe that's because they're starting with melted/heated oils. And I'm guessing that if yours is not volatilizing for more than a few seconds, you're using room temperature oils and water. If the solution is hot, the danger would remain for much longer?

I have read that etching of glass only occurs if the solution heats up quite a bit (to the 200 or so degrees that many soapers are working with). If I'm starting with ice cubes or ice cold water, the risk of that may be close to zero? Having not done this even once, I don't know how hot the solution will become if starting with cold water.

I have a cat and parakeet that might be affected by even small amount of vapors which is the main reason I'm thinking to use ice cold water or ice itself. And if not outside, to close the bathroom door and turn on the vent for potentially several hours (costly electricity so hopefully it won't take that long).

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.

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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.

Thank you for the additional instructions! I also needed to be logged in for the button to appear.

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.

Thank you!

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.

Thank you!

I need to start a new thread instead of replying more here, though.

 

[Relle]

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