Lye in Australia

[SuzieOz]

What brand/s of lye do soapers in Aus use and where do you purchase it from?

I was told the Diggers brand is ok to use therefore that is what I have been buying from Mitre 10, but I have just realised it is only 98% caustic soda.

Is there a brand easy to find that is 100%??

I read somewhere the Mechanix brand might be, but I can't find the % on the internet anywhere and I don't have a supplier close by.

 

[fuzz-juzz]

Most caustic soda is sold as 98% pure.
As you've used Diggers brand before, you can see it works great. What those 98% purity means is that you'll end up with a little bit of extra SF.

I got this from one of the websites selling lye. It's in regards to what those remaining 2% possibly are: 98% "pure to allow for absorption of atmospheric moisture and is also in the form of small sugar-like crystal"
What that means I think is that some of the lye reacts with air losing it's 100% purity. That's them basically saying, it's lye, but close to 100% as you can get it. That'my understanding, maybe someone with more knowledge can chip in.

If you are unsure, I guess you can always contact Diggers to clarify. I've only ever used their brand and never had a problem. I've tried Mechanix once and I'm pretty sure it's also 98% pure. It was hard to find and since I have Bunnings basically next door I stick to Diggers.

 

[SuzieOz]

Ok thanks for that fuzz-wuzz. My soap is gorgeous (if I say so myself ) using Diggers.

 

[Relle]

I use Mechanix and have never had a problem with it. I did buy the diggers one from Masters, but don't like it really, not sure why, but just don't. I think they all have 98% caustic on it.

Mechanix is very easy to find, it's in all the large Coles supermarkets. I think its around $4.83 for 500 grms.
http://shop.coles.com.au/online/SearchDisplay?storeId=10601&catalogId=10576&langId=-1&beginIndex=0&browseView=false&searchSource=Q&sType=SimpleSearch&resultCatEntryType=2&showResultsPage=true&pageView=image&supermarketRefer=yes&searchTerm=Mechanix+caustic+soda

 

[dillsandwitch]

I used to use Mexhanix but they stopped selling it in my area. I have been using Diggers from bunnings/masters for well over a year now and haven't had an issue with it. Except that time that i accidentally used an aluminum pot to mix it in. Didn't know it was aluminum at the time though.... it now is somewhere in the great big world of landfill

 

[SuzieOz]

Oops dills

Thank Relle, I'll check out Coles when I get there. They're the only two brands I've heard of. Seems they're ok then.