Lye in Nevada

[melstan775]

So you want to make cold process soap. And you live in Nevada. So you go to Lowe's, and Home Depot, and Ace's and Tru Value, and every single one of these informs you that sodium hydroxide isn't available for retail sale in Nevada because of our drug manufacturing problem. Classy of them to put it that way, isn't it?

Well, I just wanted to tell you they are either lying or stupid. Today at Lowe's, I found Roebic's Crystal Drain Cleaner, which the label told me was 100% pure Sodium Hydroxide (caustic soda), in with all the other drain cleaners. I dutifully informed the plumbing section sales guy that he was wrong when he told me he didn't have it when I inquired about it a couple weeks ago. It was $15.00 for two pounds, so about $7.50 a pound. It's more then buying from a soap supply, but I will probably buy it there in the future because I am both impatient and don't think I'm saving anything when I have to pay as much in shipping as the product costs.

So, my fellow Nevadans, I implore you, when the sales guy tells you that he doesn't have what you're looking for, to do what I did: grab the bottle from the shelf and show him where it says 100% sodium hydroxide, and then inform him that if it weren't for this bottle I held in my hand, he wouldn't have the fortune of having soap to bathe with. Then put it back on the shelf and walk away when he answers a phone call to find someone else to cut down your PVC pipe for you into manageable soap molds. When this request is declined, leave everything you intended to buy on the counter and go to Wal-Mart instead.

 

[terminatortoo]

The very same thing happened to me this weekend at Lowe's, the guy said we don't carry it and I decided to look in the plumbing dept. anyway and there it was. I live in Texas.

 

[Shannon_m]

There's a Home Depot right across the street from where I live (Sparks at Pyramid & Galleria), I was in there today pricing out supplies to make my own cutting box. I have to go back in tomorrow at some point to purchase said items so I'll test this out with them and see what happens.

 

[melstan775]

Thanks Shannon! I both envy and feel sorry for you living up there! I always forget that new mall is up there, and it never fails when I do I get lost. I was up there one day. I must have been either on Los Altos or Galleria, and I turned Disc drive looking for the light at Pyramid. Imagine my surprise when I next stopped that I was at the light on Disc Drive and Sparks Blvd, exactly opposite of where I wanted to be!

 

[Shannon_m]

I find that because we have so much up here I think everything else is soooo far away and I procrastinate shopping anywhere else.

 

[2lilboots]

If you want pvc pipe molds and lowes won't cut them down for you. Try to see if the maintenance person where you work has short pieces of pvc pipe left over from fixing up plumbing in the building. Sometimes they have it and will just give it to you. They may even have the caps left over as well. Be nice to the maintenance personel they can really help you out!

 

[melstan775]

Oh we don't have a maintaince person. It gets by the owner when he comes to town. Thats a great idea though.

 

[lizflowers42]

Stickin it to the man Melissa! Also do you have a Habitat for Humanity ReStore? It's like a Goodwill for the home. I'm sure they might have extra small "useless" items that you can use!

 

[2lilboots]

So basically the Lowes Guy Lied about the Lye!

 

[CaliChan]

I never even bother to ask when I go to a hardware store get lye x.x Im always afraid that they will think im making drugs instead of soap.

 

[new12soap]

They either do not associate the drain cleaner with the ingredients, or they have been TOLD to say that they do not carry it to discourage drug manufacturers. Either way, I see no reason at all to be nasty to the store clerk. JMO. And if you keep pointing out that they DO in fact carry the same thing used to make drugs, they may very well STOP carrying it as many hardware stores have done. Lowe's and Home Depot have both pulled it from shelves here. Just buy what you need and say Have a Nice Day.

As for the price, I think if you check some of the major online suppliers you will find that even with shipping you can get lye much cheaper than you are paying. That is more that double what I pay, and since I buy in smaller amounts I don't get the best possible deal. Essential Depot has food grade lye, I randomly added 4 lbs to the cart and chose a zip code in Nevada and with shipping it was $5.60/lb. You can even get free shipping on larger amounts if you have room to store it.

 

[VanessaP]

I feel from your description of the interaction that you were rude to him. Many people don't know the proper name for lye, nor do most people realize that there are a few drain cleaners still made with it. I can understand being frustrated that they had it and didn't know it, but there was no need to try to humiliate him like that in public. That is the equivalent of dressing down a Walmart employee because they couldn't tell you whether or not they had herbs de provence without checking inventory under multiple names or checking labels. As far as finding someone to cut the pipe, employees probably DO have to be properly trained & certified to use the saws or other machinery. Quite possibly that wasn't the employee's usual department and he wasn't trained to use the saw. My husband works at Walmart and due to his eyesight, he's not allowed to use the mini-forklifts. When I worked at Hardee's 15 years ago, if you weren't 18 you weren't allowed to use the deli slicer to slice the roast beef.

 

[lizflowers42]

So basically the Lowes Guy Lied about the Lye!

You could say he's a lye-r :mrgreen:

 

[SueSoap]

I am in Las Vegas, and I get my lye online from Essential Depot http://www.essentialdepot.com

With shipping, it's probably a little more expensive, but the quality is so good, I've decided not to use the hardware store variety again.
http://www.essentialdepot.com

 

[Crocoturtle]

If you want pvc pipe molds and lowes won't cut them down for you. Try to see if the maintenance person where you work has short pieces of pvc pipe left over from fixing up plumbing in the building. Sometimes they have it and will just give it to you. They may even have the caps left over as well. Be nice to the maintenance personel they can really help you out!

I just got a bunch of PVC from a pool construction contractor today. Last time I bought some at Lowe's it wound up costing me like $30 for 2 molds. Much better to ask around. Maybe ask on Craigslist.

 

[melstan775]

I can be as rude as I want to condescending store clerks who can't keep their attention where it should be - on the customer. If customers have to fight to get their neds met, that is just bad customer service, and no customer should have to walk away empty handed or be misinformed about product availability or take a backseat to a phone call. Service people are there to serve and if you cant be polite and helpful about it, find another job. Anyway it's not like I yelled at him or anything, I just pulled the can off the shelf and showed him so he would know. Also this thread was posted for the other Nevadans who I know are on this board. You have to live here to understand the frustration that comes from living in a place where people are so transient that getting a knowledgable sales person is near impossible so much of the time because no one sticks around long enough to become skilled at their job. Especially out here in the desert, most of the big places hire through a staffing agency because they don't have the resources or want to hire their own staff. And who do they hire? People like plumbing guy who don't know, dont care, and don't stick around long enough to find out.

 

[new12soap]

Right, there are no other places in the US or in the world staffed by transients.... Okay. And no one else has ever been frustrated by bad service. Sure. You are correct, you are entitled to be as rude as you like, and I will not comment any further on that as there is no need.

By way of info, this thread was posted for people trying to find lye, and the info that I and others offered you and everyone else on this forum was a good source for lye that is much cheaper than you paid, INCLUDING shipping.