Making soap around little people

[NatureandNurture]

One of the reasons I haven't actually gotten around to making a batch of soap yet is that I'm a little scared of the dangers. Not for myself, I know how to be careful, but I have a pair of rambunctious pre-teens that don't always pay attention, a precocious into-everything toddler, and a newborn. Granted the newborn is very unlikely to be a problem at this point. I have a safe place to work that is well-ventilated and closed off from the toddler (for the most part anyhow), but it still worries me.

Usually, how long does it take for the lye solution to cool? This is what concerns me the most, having something like that sitting out where it could be knocked over. Now I plan to make soap at night for the most part, since most of the curious little people will be in bed. Still, I worry.

Do any of you have little people to worry over? How have you resolved these issues (if you had them)?

 

[Guest]

I would make sure your lye water container is marked well ,as very very dangerous. Make sure it is nothing like any other juice or water jug etc in the house.If I did have young ones the rule would be you are not allowed in that room while soap is being made .Period .I have to close the door to keep my cat out. HTH

Kitn

 

[Ganiggle]

No little people here, but I have a dog that I worry about. She likes to get into EVERYTHING! When I mixed up my lye today for the first time I was very cautious and put the container in the sink to mix and to cool. It definitely took away my worry, and if anything spilled it would at least be in the sink and not on the floor where my doggy could get into it. It took about 30 minutes to cool from about 140 to 100, which is when I mixed it with the oils.

 

[craftykelly]

I have a 2yo, 3.5yo and 5yo. The 2 younger ones are in daycare/kindy 2 days per week and my 5yo is in Prep 5 days per week. So on those 2 days when I have the house to myself I try to soap. I may also soap at night or weekends when I have the chance, when DH is home and also have a child gate up in the kitchen entry so they cannot come in.

I store everything either in the garage or locked up in the cupboard under the sink.

Just keep everything and everyone away when you are soaping and make sure you wont have any distractions for that hour or two

 

[ChrissyB]

I tend to soap at night when my littley is in bed. She pretty much knows to leave me alone when I am soaping.
Maybe if you could put bubby down for a nap, then get the two little ones to watch some tv or a DVD or something?
If you can mix your lye/water and put it somewhere that they can't reach, on top of a cabinet or something. While that cools sort out your oils and your moulds, any fragrances or other additives.
Let your oils melt, let your lye cool, then make sure they are occupied for half hour or so while you mix and pour. And make sure you have vinegar on hand just in case. I've never needed it but it serves to be prudent!

 

[Guest]

I would be deathly afraid to soap around children.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[valor]

HI there,
I have an extremely precocious 6 month old. He is crawling, pulling up and taking steps and he can get up the step from my living room to my dining room.

I usually wait until my husband is home to keep my little guy busy. BUT there are times when I have to make soap and it is just the little guy and me.
I start my lye while he is in his play pen and leave it outside on an out-of-the way table. Then I weigh my oils while I feed him in his high chair or just let him play in it. I get EVERYTHING weighed out and ready and the split second that he is down for his nap I start my soap making frenzy. Sometimes I can get 2 batches done with this method. I like to make an HP and a CP at the same time. I do the crockpot HP first and while that is cooking, I will do the CP.

I also keep my lye in a large jar that has a lid too big for little hands to unscrew, or I use my old coconut oil bucket with the lid that is so hard to pry off that I have to get my hubby to do it for me.

I also keep a lid on my lye solution when I am moving it anywhere. I have a pitcher with one of those pop up openings, not a swivel one, so that it is harder for little hands to figure out. (I know, he's only 6mo. but he is only going to get bigger, stronger and smarter, so I am implementing my strategies now, so that I am not working overtime to stay ahead of him LOL)

I rinse my lye containers out immediately and put them up as high as I can. I make all of my soap in a 5 gallon bucket in my sink, and I pour into molds in the other side of my sink so that all raw soap drips can be wiped or rinsed as soon as I am done. I then move my mold into a box that closes and that gets put carefully up on a shelf in a closet and covered with a towel and a blanket so that it by chance it gets pulled down or spilled, it will spill in the box and if it leaks out of the box, it goes into the towel and the blanket is back up for the towel. It also helps insulate the soap. ;0)

Another thing is that you can add things that you know will accelerate your trace so that the actual time spent mixing is minimal. I add Shea Aloe at the end of my process to accelerate and speed up my process.

I hope that some of this has given you some ideas on how to manage the combo of kids and soaping. I know that it can be a huge project to coordinate them, especially with more kids, but it can be done and it gets easier the more you do it because you know what you have to do to get it all done in a short amount of time and keep yourself and the little ones safe.

HTH!
Valor

 

[krissy]

i have a 7 and 9 year old and i showed them what the lye container looks like and explained to them that what i am touching is poison. i told them that once i have my gloves on, they are not to come into the kitchen without asking and that they must make sure not to bump me or touch me when i have the lye or the solution. i mix everything in my sink and leave it there to cool down. i mostly will make soap at night because then it is easier

 

[TessC]

My son is seven, and I've done the same as krissy. He knows what the lye pitcher looks like (and it looks nothing at all like anything we ever use for food or drink, has biohazard stickers on it, etc), he knows how important it is to stay clear while I'm working, and he knows that once I say, "I'm about to make soap" it's time for him to go get a drink and snack, because he's about to be banished from the kitchen.


The dog isn't ever allowed in the kitchen, so he's not an issue, but one of the cats tried to trip me the other day while I was carrying the bucket of melted oils and butters across the room. I always make sure the cats are out of the room before I pick up the lye pitcher because I know their ultimate goal in life is to trip and kill me, but I didn't check before picking up the oil bucket. Evil heifers.

The one of yours I'd worry most about is the toddler, as they're too little to grasp the danger. Can you soap after he or she is down for the night, or maybe ask a relative or friend to babysit so that you can soap worry-free?

 

[valor]

Evil heifers.

LOL!

 

[Sibi]

I have a 13 year old son and he's a very well behaved boy BUT I don't like taking any chances, ever. Especially when it comes to the safety of my son. Therefore I only make soap when he's not in the house or at night when he's in bed sleeping. Better safe than sorry!

 

[kitkat_pro]

I have a 3 year old little girl who will climb the wall to get what she wants. I soap in the back room RTCP when she is sleeping, but I am perinoid that she will wake up and want in the room. So I get everything ready and then mix my lye and as soon as it is blended I add it and then put my containers on the top shelf.

Once I am done I shut the window (to keep the cat out) and I lock the door from the outside when I am done.