Milk soap went moldy....

[cmzaha]

Okay, so maybe I'm still confused and off base, but I saw the heading "additional oil" and saw "wheat germ" and "jojoba" right below that, so I assumed "wheat germ" was shorthand for "wheat germ oil".

I had a comment to make but will behave myself and just say a 4yr soapmaker should know Wheat Germ Oil has to be refrigerated, and is not really suitable for soapmaking as a superfat, especially a huge superfat
Those are really ugly and do look like mold and other things. I would toss the entire batch if it were me

 

[lenarenee]

I have seen soap go moldy: after making a batch I stuck the dirty bowls and such in a plastic bag to clean later. Later ended up being about a week later and when I pulled them out - there was dark green and black mold. It looks very much like the dark spots on the pics.

 

[Arimara]

I would really throw that soap out at this point. I'm not a science buff but my foodie background still sees what's going on in that soap as a red flag. Since you said the darker parts smelled funny, I'm of a mind that it's no good. I can't say that there's mold in there but rancid oils can turn into a nasty shade of brown. Now I have to go and make a little kid some salad.

 

[Soapmaker145]

Since I've used wheat germ oil in soaps without any problem and at a higher percentage than you did, I'll say it isn't the wheat germ oil. We use wheat germ oil for food (packaged under nitrogen, always refrigerated). When I have extra, I add to soaps.

I think the problem with the recipe is the amount of milk that was added. You are at ~3:1 milk to lye. It's way too much liquid. Plus it could have added significantly to the superfat if you used whole milk. It lowered the pH in your cured soap down to a level that allowed the mold to grow (below 9.0). It also added other edibles.

Check the pH of the soap if you have the right pH strip.

The only change I would have made to your recipe is to reduce the liquid volume and use less milk (100 to 150 grams and use water for the rest). Better yet, skip the milk and use buttermilk instead. The combination of oils you used makes a lovely soap. I'm sorry you lost this batch after a long wait.

If you are using wheat germ, you need to grind it super fine in order for the lye to do its job.

 

[penelopejane]

The OP said they cured the soap for a month. That suggests to me they then wrapped it in plastic. The moist nature of the environment inside the plastic may have aided mold growth that isn't normally seen.

 

[hoegarden]

Actually with the current formula, I won't expect my superfat to be more than 10% here. This is a repeated formula and I have no issue previously.

Thus, I was rather shock to see this batch ending up like that.

I usually cure for 2 months before wrapping up but for this batch, it was cured for a month instead.

I stay in a country where its hot and humid all year round, thus wondering if that contribute to soaps not cured long enough...

Thanks all for your suggestions n ideas. I will look into my formula again

 

[kchaystack]

Plugging this into soapee, it actually looks like about a 5% superfat/lye discount. Of course, how pure the NaOH is and the fat content of the milk will drive that up. Maybe this will help the experts...

 

[DeeAnna]

Oh, gosh, I read the OP's recipe wrong -- I mistook the lye weights for oil weights. And I can't claim the reason is I'm math challenged -- y'all will laugh at me. This is embarrassing. Thanks for pointing this out, KC.

 

[Soapmaker145]

I usually cure for 2 months before wrapping up but for this batch, it was cured for a month instead.

I stay in a country where its hot and humid all year round, thus wondering if that contribute to soaps not cured long enough...

One month is too short a cure even if you used a water discount. If you live in a humid climate, you might want to weigh your soaps and check their weight periodically until they stop losing. It may take longer than 8 weeks. I cure my soaps in a basement at a constant temperature with dehumidifiers running when the humidity is high. I never wrap them.

I still don't know if you used wheat germ oil or wheat germ.

 

[hoegarden]

I still don't know if you used wheat germ oil or wheat germ.

I use the wheatgerm oil here.
I add the wheatgerm oil to my whole batch of other oil before adding in the lye. I don't usually add in oil to the soap mixture after mixing/tracing. I am bad at that and thus not willing to risk that I am not able to mix in the oil at trace.