Mixing lye indoors or outdoors?

[Andrew]

here is a video of mixing lye and water together. As you oc. I think i will start a thread about what everyone's safety precautions are and hopefully the rest of this thread can stay on topic.

 

[Arimara]

That video is still irresponsible and dangerous advice. It does not take into consideration the type of water being used by the soaper, let alone what additives were added to the water. Not everyone on this forum lives in your area, never mind the continent. There are some soapers that have much harder water where they live than we know and adding water to NaOH could cause a lye volcano in that case.

 

[linne1gi]

Again, this is a very dangerous practice and should definitely not be advocated to new soapers. In theory, Andrew, you can and will do what you want, but please don't suggest this technique to new soapers, it is dangerous.

 

[earlene]

I am new to CP soaps and I have a small kitchen (not much counter space to work with). We have a room in our basement that I plan on setting up as my soap room, but I'm not sure if it's a good idea to mix the lye in the room or to go outside and do it. I have 2 kids and 4 ferrets, but they don't go anywhere near my soap making stuff. I have all the needed protective gear for mixing, but would it be safer to mix the lye outdoors then bring it downstairs to my soap room to add in the oils?

When you are ready to start masterbatching your lye, this set up might work for you. But even if you don't want to master batch yet, you can still do this with each soaping session. It's what I do for masterbatching lye.

Follow all safety precautions, wearing personal protective gear (mask, goggles, apron or other protective clothing.) Never pour water onto dry lye: Always add the dry lye to water, carefully and slowly enough that it doesn't splash up on you. Use a lye safe container, preferably with a pour spout and a lid to prevent evaporation from escaping while the lye solution cools.

I mix my lye solution in my kitchen sink. First distilled water weighed out and put into a tall container, set securely in the sink. Then my dry lye, weighed out and slowly added to the container of water (sitting in the sink), stirring to ensure it dissolves completely.

Then I cover the container with the lid to ensure any evaporation falls back into solution. Once the solution is cool enough, I pour the lye solution into storage bottles that have child safety tight fitting lids. I use a funnel for this pouring because my storage bottles have a smaller opening and it prevents spillage. I ensure the lids are tightly fitted with no leaks, then place the bottles into a larger plastic bucket to make carrying the masterbatched lye solution to the area where I keep it in storage when not in use. (I keep it in an extra shower that we don't use for it's intended purpose.)

When I make soap, I go to the storage area (another room than where I soap, obviously since it's a bathroom) and carry the safely secured lye solution to the soaping area. Not a chance of spillage, because my double container carrying method is very secure. I have never dropped them, but if I did, the bottles have very secure lids and the bucket adds an extra layer of protection. I think it would work very well for mixing lye in one room and carrying it to another.

Some folks mix lye on their stoves using the stove vent to pull away fumes. I have a gas stove, so would not risk that kind of danger. But with a glass top electric stove, it would work fairly well. But I prefer the sink method myself.

You could do the same thing in your basement though. As long as you are wearing your PPE (personal protective equipment) and follow the safety precautions so adding the dry lye to the water, you should be fine.

 

[RKrynicki]

When you are ready to start masterbatching your lye, this set up might work for you. But even if you don't want to master batch yet, you can still do this with each soaping session. It's what I do for masterbatching lye.

Follow all safety precautions, wearing personal protective gear (mask, goggles, apron or other protective clothing.) Never pour water onto dry lye: Always add the dry lye to water, carefully and slowly enough that it doesn't splash up on you. Use a lye safe container, preferably with a pour spout and a lid to prevent evaporation from escaping while the lye solution cools.

I mix my lye solution in my kitchen sink. First distilled water weighed out and put into a tall container, set securely in the sink. Then my dry lye, weighed out and slowly added to the container of water (sitting in the sink), stirring to ensure it dissolves completely.

Then I cover the container with the lid to ensure any evaporation falls back into solution. Once the solution is cool enough, I pour the lye solution into storage bottles that have child safety tight fitting lids. I use a funnel for this pouring because my storage bottles have a smaller opening and it prevents spillage. I ensure the lids are tightly fitted with no leaks, then place the bottles into a larger plastic bucket to make carrying the masterbatched lye solution to the area where I keep it in storage when not in use. (I keep it in an extra shower that we don't use for it's intended purpose.)

When I make soap, I go to the storage area (another room than where I soap, obviously since it's a bathroom) and carry the safely secured lye solution to the soaping area. Not a chance of spillage, because my double container carrying method is very secure. I have never dropped them, but if I did, the bottles have very secure lids and the bucket adds an extra layer of protection. I think it would work very well for mixing lye in one room and carrying it to another.

Some folks mix lye on their stoves using the stove vent to pull away fumes. I have a gas stove, so would not risk that kind of danger. But with a glass top electric stove, it would work fairly well. But I prefer the sink method myself.

You could do the same thing in your basement though. As long as you are wearing your PPE (personal protective equipment) and follow the safety precautions so adding the dry lye to the water, you should be fine.

THAT IS A GREAT IDEA! I may do that to make it easier on myself and also to save time as well. My husband is helping me make sure my mask is the right one and that I have everything I need for when I do this. The only question I have is how do you do masterbatching? Do you use bottles similar to bleach and detergent bottles to put the mixture in? (Okay, that's 2 questions)

 

[jcandleattic]

THAT IS A GREAT IDEA! I may do that to make it easier on myself and also to save time as well. My husband is helping me make sure my mask is the right one and that I have everything I need for when I do this. The only question I have is how do you do masterbatching? Do you use bottles similar to bleach and detergent bottles to put the mixture in? (Okay, that's 2 questions)

I masterbatch in a large HDPE bucket then when it's cool I tranfer it to a well cleaned out liquid laundry detergent bottle. I make my masterbatch solution a 50/50 ratio, and at time of soaping - depending on the lye concentration I want - I will add the extra liquid at that time.

Never pour water onto dry lye: Always add the dry lye to water, carefully and slowly enough that it doesn't splash up on you.

THIS cannot be stressed enough. There is a LOT of bad and dangerous information out on the web, so please use precautions when working with a caustic substance.

 

[Nanette]

I mix my lye solution outdoors...my house is very small. To date I have not tripped but I could see how that would happen. I wish I had a vent to the outside that I could mix under--lye into water!

 

[LilianNoir]

I agree with dibbles. This is very important, water should never be added to lye and we need to speak out because there are a lot of new soapers on the forum. Always add lye to your liquids never the other way around!

I'm bad at remembering things, so I use the mnemonic: you "lie"(lye) into water (like a person laying down in a bathtub of water).

I also struggle with where to mix the lye and water. I have two fish tanks in my kitchen, including a small one right by sink, so doing it in the sink is out. I could do it on the stove with the vent going, but I'm still not comfortable with the fumes corroding the metal hood and impacting the cats and fish.

On the other hand, I live in florida where it is VERY humid outside, and as I have already experienced, the lye WILL start reacting immediately with the moisture in the air.

 

[earlene]

here is a video of mixing lye and water together. As you oc. I think i will start a thread about what everyone's safety precautions are and hopefully the rest of this thread can stay on topic.

When mixing lye, either indoors or outdoors, personal protective equipment should always be worn. That includes gloves. In this video no gloves are being worn and that sets a very poor example to anyone who will view it. Also the method for mixing lye as suggested by the majority of experienced soap makers, is the reverse of what is generally recommended, for safety reasons. This link explains why very well: https://www.naturesgardencandles.com/blog/tag/never-add-water-to-lye/

 

[Andrew]

I'm bad at remembering things, so I use the mnemonic: you "lie"(lye) into water (like a person laying down in a bathtub of water).

I also struggle with where to mix the lye and water. I have two fish tanks in my kitchen, including a small one right by sink, so doing it in the sink is out. I could do it on the stove with the vent going, but I'm still not comfortable with the fumes corroding the metal hood and impacting the cats and fish.

On the other hand, I live in florida where it is VERY humid outside, and as I have already experienced, the lye WILL start reacting immediately with the moisture in the air.

I mix my lye solution outdoors...my house is very small. To date I have not tripped but I could see how that would happen. I wish I had a vent to the outside that I could mix under--lye into water!

Can you empty out an old oil container/ You can mix it up in that, cap it, and walk indoors with it being safely contained.

 

[dibbles]

When mixing lye, either indoors or outdoors, personal protective equipment should always be worn. That includes gloves. In this video no gloves are being worn and that sets a very poor example to anyone who will view it. Also the method for mixing lye as suggested by the majority of experienced soap makers, is the reverse of what is generally recommended, for safety reasons. This link explains why very well: https://www.naturesgardencandles.com/blog/tag/never-add-water-to-lye/

Ditto the gloves comment. But I don’t remember ever seeing someone suggesting that water be added to lye?

 

[DWinMadison]

Agree with all the above about never adding water to lye. 1) It can violently react and 2) the lye will tend to cake before it dissolves potentially leaving undissolved bits of lye in your finished soap (personal experience from early on in my soaping adventures)--and a nasty surprise for someone in the shower. Yikes! I'm not much for rigid rules, but this is one that is generally agreed upon by almost everyone in the soaping community. The old soaping adage says "Always add lye to 'wattah,' like you ought'a."

 

[Andrew]

Here is a safety procedures thread if you want to follow or add to it. I think the original poster's question has been pretty thoroughly answered.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/what-are-your-safety-procedures.74813/

 

[RKrynicki]

Don't worry everyone. I may very well be new to this process of making soap, but I have read a bunch of books and watched a lot of the Soap Queen's videos to know to add the lye into the water and NOT the reverse. I do appreciate ALL of the help and now I am not as nervous to start this process as soon as I can. I'M SO EXCITED!

 

[Andrew]

Don't worry everyone. I may very well be new to this process of making soap, but I have read a bunch of books and watched a lot of the Soap Queen's videos to know to add the lye into the water and NOT the reverse. I do appreciate ALL of the help and now I am not as nervous to start this process as soon as I can. I'M SO EXCITED!

definitely check out soaping 101 on youtube. that is a great resource.

 

[RKrynicki]

Here is a safety procedures thread if you want to follow or add to it. I think the original poster's question has been pretty thoroughly answered.

https://www.soapmakingforum.com/threads/what-are-your-safety-procedures.74813/

When I read that I noticed that they said that mixing lye into water or the reverse makes "no difference". I personally will always mix it lye into water, despite what others suggest or say. If it works for them doing the reverse, hey, awesome for them, but I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

[DWinMadison]

Back on topic, I was watching a YouTube this morning about Soapmaker 3, but the lady doing the demo got off topic while talking about master batching and buying in bulk. She mentioned that when she master batches her lye, she does it inside using equal part of lye and ice. I'm not sure I'd to equal parts because of caking, but using ice would keep the fumes down.

 

[earlene]

THAT IS A GREAT IDEA! I may do that to make it easier on myself and also to save time as well. My husband is helping me make sure my mask is the right one and that I have everything I need for when I do this. The only question I have is how do you do masterbatching? Do you use bottles similar to bleach and detergent bottles to put the mixture in? (Okay, that's 2 questions)

I do as jacandleattic mentions 50:50 lye to water.

Here is a link with good information about the types of lye-safe containers to usehttps://classicbells.com/soap/lyeStorage.html

I mix in a tall plastic pitcher (similar to this one). I store my lye solution is the containers from Essential Depot that my NaOH came in when I purchased it. (Link to what they look like.) Both of these items I use are of the HDPE plastic with a recycle code #5, so quite lye-safe.

I like the ED bottles because they are extremely safe (child safety cap) and the size is great for my old, weak, arthritic hands (heavier bottles of liquids are getting to be too much for me these past few years.)

You don't have to masterbatch at the [50% Lye Concentration] if you don't want to. You can actually masterbatch to whatever amount you normally use. For example if you always use a [33% Lye Concentration] for all your recipes, you could do it that way, too. But with [50% Lye] it takes up less space and it's the highest concentration that lye will remain in solution. For more on how to use masterbatched lye solution, there are many threads on the topic here at SMF with detail about calculations.

NB: You may have to add back in a few (3-8 grams) of water that may be lost to evaporation when you initially make the [50% Lye Concentration].

 

[linne1gi]

I mix my lye indoors because I live in South Florida and it's always hotter outside than in. I have recently started master batching because it's convenient. I mix in a large bucket and transfer the cooled lye solution to smaller bottles with tight caps. I clean out my bucket and keep my bottles in there. The whole shebang lives in my dining room(where I soap) under the dining table. My husband always says "Lin, just don't blow up the house, okay?". LOL.

 

[Andrew]

Back on topic, I was watching a YouTube this morning about Soapmaker 3, but the lady doing the demo got off topic while talking about master batching and buying in bulk. She mentioned that when she master batches her lye, she does it inside using equal part of lye and ice. I'm not sure I'd to equal parts because of caking, but using ice would keep the fumes down.

I regularly make my lye water at 50% and have zero clumping issues. I think clumping has more to do with inadequate mixing than anything else.