Moved to Hard Water Land. Need to Chelate, BAD!

Susie · Jul 12, 2017

So, I recently moved to Hard Water Land (AKA Dallas/Fort Worth metro area), and all of my soaps, including three pounds of liquid soap paste, are made without a chelator. I read DeeAnna's excellent instructions on using EDTA for bar soap, and plan to use them, but I also need to make liquid soap that does not leave my hands ... icky. Anyone have suggestions/instructions, or is it the same as bar soap, despite extra dilution for the foamers?

Also, is there any way to fix the already made ls paste, or am I shipping this all off to family in Soft Water Land?

IrishLass · Jul 12, 2017

I feel for you, Susie- I live in hardwaterland, too, although not in Texas. I use terasodium edta in both my NaOH soaps and my liquid soap. Fear not- you don't need to re-do you paste. When I make my LS, I just add my edta at dilution time. I mix it in my dilution water.

Edited to add- uh-oh, I think I misunderstood your question regarding fixing your paste? Do the folks that you send paste to dilute it themselves or do they just use the paste as-is?

IrishLass

DeeAnna · Jul 12, 2017

I agree with IL.

I figure the dosage based on the soap paste weight, not the diluted weight, whether I'm doing bar soap or liquid soap. Although I normally add ETDA to my soap pot, I wouldn't hesitate to add it to my diluted LS if I forgot to add it to the pot.

Susie · Jul 12, 2017

Thank you both!

My family knows how to dilute ls paste. I write the instructions right on the bag. I use your recipe, IL, and so they just add 12 oz H2O to a SS pot or a quart Mason jar, and toss the paste in. Then they can wait or heat it up, it is up to them. They all live where there is soft water, so they could use it as is. It saves quite a bit of shipping costs when I can just send the paste.

MullersLaneFarm · Jan 1, 2018

Where are you buying Tetrasodium EDTA?

eta: Found that Jenny Welch has some at LotionCrafter ...

Susie · Jan 1, 2018

Yep, Lotioncrafter or Amazon. Whichever has the best price/shipping combo.

DeeAnna · Jan 1, 2018

That's where I get mine -- Lotioncrafter. I think you can also get it at saveOnCitric. Be sure to get TETRA sodium EDTA, not DI sodium.

cmzaha · Jan 1, 2018

I purchase mine from SavononCitric

MJZCAT · Mar 9, 2018

Hey, new here. I was enticed into this forum by the discussion of hard water solutions for bar soap. I have dug around but couldn't find "DeeAnna's excellent instructions on using EDTA for bar soap" so I thought it was time to join in and learn more to make a better bar. Can someone point me in the right direction? Is there any downside to using EDTA? Is there any danger I need to be aware of?