My lye water turned pink - rain water

[glendam]

Has anyone who uses rain water have this happen before?
Since distilled water is getting hard to come by, I decided to collect rain water the other day to try. The water looked clear / transparent and I passed it through a fine colander and froze it.
Yesterday I used it to make lye water and two of them turned pink (the third one is a softer pink). It seems the pink level may be related to how soon I covered the container . So my guess is that the pink is oxidation. I used a stainless steel spoon and plastic container as usual. Besides the water source being different, I added tetrasodium edta, which I have not done in a while but has not caused this before. Any clues?

pic is from last night, the scale light can be seen on the right one on top, you can ignore that blue coloring

I took the ph of the water (from a bottle container I had saved) and it seems above 5, close to the color of 7 but much paler. Then Compared it to distilled water which seemed closer to 7, more of a light green. I had used the lye before without this issue (from Essential depot) so I am inclined to think is the rain water.

 

[DeeAnna]

Rainwater is often acidic. Also you live in a metro area based on your Zip. Chemical contaminants from air pollution are another possibility.

 

[glendam]

Rainwater is often acidic. Also you live in a metro area based on your Zip. Chemical contaminants from air pollution are another possibility.

Good points! I wonder if it is safe to make soap with it. It would be interesting to try

 

[Belindasuds]

I use rain water regularly and have not had this happen before. I imagine that different environments affect the water. I think @DeeAnna is onto something regarding the possibility of contaminants.

If you have a dehumidifier, you can use the water it collects if you are in a pinch. Just be sure that your machine and catch container are clean.

 

[glendam]

I use rain water regularly and have not had this happen before. I imagine that different environments affect the water. I think @DeeAnna is onto something regarding the possibility of contaminants.

If you have a dehumidifier, you can use the water it collects if you are in a pinch. Just be sure that your machine and catch container are clean.

Thank you, that actually helps, I do have a dehumidifier, also have a water filter for tap water, may try both just to experiment!

 

[Belindasuds]

Thank you, that actually helps, I do have a dehumidifier, also have a water filter for tap water, may try both just to experiment!

My pleasure! Best of luck and I'd love to hear how it goes

 

[glendam]

My pleasure! Best of luck and I'd love to hear how it goes

Thank you! Well, so far all three soaps seem normal. The first behaved as expected, the second came to trace fast, but that usually happens when I add colloidal oatmeal, honey and milk. And the third one stayed fluid as I used more fluid oils for the screen challenge. None of them have a pink tint where it shouldn't be (I did add pink colorant to one of them). I will monitor them to see if anything else changes, so far so good, they are all in curing rack.

 

[Belindasuds]

Thank you! Well, so far all three soaps seem normal. The first behaved as expected, the second came to trace fast, but that usually happens when I add colloidal oatmeal, honey and milk. And the third one stayed fluid as I used more fluid oils for the screen challenge. None of them have a pink tint where it shouldn't be (I did add pink colorant to one of them). I will monitor them to see if anything else changes, so far so good, they are all in curing rack.

Sounds promising! Looking forward to seeing your creations!