My problems with lye

[misfities]

There are two small problems I have with lye. The first is that after spooning the amount into a bowl, there is always some residual lye or lye crust left over after pouring it into the distilled water. I'm not real sure how to dispose of that correctly. Should I just wash it out in the sink? Is there some other way?

Another problem is that one or two lye granules always seems to bounce off wherever it wants to go. If I never find this one granule, what's going to happen? Someone will touch it by accident or step on it and their flesh will burn off?

I've been using latex gloves and haven't had any problems handling lye, but even with a somewhat decent dust mask, the fumes are pretty strong on me. I try to do my work outside, but its still a bit rough. Any solutions there?:wtf:

 

[alfalfahead]

Here's some tips I've found useful.

- find a plastic funnel and you can use that to transfer (this could avoid any 'splashing' where you lose a few beads/bits of powder
- lye hurts. It's going to burn but if it's a few beads etc it's not going to be any more painful than a heat burn (ie from cooking etc). Don't worry too much about the few lost drops. Most likely if you're in your kitchen you it might get swept under the benches etc or you might be able to use a wet cloth and wipe down the area and then wash the cloth thoroughly.
- once you've made your lye solution you can pour it into your oils through a sift so that any undissolved beads can be collected easily
- one of my close soaping buddies puts a plastic bag covering most of the lye/water solution so she can stir easily but doesn't have an 'open' container (I guess it's half open)

Good luck. You're doing the right things thus far!!

 

[Susie]

Yes, you should rinse your containers with lots of cold water to remove any remaining lye. It is used as drain cleaner(in MUCH larger amounts than what you will be rinsing down them in this situation), so it will not hurt your plumbing.

Try wiping down the container you are measuring the lye into with a dryer sheet before putting the lye in there. It will reduce the static that causes the lye to go all over. Does your lye come in a tub of some sort that you are spooning it into another container? If so, I would probably rub the dryer sheet on the spoon and the tub you are spooning out of.

No one's flesh is going to burn off when exposed to one granule of lye. It is best to avoid having it get away from you, though.

Don't have your face directly over the lye water. I work at arm's length and judge whether it is dissolved or not by listening and feeling the spoon in the bowl. You can tell when it is still grainy sounding and feeling or not. Be sure the wind is blowing the fumes away from you, not into your face. I work under the vent hood on the stove, and have no problems.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

A dust mask won't do anything for fumes I'm afraid. You'll need a mask for that, which is not like the wee fabric ones.

Mnay people just keep well clear of the lye, which is much better than having an innapropriate mask and breathing in the fumes

 

[Seawolfe]

I put plastic trays over the burners on my stove, and use that as my work surfaces, and take advantage of the extractor fan for fumes.

And I pour my lye from the bottle into a disposable cup that's been tared on the scale. I don't use a spoon, just pour in (and sometimes out) till the lye amount is right - then pour from the cup to the water. The cup goes under a running tap to get rid of any granules that hung on. This process seems to minimize loose lye granules for me.