New to soaping need setup help pls

[shabaity]

I would like to start soaping but all the advice I've seen online has been for soaping in a kitchen due to familial health issues I can't use my kitchen. I do however have a shed with windows and vents that is close enough that I can run a drop cord. Does anyone have advice on a safe set up I can use with these restrictions?

 

[AlchemyandAshes]

As long as you have clean flat surfaces and good ventilation, that's all you need.
I wouldn't suggest storing your oils or curing your soap in an environment with unstable temperatures and humidity though. That's the perfect set up for DOS/rancidity/oxidation.

 

[shabaity]

Thank you so much. I was planning to store everything but the lye (that will be staying in the shed I'm paranoid and have several pets) in either my closet or in the walk in closet in another room. I just wanted to be sure i could safely set up out there, currently planning on using crock pot method since i wont have a stove, sink, or anything out there that I can't hook up to a drop cord lol.

 

[lsg]

You can also use a hot plate burner. It should work with a heavy duty drop cord. I would get some cheap shelving and a long table to use as a work space. That way you can store your equipment and work top. It would be nice if you could get someone to wire your little workshop for lights, a heater and plugins. I know that is not always possible though.

 

[shabaity]

As of now my dad will be wiring lights but isn't willing to wire electricity to it as long as there is no electricity my grandfather does not get a wild hair and try to go use the power tools stored out there. Its his health problems that have me planning to work out there. I've got some friends helping my clean it out somewhat and moving in a table work space, we already have shelving for it, and I have a small space heater for use when I'm actually out there.

 

[nebetmiw]

If you have a microwave. You can heat your hard oils and then take them to where you soap. They take a bit once heated to solidfy. Only other thing you would need for eletricity is a stick blender. All the rest of the process is done by hand mixing the water and lye and then putting it all together with oils and mixing.

 

[MaitriBB]

I actually use the top of my washer/dryer as my soaping station. I have a baker's rack set off to the right for storage. So you don't need a lot of space, just storage. The only things I use electricity for are my crock pot (for melting the oils while I mix up everything else) and my stick blender.

 

[shabaity]

Thanks for the idea but due to my grandfather having several breathing problems leaving him on oxygen 24 hrs a day I can't work in the house. I'm not willing to take the risk of the lye causing any problems. However i should be able to stick a bakers rack in a spare closet.

 

[new12soap]

Water.

If you have a hose nearby make sure it is on (with a hand nozzle at the end), or at the very least have some jugs or buckets of water close at hand. If the worst case scenario happens and there is an accident with your lye, you need to be able to flush it off your skin ASAP. Even just in the regular course of soapmaking you can get a splash here and there. Make sure you are wearing gloves and eye protection, but please make sure you have at least some extra water available.

 

[Shannon_m]

no joke... I got one little spot on my knuckle the other day.. the raw soap ate through my skin until I bled (yes this was when I noticed... ugh)

 

[melstan775]

That happened to me too Shannon. It's one spot right on the junction of the thumb and forefinger. It's been 5 days and it's still a spot there.

 

[shabaity]

considering a large bucket now and maybe double gloves on my right hand

 

[Shannon_m]

yeah I've splashed on myself cleaning up before but maybe it was already diluted by then so it just made my hands/arms itch for a bit afterwards. This hurt a bit more than that. The mark is actually just a bit red now, it was such a small spot to begin with. Oh and by the time I noticed it, I was at the computer loading pics of the new soap I'd made and my forefinger started to hurt a bit so what did I do? Put it in my mouth. Yep, cute little canker sore on my lip... won't do that again.

 

[robertw98144]

As long as I've been wearing my gloves and had long sleeves on, I haven't gotten any lye burns that have been significant enough to notice. I don't know that you'll need to double glove. It's even more important to have your eye protection/goggles than gloves.

Because of the fumes, I actually walk my water & lye outside when I mix them together. I would consider doing the same with your set-up. I've just found it easier to not try to fight lye fumes indoors when it only takes about a minute to walk outside. Should be easy for you to walk outside the shed to do the mixing. Just a suggestion.

 

[shabaity]

the double glove is i've got a fairly large not yet mature burn scar on that hand that goes down to my wrist so extra precautions till the burn doc is satisfied thats its mature seems like a good idea just in case a hole i dont notice forms... ill have to try outside if the fumes get to much thanks