Please Talk to Me about Clean-up!

[HomekeepingGran]

Last evening I made a very small batch of cold process soap. Everything went quite well: it traced beautifully and I got it into the mold and wrapped cozily under blankets for the night. But then I took a look at all the pitchers and utensils I had used, coated in raw soap or perhaps a bit of residue from the lye/water mixture, sitting in my sink. Hmmmmm... these things are not going to clean themselves up, are they? I wiped and rinsed them out and eventually put them into the dishwasher, running it immediately. But what should I have done? (My Internet was down or I would have sent an SOS to the Soap Making Forum.)

 

[dagmar88]

you've done exactly what you should have done!

 

[Deda]

What you did works fine, unless you have a septic system.

I scrape all the soap out before I start. I don't have a dishwasher in my soap kitchen, but I have a big laundry sink. If I'm feeling a little lazy (usually) I load the buckets from my batches and all the utensils into a laundry basket and take them into the kitchen and run them through the dishwasher there. Then drag them back into the soap kitchen - or just let them sit at the top of the stairs...

We didn't use paper towels, plates or napkins in our house.

In the last year I've lightened up on that and now I use paper towels while I'm soaping, measure my FO/EOs in paper cups, and spread butcher paper on the floor before I start.

 

[HomekeepingGran]

We have a clearwater system. Water from the sinks, dishwasher and washing machine goes onto the grass eventually — which I didn't even think about last night.

 

[MikeInPdx]

Here's another suggestion on what you can do.

Take some old kitchen towels and wipe everything out (keeping your gloves on of course). Then set the soaping stuff aside until the next day. Throw the towels into an old plastic bag and set aside for a day or so.

When you're ready to clean up, the soap will be saponified enough to aid in the cleaning and you shoulnd't have to do more than a quick wash/rinse on the pots and utensils, and toss the towels in the washer. There will be enough soap in there to clean them.

 

[HomekeepingGran]

Mike, a version of your suggestion actually ran through my mind last night and we have no children or animals here so waiting is a possibility. So it only takes a day or two for some (most?) of the saponification to occur?

I can see this working as long as you don't need to make multiple batches.

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[hestia]

We have old, cranky pipes and my DH gripes when they plug up...so I wipe out my soap pot and utensils before washing them. What you did was just fine! I can't leave mine sitting around without incurring "the look", otherwise I'm sure there would be many times when the morning after would be clean up time (i tend to soap in the late, late hours)

 

[MikeInPdx]

Mike, a version of your suggestion actually ran through my mind last night and we have no children or animals here so that could be possible. So it only takes a day or two for some (most?) of the saponification to occur?

I can see this working as long as you don't need to make multiple batches.

Yes.....most of the saponification will have taken place in the first 24 hours on most soap. Granted that doesn't mean it's ready for bathing, but for utensils and towels, it's fine.

 

[HomekeepingGran]

hestia, I sure wouldn't want my husband to get burned on raw soap that I left out. It just seems like a possible safety hazard to not either clean up right away or put everything up safely out of the way until sap occurs.

One more question as long as someone is willing to answer: I just checked my batch from last night and it looks and feels hard but is still slightly warm. Should I wait a little longer, or is the blanket just holding in the heat from earlier when it was working? (Perhaps it might make a difference so I'll tell you it is basically a lard formula with some coconut, olive and a bit of castor oils. I poured into the mold at about 8 p.m. last evening.)

 

[MikeInPdx]

This is just me Carla, so anyone else can chime in.

With the exception of salt bars, I cut when the soaps have fully cooled. I cut salt bars when still warm and pliable because they will crumble if cool.

 

[HomekeepingGran]

Right-O, Mike. I definitely want full saponification and if it needs a few more hours, I can wait.

Or... can I?

LOL.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I clean my lye jug straight away and everything else the next day or the day after. It's usually only a pot, stick blender and scraper, maybe a few spoons.

 

[MikeInPdx]

Right-O, Mike. I definitely want full saponification and if it needs a few more hours, I can wait.

Or... can I?

LOL.

You sounds as bad as me!

 

[Sunkawakan]

I do cphp in my kitchen, cp in the sink on one side, lye pitcher in the other. After I've poured the dry lye into the water, the measuring container sits in the sink with water running while I'm dissolving my lye. Water off (so as not to waste water) while I'm pouring into my cp, then the pitcher gets rinsed 5 or 6 times while I'm stick blending (boredom mainly waiting for trace). From there, it goes directly into the dishwasher. After molding, everything else gets scraped clean and rinsed with HOT water and into the dishwasher. As I always use vinegar in my dishwasher (keeps glasses "sparkly ), everything comes out completely washed and rinsed well. Very little down the sink, easy cleanup. My sb sits in the oil measuring cup in between uses and I'm sure to scrape really well before putting the cp in the dw.

 

[HomekeepingGran]

Jenny, it didn't help that I had dirty dishes on the counter. I should have cleaned all that up before even starting soap. It kind of looked formidable by the time I finished the soap, too.

 

[Sunkawakan]

Sounds like my kitchen after my bf has made a simple cheese sandwich!

 

[Cuckoo Bananas]

I do my soaping outside in my open garage. I have a big storage tub that I keep everything in and I convert that to my washing up tub after I'm finished. Sometimes I dont get to it till the morning after in which case I just put the lid on the tub and leave it. Theres only other adults in my house and none of them would touch my stuff so its more about safety for animals and birds.