whenever a thread comes up to do with a safety issue, you come on with your devil may care, try it and see, what is the harm anyway spiel?
I would never tell people to perform an unsafe action (if I ever did so, it was either by mistake or misunderstanding). And it certainly isn't a habit, like you seem to imply.
On this topic:
1. I was expressing disapproval towards what I see as unconstructive criticism (or at least a case where the emphasis is more on criticism rather than on "constructive"). I saw nobody here asking safety help or support either for themselves or for others.
My feelings aren't specifically related to this thread, bur rather something I accumulated from similar threads on this and other forums. And also the news (including TV). As a matter of fact, I did react with oppositional behavior against what I perceived to be oppositional behavior.
At this point, I must apologize to eleraine for venting my oppositional attitude in this thread. This is certainly not personal. It was just a little thingy that triggered a fuse inside my brain.
2. I tried to come up with some factual explanations. For example to explain how it was possible for these people to pour water into lye and still not get burned. By the way, a very tall container might be another explanation.
It seems like the majority of your posts are oppositional.
I'm pretty sure this is not the case, but feel free to prove me wrong.
In most of my posts I try to offer some information or suggestion which I believe to be helpful.
Probably less than 1-2% of my thread contributions are meant as "oppositional", and possibly another 2-3%, may came out as such, against my intent.
But they do tend to be lengthier posts and they may make a stronger impression.
If we were talking opinions here then you would certainly be welcome to yours. But the forum's stance on safety isn't an opinion, it isn't up for debate and when it comes right down to it, this is not a democracy.
This thread didn't looked to me like it was meant to evolve into a valuable safety resource (I mean, before my post for which reason I didn't approach it as a safety discussion).
If I am mistaken about the purpose of this discussion, please allow me to correct myself by adding:
1. Lye (in solid form, liquid form, as dust or vapors) is dangerous and it will burn your skin/eyes / lungs if inhaled / internal organs if ingested.
2. Always wear proper safety equipment (goggles, long sleeves and pants, apron, facial mask, etc.) and check to make sure you have no exposed skin that could come in contact with lye splashes/spills.
3. For handling lye, only use safe tools and containers, made from non reactive metals /materials (detailed information can be researched somewhere else on the forum). Aluminum isn't a good choice and neither is glass, since it may break, certain plastics are safe, but only up to a certain temperature.
4. Dissolve the lye in a well-ventilated area or outside, since the fumes which form are toxic.
5. Mixing lye with water produces a lot of heat. Always pour lye into the water and not the other way around. Never bring lye in close contact with heat/fire or heat the lye solution on the stove.
6. Do not work with lye near children or pets or adults which do not fully understand the safety implications.
7. Make sure you clean up properly your soaping area, since lye remains dangerous even after you have finished soaping.
8. Don't get distracted when working with lye.
it seems that you have a lot of experience with the wrong way to do things.
1. Far beyond the scope of this discussion and as a matter of personal belief, I don't believe in
wrong. I believe there are different actions with different consequences. Which we may like or dislike.
2. But I do like to try new things, however I put a lot of work into research and when safety is concerned, I do take extra precautions.
On that topic, I like to work with the lye solution in the sink and not on the tabletop. Or outside, in which case I still put the lye container into another huge one.
Also, I sometimes use a second layer of protection which can be helpful if your first defense fails (such as glove breakage or if the soap batter finds another way to touch your skin). It's should not be viewed as fool proof, but it does help - a layer of oil applied onto the skin.
By, no pouring water all at one go into lye. He does it slowlyyyyyy. Sad
The way I understand it, lye is most dangerous when touched by a tiny amount of water. The heat will cause the water to boil violently and splash all over the place.
A lot of water will absorb all this heat and stay below the boiling point, without too much splashing. Of course, pouring the whole jug of water at once also may cause splashes because you pour too much water with too much force (unrelated to the fact that you have or not lye in there).
So again, I have not and am not recommending this method, just describing what I've seen happening. It is risky and there is no good reason to take this risk.
