Soap Curing Storage

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
30723316506_49089ea7c9_c.jpg


I found a bunch of paper sorting shelves at the thrift store. They charged me 20 cents a piece for them. The soap fits great, with plenty of room for air to move.
 
I live in the deep south. We have humidity. Even in winter. Dehumidifier machines do not last long down here. I could never cure my soap in a closed box. Even with a silicone packet. It would grow mold. And it is very difficult for me to understand how a dehumidifier can pull moisture out of a closed box.

I'm in Alabama. What kind of dehumidifiers are you getting? Ours last for years. We have to empty them 2-3 times a day (1 gallon capacity) but they have held up.
 
I found a bunch of paper sorting shelves at the thrift store. They charged me 20 cents a piece for them. The soap fits great, with plenty of room for air to move.

This is brilliant! I have some of those, and it never occurred to me.

Dixie, I have not bought one in forever. I went through four in one year to try to please the ex, but they just did not hold up. But could you use that water for soaping? I mean, that should be pure water, right?

But I still don't understand how moisture from the soap is supposed to be removed while it is in a closed box.
 
Last edited:
I live in the deep south. We have humidity. Even in winter. Dehumidifier machines do not last long down here. I could never cure my soap in a closed box. Even with a silicone packet. It would grow mold. And it is very difficult for me to understand how a dehumidifier can pull moisture out of a closed box.

I don't expect the dehumidifier to pull moisture out of the box, just the environment that the boxes are stored in. I don't use air tight plastic, I use cardboard, and cardboard isn't air or moisture tight.
 
Chefmom's idea is similar to Kchaystack's method of storing lye -- put the lye containers in a plastic bucket, add a desiccant (chemical that removes moisture) to the bucket, and seal tightly. Most normal containers, boxes, and packaging materials are not perfectly air tight, so keeping the environment around the container as dry as possible is a good thing.

On a related note: Silica gel or other desiccant has to be renewed when it becomes saturated with water. If you don't renew it when it is saturated, the desiccant becomes completely useless. I would probably not choose to use a desiccant with curing soap due to the large amount of water evaporating from the soap. It could work if a person was willing to use a large amount of desiccant, watch things like a hawk, and renew the desiccant often. But I'm not that organized. :)
 
Last edited:
This is brilliant! I have some of those, and it never occurred to me.

Dixie, I have not bought one in forever. I went through four in one year to try to please the ex, but they just did not hold up. But could you use that water for soaping? I mean, that should be pure water, right?

But I still don't understand how moisture from the soap is supposed to be removed while it is in a closed box.

The cardboard flats that I use usually have some vents. Also, cardboard is not air-tight.
 
I have mine curing on a baker's bun rack that we bought at a restaurant store. I have a few aluminum trays that are lined with parchment paper and the rest of the shelves are made out of plywood that my husband cut to fit. I like it because it has adjustable shelves. Once they are cured I put them in plastic storage boxes and they still fit once I move the shelves.
 


Had to share this - - It's a shoe rack, but it works great for soap storage! The best part is the slats are just wide enough that my round soaps fit just right vertically. Saves me a ton of space. I can get four rows of soap on each shelf.

Furinno FNCJ-33005 Pine Solid Wood 4-Tier Shoe Rack, Natural https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ENZ3UGY/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I use an Elfa unit

I searched for ages for something appropriate to cure soaps in.

We wound up getting an Elfa drawer unit from the Container store (not cheap, but durable), with mesh drawers. You can customize how large of a unit you like and how deep and wide the drawers will be.

It looks like this one I pilfered from the internet. But ours is larger and taller. Our unit can hold 1 batch of 34 bars per drawer sturdily. We have a 6 or 7 drawer unit. And they're easily expandable too.

bri259_wh.jpg
 
Back
Top