Soap in microwaves

[El_Granado_Loco]

Thought that was interesting to share...

I recently heard that microwaves practically heat up the water molecules and that explains why we don't get burnt touching the recipients to get the food out. Also, that if a ceramic does get hot, that means it 's not well made, it still has some moisture. I find it strange that a ceramic can still keep moisture (it should have evaporated, no?) but have to confess I didn't make any further search. I just - naturally - thought I 'd put some cured soap inside to see what happens.

I put it in the reheat mode and some seconds later it started making foam on the one side, I opened the oven to check and decided it could hold a little longer. The first pic is what it was like after 30 secs.

I turned it upside down and came across this awsome hole you can admire in the second one.

I suppose that means that after 4 months, this soap did have some water left inside that heat made it evaporate and make the foam... roblem:

 

[CaraBou]

that's interesting, it almost looks like a little blowout!

What drove you to do this in the first place -- just to find out if there was still water present? Oh soapers, they are a curious lot!

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

Yeah, I wanted to see if it would get any hot. I knew it was close to be totally dry but still wouldn't think it would stay cold. But if it did stay cold, it would be a reassurance it had totally dried out. I definitely didn't expect it to do what it did! Haha...

 

[JustBeachy]

Oh soapers, they are a curious lot!

Haha, I agree with this 100%. Thank god we're not into making fireworks, with this curiosity. Can you imagine all the , "now i wonder what would happen if I....."

Nice experiment Grande. I liked your logic.

 

[Dorymae]

I think homemade soap will always have some water content. After all homemade soap contains glycerin and glycerin draws water to itself.

 

[Seawolfe]

Microwaves do not only heat water - remember how nice they heat oil? They also heat other things. Im pretty sure any soap will do something like that in the microwave.

 

[DeeAnna]

I agree with Dorymae. Soap will always have some water in it. In some soap I tested, the water content after a full cure was about 18%. I wouldn't be surprised if it dropped lower, but it will never be zero, even if I kept the soap in the Sahara desert.

"...if a ceramic does get hot, that means it 's not well made, it still has some moisture...."

Not necessarily. Metals heat up in a microwave too. If your ceramic dish has a metallic glaze or other metallic decoration, the dish can get very hot very quickly. That is why one should never put a twist tie or anything else with metal content into the microwave. A little twist tie will get so hot in just a few seconds that it will melt its plastic bag.

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

So do you think it would be a good idea to use microwaves to rebatch? Has anyone tried it?

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

That is why one should never put a twist tie or anything else with metal content into the microwave. A little twist tie will get so hot in just a few seconds that it will melt its plastic bag.

Wow!! This one I won't try..! :lolno:

 

[nframe]

So do you think it would be a good idea to use microwaves to rebatch? Has anyone tried it?

I have - quite a few times. I grate the soap and melt it with short bursts - 30 seconds at a time. Adjust the power of the microwave too. It is a lot quicker than using a bain-marie although I prefer the results from the bain-marie.

 

[DeeAnna]

Sure -- you can use a microwave to rebatch. Yes, I've done it. Just go it slow and easy, like Nframe explains.

 

[boyago]

My mind was wondering the other day about how adding sugar in the soap can lead to allot of heat and was curious if that reaction took up some of the lye and wanted to figure out if I should compensate for sugar with additional lye. Didn't find anything to answer my question but found a board where a producer from a "cable show that tests scientific and urban myths" was saying that some of the talent had mixed NaOH and table sugar in equal parts and microwaved it. After a short time the mix violently ignited. There wasn't much explanation as to why but if you ever felt like doing that don't do it inside.

 

[DeeAnna]

Yes, I'm sure some sugars do react with lye, just from observation -- if a sugar will discolor soap, that sugar is reacting with and consuming some lye. I'm just not sure how much lye is used in the process.

From what I understand, the reaction also evolves some carbon monoxide (CO) gas. I've seen tiny bubbles of gas evolve when adding lye to a mixture with sugar, although I can't prove the gas is CO. I wouldn't get too worried about the CO by the way. It's not like soaping with sugar is the same as a leaky furnace or a running car in a closed garage -- the amount of sugar is very small. For another, if you're using good ventilation to work around lye, that should help with the CO as well.

 

[El_Granado_Loco]

Thanks, nframe and DeeAnna! I 'll give it a try this weekend, I 've been gathering scraps and the timing is perfect!

But from what I see, I don't think I 'll do further experiments with the microwaves... They are dangerous chemistry!!

 

[Seawolfe]

I have, in the past, rounded up all the little scraps from the sink and bath and shower, put them in a bowl and nuked them bit by bit until they became one ugly bowl-shaped bar.
It works well, but it aint pretty.

 

[boyago]

From what I understand, the reaction also evolves some carbon monoxide (CO) gas. I've seen tiny bubbles of gas evolve when adding lye to a mixture with sugar, although I can't prove the gas is CO. I wouldn't get too worried about the CO by the way. It's not like soaping with sugar is the same as a leaky furnace or a running car in a closed garage -- the amount of sugar is very small. For another, if you're using good ventilation to work around lye, that should help with the CO as well.

Another page I found had a guy looking for advice on calculating the amount of CO. Not sure what they were doing but apparently they had a pipe that was carrying NaOH and a Sugar in solution that had burst and the guy suspected it may have been pressure from that CO produced the break.

 

[Obsidian]

go to youtube and check out what ivory soap does in a microwave, its worse then a marshmallow.

 

[Ruthie]

go to youtube and check out what ivory soap does in a microwave, its worse then a marshmallow.

A friend wen to a workshop where they recommended doing this then putting it in the sensory table to let kiddos play with it. DO NOT DO THIS!! It makes little flakes that travel through the air and are no fun to breathe in. That did not last long!

 

[DeeAnna]

"...a pipe that was carrying NaOH and a Sugar in solution that had burst and the guy suspected it may have been pressure from that CO produced the break...."

Oy. They must be doing this on a much larger scale than little ol' me. I'm not impressed that they didn't have chemists and chemical engineers (me!) check into the chemistry first. A chemical reaction in a pipeline is not a smart thing to do. Duh....!

 

[Mellifera]

Ivory soap in a microwave: http://youtu.be/z1hzatoE1tg