Soap smelling like frying oil

[NadiaLW]

Hello everyone !
My fiancé was checking on the soap this evening and noticed an odd smell : like frying oil. He has become worried that the soap is failed.

After research, I found out that the smell can go after curing but he wants to be really reassured.
I can add that its really hot out here, 35°C/95°F.
Is it going to go away or is it a sign the soap has failed ?

 

[jcandleattic]

Depends. How old was the oil that was used, what kind of oil was used, how hot did you heat the oil to melt it... All those are pretinent and will let you know if the smell is because the soap/oil is going rancid/going to get DOS or not.

A little more information and we can help a bit more.

 

[NadiaLW]

Depends. How old was the oil that was used, what kind of oil was used, how hot did you heat the oil to melt it... All those are pretinent and will let you know if the smell is because the soap/oil is going rancid/going to get DOS or not.

A little more information and we can help a bit more.

Soap was done almost 2weeks ago, coconut and olive oil freshly bought, melted at around 50/60°C and smelled good until the heat wave came by.

 

[shunt2011]

How and where is it being cured? It needs air circulation and not a lot of humidity. But still, two weeks isn't long enough for it to start smelling rancid unless the oils were already on their way out.

 

[NadiaLW]

How and where is it being cured? It needs air circulation and not a lot of humidity. But still, two weeks isn't long enough for it to start smelling rancid unless the oils were already on their way out.

So, the soaps were on a tray in a wardrobe. We turned them everyday and tried to keep the wardrobe open when possible. Thanks for your replies^^

 

[earlene]

I have not found CO to go rancid in soap, although I am sure it can. But 60° heat is overkill for melting CO. If you bought regular CO, putting the container in a hot water batch is sufficient to melt it.

I'd say it's a by-product of your heat wave. If your wardrobe the free-standing kind that I am thinking of, I don't think it's getting quite enough air circulation when the doors are closed. Another draw-back to keeping it inside a closed wardrobe is that your wardrobe is going to take on the same odor and it may take some time to go away inside the wardrobe. If it's wood, it will absorb some of the odor; if there are any clothes, they will absorb the odor as well.

If you have the room, during the heat wave, at least, I suggest moving it out of the wardrobe and into an area with better airflow. I'd even use a fan to encourage airflow. Or if you have a stand-alone fan, you could point it toward the wardrobe and keep the doors open. And oscillating fan might be better because the air would move around the room more instead of just on the soap.

 

[dibbles]

What is the tray the soaps are sitting on made of? Metal can be problematic without paper or a cloth between the soaps and the metal surface.

 

[NadiaLW]

I have not found CO to go rancid in soap, although I am sure it can. But 60° heat is overkill for melting CO. If you bought regular CO, putting the container in a hot water batch is sufficient to melt it.

I'd say it's a by-product of your heat wave. If your wardrobe the free-standing kind that I am thinking of, I don't think it's getting quite enough air circulation when the doors are closed. Another draw-back to keeping it inside a closed wardrobe is that your wardrobe is going to take on the same odor and it may take some time to go away inside the wardrobe. If it's wood, it will absorb some of the odor; if there are any clothes, they will absorb the odor as well.

If you have the room, during the heat wave, at least, I suggest moving it out of the wardrobe and into an area with better airflow. I'd even use a fan to encourage airflow. Or if you have a stand-alone fan, you could point it toward the wardrobe and keep the doors open. And oscillating fan might be better because the air would move around the room more instead of just on the soap.

My lavender soap smell a bit of frying oil, though the coconut oil was melted "au bain marie"/hot water. Maybe it took on the smell of the olive and coconut oil
I moved them to the cellar. It cooler there. I am not sure about air flow though... I might find a fan to help with that Where do you store them to cure ?

What is the tray the soaps are sitting on made of? Metal can be problematic without paper or a cloth between the soaps and the metal surface.

Plastic, I had read metal was a no no for soap so avoided it like the pest

 

[earlene]

Some of us have more sensitive sense of smell than others, so you may be among this group. In spite of that, I found that given time, most of those oil odors in soap fade. Not for everyone, though. There is at least one or two soapmakers here who have said they can smell olive oil in soap, and know some other people who can, too. More commonly, though, there are several who can smell lard in soap pretty much the duration of the soap.

Where I store my soap for cure: I have room where I stack trays of soap to cure.

 

[TheGecko]

Soap was done almost 2weeks ago, coconut and olive oil freshly bought, melted at around 50/60°C and smelled good until the heat wave came by.

You don't need that high of heat to melt Coconut Oil, it will turn to liquid at 80F/27C, and of course, Olive Oil is already a liquid so it doesn't need to be melted at all. Since I masterbatch and use Palm Oil and Butters, I still have to reheat my oils a bit even during the summer, but I make sure I don't overheat them more than what is necessary.

I cure my soaps on lined trays in the garage making sure to leave a finger-width between bars. It got pretty hot and humid this last summer so I put a small fan to keep the air circulating.