Soaping Anxiety

[Dahila]

I mix it outside cause not window at the sink. My basement has windows but they are high, so I would have to stay on something. Not safe at all
Only two adults here, not children or pets

 

[dibbles]

I use a respirator mask https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008MCUT86/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

I don't have windows or a fan in the basement where I soap. I am more comfortable doing this than carrying the lye around. I too am a bit of a klutz.

 

[earlene]

Cobbsie, you can get face masks like nurses wear in isolation rooms. The simple cloth-like mask will help keep most of the the fumes out of your nose and lungs. You wouldn't need to wear it except while standing over the lye solution, so you could use it over and over again. They are available in many many places, including drug stores and some hardware stores.

I also mix my lye solution in the sink. I turn on the fan over my stove (not really near the sink, but in the same room) and don't lean over the solution while stirring. The only times the fumes have bothered me were when I mixed it with things other than water that lead to faster heating. Most of the time, I don't have a problem with the fumes.

When I was young, my mom taught me to clean my oven in lye solution, which I prepared myself in the utility sink. Then I'd take the stove parts and soak them in the lye solution until all the caked on stuff fell right off. So I came to soaping without any fear of lye. Back then, the only precautions I took were thick rubber gloves and old clothes. But the solution was much weaker than what I use for soaping. Still, it was caustic as evidenced by how well it cleaned the oven and stove parts.

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Those "dust" masks won't work and if anything make it worse as you could feel more secure than you are and then get careless.

A fume filtering mask has been suggested before and i second that. I have a 3M one which was not crazily expensive and also means I can work with lots of scents without getting a headache

 

[Dahila]

I am still thinking how to make exhaust in bathroom. I have very powerful fan above shower cabin (bathroom downstairs) Maybe I could work .........

 

[DeeAnna]

"... The simple cloth-like mask will help keep most of the the fumes out of your nose and lungs...."

A mask like this is not designed for working with hazardous chemicals like sodium hydroxide, and wearing one gives a false sense of safety.

The first line of protection against undesirable or hazardous dusts, fumes, or gases is to prevent these chemicals from being released into the air at all. For example, keep your lye container lightly covered so lye mist can't get into the room air when the lye solution is first mixed up and is steamy warm.

The second line of defense is to use good ventilation to get undesirable chemicals cleared out of your workspace or your kitchen as quickly as possible. For example, work under your kitchen stove hood with it turned on to high speed. (This is only useful if the hood vents to the outdoors air, not back into the kitchen.)

The last line of protection is to use a properly designed respirator for the hazard. Not all respirators work for all chemicals -- a respirator that is good for working with NaOH might not protect you properly when working with essential and fragrance oils.

Please see my article on choosing and using a respirator: https://classicbells.com/soap/respirator.html

 

[earlene]

I stand corrected. Thank you for pointing that out.

 

[Sharryn]

why o why is the stupid stuff static!!

I don't know why, but that alone stopped me from soaping for a while. I finally tried the flake variety and have no issues what-so-ever. In fact I don't think it gets as hot as the bead lye, however to me, it seems to give off more fumes. I mix with a respirator on and it works for me. I have asthma so I have to be especially careful in that area. But do try the flake lye. It got me back into soaping again.