Soaping Anxiety

[Cellador]

I hope this isn't TMI, but I suffer from anxiety (yes, diagnosed) and I am just made my first water/lye solution on my own. No spills or major disasters...but now I'm worried there are little lye particles all over my kitchen.

I have two young kids and a cat (none are present currently), so I fear that they will pick up a dust particle of lye, get it in their eye, and go blind or ... :-?

Does anyone else suffer from this? Is this typical for a newbie to experience this when working with lye for the first time? Any tips for clean-up to ensure there is no lye lurking anywhere after I'm finished pouring?

 

[Primrose]

FWIW, I splashed lye water in my eye the other night, geez it hurt but I didn't go blind or anything

 

[lsg]

If you are worried, after you have finished making the soap and cleaning your containers and utensils, vacuum the floor and surrounding areas. I think most of us were apprehensive the first several times we made soap.:wink:

 

[kchaystack]

Ok, first a nit picky thing. Lye is the solution of an alkali and liquid used to make soap. So might have a few drops of lye, but not particles. I know most soapers refer to NaOH and KOH (there are other alkali substances that can be used to make soap - but they are not a commonly seen anymore) as lye - but that isn't technically correct.

You could have particles of alkali all over the place - for a time. I am going to make the assumption you were making bar soap and used NaOH. A bead of NaOH won't stay that for long. It will pull moisture out of the air and react with CO2 and become soda ash fairly quickly. Its about as dangerous as baking soda.

So if the soaping area is left alone for an hour or so, and you didn't have a spill, it would just be a bead or two that might have jumped around because of static or a stray breeze. That will sort itself out pretty quickly.

But if you are that worried - wipe down the area with a damp paper towel, maybe with a little vinegar on it. Now, NEVER use vinegar on a serious spill - nor pour it on your skin after you have spilled either alkali or lye solution on yourself. just use LOTS of cool water for those cases.

But for cleaning a stray bit of NaOH or KOH little on damp kitchen roll would be fine.

 

[Cellador]

Thank you- I needed this reassurance! I figured it didn't just sit around dormant for ages, but...I get carried away sometimes. :wink:

Yes, I made CP soap and everything went well, I think. I didn't have any spills or splatters. I've washed all my dishes and gone over the counters with a water & vinegar solution I use for everyday cleaning.... now I guess I should just worry about how the soap will turn-out.

 

[Steve85569]

^^^ What has already been said.
If you still fell uneasy just mop up with your usual and a quarter cup of vinegar or a bit of vitamin C. Both of those are acidic and would cancel out any small spills of the base ( NoaH) that you use to make soap. Now I see that you already did. My bad....

 

[Susie]

If you wipe the outside of the mouth of your NaOH container, as well as whatever you are pouring it into, with a dryer sheet, you won't get the static that makes those particles jump around. Also, for the first few times making soap, I used an old shower curtain to cover the counter, cabinet, and floor right where I was making soap to catch any splatters or spills. (I am not the most coordinated human being on the planet, you see.) Then it could be wiped clean easily, or taken outside and sprayed with the hose.

 

[DeeAnna]

Tip -- You need a lot of vinegar to completely neutralize a small amount of NaOH or KOH. One ounce (2 tablespoons, 28 grams) of vinegar will neutralize only 1 gram of NaOH! If it makes you feel better to spray vinegar around your work area and to rinse your utensils with vinegar, then do so. You aren't going to harm anything by using vinegar on non-living things. If you do use vinegar for cleaning up, use it full strength so it can actually do some good.

Another tip -- Make sure the cap on your NaOH container is on securely, put your finger or two over the cap for insurance, and shake the container for a few seconds. Open and measure as normal. The shake will help break up any clumps and will also reduce the static problem. And also use Susie's dryer sheet tip.

 

[dixiedragon]

If it really concerns you, you could mix your lye in a basement or garage.

 

[Dahila]

you should see my hands shaking like a leaf when I was making my first soap, then tenth and right now full calm. I am also suffering with anxiety from early childhood but calm will come with practise, trust me good luck
I would vacuum clean the room. I mix my lye in garage or outside then go downstairs to my place ( I am lucky I can utilise my finished basement for a workshop)

 

[Cellador]

you should see my hands shaking like a leaf when I was making my first soap, then tenth and right now full calm. I am also suffering with anxiety from early childhood but calm will come with practise, trust me good luck
I would vacuum clean the room. I mix my lye in garage or outside then go downstairs to my place ( I am lucky I can utilise my finished basement for a workshop)

Haha! My hands were shaking a bit too...It's really not the mixing that bothered me, it was the measuring of the sodium hydroxide. I was just worried that the flake dust was floating onto my counters and floors and utensils. But, it sounds like that is a remote possibility...Glad to hear that it will get better with time & practice.
I still want to make some MORE SOAP though...the anxiety didn't stop me from loving this! :grin:

 

[Obsidian]

I remember the first time I made lye solution. I spent a good 20 minutes adding the lye to frozen goat milk one spoonful at a time, I was so worried it would heat up and explode! I did this sitting on the front porch as I was afraid of the fumes filling the house, lol.

I have anxiety too and soaping actually helped a lot with it. Once I got past the initial afraid of lye stage of course.

 

[Dahila]

We tend to forget the hell and fear we went through, starting making soap. I am still very careful, about covering my hands arms and googles. That did not change and when I see people making videos on youtube without any gloves ................

 

[cmzaha]

In my opinion it is safer to mix your lyein the same room you are soaping in. Mixing and carrying to another are is a spill risk. One little trip and.... I don't wear long sleeves or even socks and shoes. If I have a splash or spill I do not want it soaking through material and having to get it off. I want to get to cool water immediately.

 

[soap1daze]

At one time I too had lye anxiety, even after taking professional lessons. Everything close to the lye after being measured and incorporated into my liquids was wiped down with a paper towel wet with vinegar with me still in gloves. At one time I did use the static cling wipes before I poured my lye not I'm just very observant while pouring and pour slowly to see if there are any escaping beads. Just one bead under a nail or caught in a crevice of my knuckles or in a cuticle is so painful. It's been many years now and as you go you become more and more confident. I'm so happy I stuck to it as this is the only artistic adventure that has stayed with me.

 

[lenarenee]

In my opinion it is safer to mix your lyein the same room you are soaping in. Mixing and carrying to another are is a spill risk. One little trip and.... I don't wear long sleeves or even socks and shoes. If I have a splash or spill I do not want it soaking through material and having to get it off. I want to get to cool water immediately.

I agree - I like to prepare the lye in the most obscure area of the counter, then push it back toward the way where its not likely to accidently get knocked around.

I had the same thoughts as you about having a stray bead of lye rolling around the counter the first few times I soaped so this may simply be a little "soap newbie" anxiety that will pass as you gain some experience!

If your sink is big enough, trying measuring and mixing in it so you can simply rinse it when your done. If not, you may be able to find a large plastic serving type tray at the dollar store where you can prepare the lye one and it would catch any stray particles of lye, then pop that in the sink to rinse when finished.

 

[cobbsie]

Newbie to soaping here too and I know exactly what you mean!
My first batches I made in the sink but couldnt get away from the fumes far enough and I got wheezy.....
Next batch I decided to go outside avoid the fumes and placed everything in a big box while mixing the lye with a long handled spoon with a breeze.....but I transferred lye from one tub to another weighing it inside and carrying it outside.....and the static zoomed the stupid little beads all over the pot like an explosion of tiny tiny spiders....my god I freaked out! hoovered everything in sight washed everything in sight and still worried about invisible beads.
3rd batch I bought a snap top jug and a snap top lye measuring pot....weighed in a low box in case of mini spiderous particles, snapped the lids back on transported outside to mixing box with jug of water ready and waiting, mixed the lye snapped the jug lid on and transported it to the sink where it stayed until i mixed the soap.

I felt lye safe but definitely decided it was completely overkill......and way too much moving around of lye for my liking, but no wheeziness from the fumes. So.....might just get a fume mask and locate the lye mixing where it is best...in the sink.

why o why is the stupid stuff static!! But totally get where you're coming from. It did serve to make me more respectful of the process though

 

[lsg]

Newbie to soaping here too and I know exactly what you mean!
My first batches I made in the sink but couldnt get away from the fumes far enough and I got wheezy.....
Next batch I decided to go outside avoid the fumes and placed everything in a big box while mixing the lye with a long handled spoon with a breeze.....but I transferred lye from one tub to another weighing it inside and carrying it outside.....and the static zoomed the stupid little beads all over the pot like an explosion of tiny tiny spiders....my god I freaked out! hoovered everything in sight washed everything in sight and still worried about invisible beads.
3rd batch I bought a snap top jug and a snap top lye measuring pot....weighed in a low box in case of mini spiderous particles, snapped the lids back on transported outside to mixing box with jug of water ready and waiting, mixed the lye snapped the jug lid on and transported it to the sink where it stayed until i mixed the soap.

I felt lye safe but definitely decided it was completely overkill......and way too much moving around of lye for my liking, but no wheeziness from the fumes. So.....might just get a fume mask and locate the lye mixing where it is best...in the sink.

why o why is the stupid stuff static!! But totally get where you're coming from. It did serve to make me more respectful of the process though

If you have a window by the sink, keep it open while working with lye. You can also mix your lye and liquid under a vent fan, not as good a solution, but better than breathing the fumes.

 

[WeaversPort]

I'm also part of the "was freaked out about everything to do with lye" crowd.

I've never seen my lye really spread very far beyond maybe a speck or two on my scale. I generally have the window/fan for fumes. I also tend to either add lye to water in my sink or carefully set it on the back of my stove after stirring to dissolve a bit. That way I can start weighing my other oils away from the fumes and while it cools.

I don't leave it on my counter, because I'm a klutz.

 

[cobbsie]

If you have a window by the sink, keep it open while working with lye. You can also mix your lye and liquid under a vent fan, not as good a solution, but better than breathing the fumes.

Neither unfortunately