Soaping in Oklahoma

[Nubian Naturals]

Hello All;
I am new to the forum. I am a seasoned soapier for the past 6 years in Arizona. I moved to Oklahoma last fall and now I am soaping in this humid weather with some interesting results. I am having problems with overheating and weeping of my soaps. In Arizona I used to insulated my soaps with blankets, after reading the forum from other that soap in my area, I am thinking I have to change some of my methods. I bought a dehumidifier and placed the soaps in a small closet, does not seem to help. I am measuring correctly, using the same recipe I used for years in AZ, but does not seem to work in OK. Any input would help.
Thanks
Char

 

[VanessaP]

Unfortunately, without seeing a recipe to determine if its the ingredients causing it, there's not a lot of suggestions other than soaping cooler, put a fan on the soaps while they're in the mold (to help keep it from overheating) and trying to keep your humidity at a tolerable level. I have problems making CP in the warmer months, not necessarily for cracking but for weeping and condensation. This is why I seriously prefer HP LOL

 

[la-rene]

I would have to concur about humidity being a problem. This year has seen us have some 70% days almost consistently. Not unusual for some areas, but for SoCal, it's strange. I am used to soaping at about 25% humidity. I'm having so many problems with recipes that never had an issue before.

 

[Nubian Naturals]

Thanks for the suggestions. I thought it was the humidity causing the problem. I am rebatching some soaps now because of hot pockets in the bars and the weeping. I am also making HP pine tar tonight, lets see how that turns out. I don't plan on moving anytime soon, so I think I better plan to soap on the months that is not so humid.

 

[Ruthie]

First of all, welcome to Oklahoma. I moved here from South Texas a number of years ago. Didn't soap for years after I moved here, but recently started again.

I'm not saying that this should be your answer, but I do not gel my soaps. I use goat's milk, beer, etc. in a number of recipes and found over heating to be a problem. I now refrigerate my soaps for 48 hours before removing, then wait at least another 24 before cutting. I started refrigerating because of overheating. I found that 24 hours in the fridge was not enough. It prevented overheating but I ended up with partial gel.

I cure them on wire racks in a spare bedroom. The air is on but the vents are closed. I'm wondering if the closet does not allow enough air circulation. Perhaps a more open space would be better.