Soda ash

[user 58006]

Hi there ,

I’m trying to get rid of my soda ash .

I’ve been doing a 33% lye concentration on my soaps. 5 percent super fat .

I’m trying my best to get rid of it . Any ideas .

 

[Savage Daughter]

Hi there ,

I’m trying to get rid of my soda ash .

I’ve been doing a 33% lye concentration on my soaps. 5 percent super fat .

I’m trying my best to get rid of it . Any ideas .

People would need to see the entire recipe in order to be able to help you properly

 

[dmcgee5034]

That’s a big batch - you could try smaller batches while you try to overcome the soda ash. How about increasing your lye concentration a bit (35%), and then covering your cut bars for several days? Both of those have helped me.

 

[user 58006]

That’s a big batch - you could try smaller batches while you try to overcome the soda ash. How about increasing your lye concentration a bit (35%), and then covering your cut bars for several days? Both of those have helped me.

I’ve been using a steamer to fix . Then selling them . But I’m over fixing every time . Thank you I’ll do that .

That’s a big batch - you could try smaller batches while you try to overcome the soda ash. How about increasing your lye concentration a bit (35%), and then covering your cut bars for several days? Both of those have helped

This time I’m out of town when my bars cure . Is there a time limit to when you can steam the bars off ?

 

[dmcgee5034]

This time I’m out of town when my bars cure . Is there a time limit to when you can steam the bars off ?

I don’t think so, @M Ritchie - just let them dry really well after

 

[user 58006]

I don’t think so, @M Ritchie - just let them dry really well after

thank you

 

[lucycat]

I consider hit/miss. I don't really understand why certain things work for some but not others. I think you have to experiment. I gel my soaps and:
1) For me, 99% alcohol spray after batter poured into mold cuts all or almost all (except for lavender and some mints)
2) When I started making soap, I heavily insulated the mold and had heavy ash. Switching to a light piece of cardboard loosely placed on the molds lessened ash considerably. Maybe I was generating too much steam/humidity in my insulated container?
I stopped covering my goatmilk soaps at all and they rarely ever have ash.

I am sure others will have different ideas that worked for them.
3) I consider the light ash on my lavender soaps part of the "design"

 

[AliOop]

I like to soap cool, and pour at emulsion, both of which we all know will encourage the development of soda ash. Here are my four tips to counteract this:

1. High lye concentration; I use 40%
2. Cover it after pouring
3. Gel it (I use a heating pad)

Those three things really cut down on the amount of ash I experienced, but did not eliminate it. Here is the tip that has truly conquered soda ash for me:

4. After I unmold the soap and cut it into bars, I loosely cover the bars with a big piece of plastic wrap - usually the same one I used to cover the mold after pouring. They sit under that plastic wrap for at least three days. Then remove the wrap and let them cure as usual. No more soda ash for me since then!

 

[user 58006]

I like to soap cool, and pour at emulsion, both of which we all know will encourage the development of soda ash. Here are my four tips to counteract this:

1. High lye concentration; I use 40%
2. Cover it after pouring
3. Gel it (I use a heating pad)

Those three things really cut down on the amount of ash I experienced, but did not eliminate it. Here is the tip that has truly conquered soda ash for me:

4. After I unmold the soap and cut it into bars, I loosely cover the bars with a big piece of plastic wrap - usually the same one I used to cover the mold after pouring. They sit under that plastic wrap for at least three days. Then remove the wrap and let them cure as usual. No more soda ash for me since then!

Thanks for the info . I’m going to give this a try .

I consider hit/miss. I don't really understand why certain things work for some but not others. I think you have to experiment. I gel my soaps and:
1) For me, 99% alcohol spray after batter poured into mold cuts all or almost all (except for lavender and some mints)
2) When I started making soap, I heavily insulated the mold and had heavy ash. Switching to a light piece of cardboard loosely placed on the molds lessened ash considerably. Maybe I was generating too much steam/humidity in my insulated container?
I stopped covering my goatmilk soaps at all and they rarely ever have ash.

I am sure others will have different ideas that worked for them.
3) I consider the light ash on my lavender soaps part of the "design"

Thank you very much for the post .

 

[Whillow]

These are some great tips. I usually get soda ash as well, which is annoying. I really like a slow moving batter to do designs but I will try some of these to test them out. Thanks for the info.

 

[Zing]

Late to the party here so for what it's worth: I got soda ash once. Now after pouring into my loaf mold, I spray with alcohol, cover with plastic wrap, then cardboard. I'm a geller. I have never gotten soda ash since.

With single cavity molds, I've learned to unmold after 5 days or more to avoid soda ash.

 

[user 58006]

Late to the party here so for what it's worth: I got soda ash once. Now after pouring into my loaf mold, I spray with alcohol, cover with plastic wrap, then cardboard. I'm a geller. I have never gotten soda ash since.

With single cavity molds, I've learned to unmold after 5 days or more to avoid soda ash.

Perfect thanks you . I will try

Late to the party here so for what it's worth: I got soda ash once. Now after pouring into my loaf mold, I spray with alcohol, cover with plastic wrap, then cardboard. I'm a geller. I have never gotten soda ash since.

With single cavity molds, I've learned to unmold after 5 days or more to avoid soda ash.

Do you wrap with plastic then gel . Or wrap afterwards . What kind of plastic ?

Thanks for the reply

 

[Zing]

For loaf molds: I fill the mold. Then spray with alcohol. Then cover the top with Saran wrap. Then I add a cardboard cover cut to the size of the top of the mold (old shoe box cardboard). Then I gel by placing mold on a heating pad and cover with several old towels. The heating pad shuts off after 2 hours. I unmold and cut after 24 hours.

Ask us anything! I was a noob once and have -- and still get -- incredible support from smart and talented soapers here.

 

[eulani]

Your water is a bit high though. Do you cover/insulate your mould after pouring? And did you perhaps add fragrance with linalool or limonene in it, or lavender essential oil? I don't normally get soda ash, however, lavender EO definitely causes a bit of soda ash after some time. I wrote a blog article about it a while ago:
https://www.soapnthings.co.za/lavender-natural-soap/

 

[user 58006]

For loaf molds: I fill the mold. Then spray with alcohol. Then cover the top with Saran wrap. Then I add a cardboard cover cut to the size of the top of the mold (old shoe box cardboard). Then I gel by placing mold on a heating pad and cover with several old towels. The heating pad shuts off after 2 hours. I unmold and cut after 24 hours.

Ask us anything! I was a noob once and have -- and still get -- incredible support from smart and talented soapers here.

How would you tweak this recipe to lower soda ash ? Sorry for late reply. I’m out of town working . Bad service .

How much water and lye would you put in it to help the process

I do gel. But in the oven . Is there a difference between oven and pad . I just turn to 170 put soap in and turn off . Next day I take it out

I also put sea salt in my soap .

1 teaspoon pre pound

Your water is a bit high though. Do you cover/insulate your mould after pouring? And did you perhaps add fragrance with linalool or limonene in it, or lavender essential oil? I don't normally get soda ash, however, lavender EO definitely causes a bit of soda ash after some time. I wrote a blog article about it a while ago:
https://www.soapnthings.co.za/lavender-natural-soap/

What should my water be ?

Do you have a tweak to my recipe if possible .

I use essential oil . I do use a lot of lavender in my soap .

I will read your blog right now .

Thank you

 

[Jorah]

What should my water be ?

My wife (who calls herself my 'factotum') researched this (how to stop soda ash) and as a result of her research I've started experimenting at 1.5:1 water:lye ratio. It makes for a fast-moving batter, though, so I'll probably moderate it to 1.7:1 or a little higher if I'm doing colors. I used to work at 2.5:1 or 3:1, so this is a big change.

 

[user 58006]

My wife (who calls herself my 'factotum') researched this (how to stop soda ash) and as a result of her research I've started experimenting at 1.5:1 water:lye ratio. It makes for a fast-moving batter, though, so I'll probably moderate it to 1.7:1 or a little higher if I'm doing colors. I used to work at 2.5:1 or 3:1, so this is a big change.

Thank you for the reply . I will try it out