Storing lye water

[Sanguine]

Hii,
I was wondering if you can store lye water in the fridge. Or any other type, with milk, wine, beer,...
In hp or cp i wouldnt be bothered storing it, but when making whipped soap, chilled lye is wanted.
It takes a few hours to chill lye water, what if for whatever reason you cant make the soap that day or the following days... Can you store lye water?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: sorry, just noticed that i'm in the wrong part of the forum..

 

[Lindy]

Hey there. Put a cover on your lye and you can store it where-ever you would like just make sure you label it well.

 

[Sanguine]

Thank you!
How long do you think it can be stored this way?

 

[green soap]

Indefinitely, or a very long time. Some folks master-batch their lye.

 

[IrishLass]

I masterbatch my lye all the time and it lasts seemingly forever. The longest I've stored a single batch of my lye solution so far was for about 8 or 9 months (at room temp), and it was still in perfect soaping condition. I make my masterbatch with 50/50 water to lye ratio (with added silk).

IrishLass

 

[Maythorn]

I guess I'm too afraid to ever have lye water or soap tools, containers and spoons anywhere near food. Even when I put a log in the freezer for a few minutes to cool it down for not-gelling I always wipe the freezer floor down with a sponge after and the door hande because I've touched the outside of the mold with gloves that might have some raw soap on them.

That's interesting about lye water strength staying intact, though over time. I thought like anything else it would weaken eventually.

 

[LuvOurNewf]

I masterbatch my lye all the time and it lasts seemingly forever. The longest I've stored a single batch of my lye solution so far was for about 8 or 9 months (at room temp), and it was still in perfect soaping condition. I make my masterbatch with 50/50 water to lye ratio (with added silk).

IrishLass

Quick question on your masterbatch. I too have tried this but after I use it a few times I notice that it forms crystals on the spout. I always wipe the spout off. When I pour it the consistency seems thick and has flakes in it. I always shake the container prior to use to mix it after it's been sitting for a while, 2 months is the longest I've gone, but I still gets flakes.

Is this normal?

 

[IrishLass]

When you make your 50% solution, I've found it helps tremendously to account for the water loss that occurs as you are mixing it up. The first time I made mine, I weighed everything before and immediately after mixing- including the mixing container and cover- in order that I could determine how much water evaporated off as I was mixing. It turned out that I had a water loss of 6 grams. I added that back in, placed the cover on and waited for it to cool off. Once cooled off, I weighed it again to make sure no more water had evaporated off (all was well). Then I pour it through a stainless strainer into my storage container.

The next time I mixed up a batch of 50% solution, I weighed out 6 grams extra water at the beginning, and when I weighed it at the end of mixing, it was a perfect 50% solution. Since then, I've made all my subsequent batches of solution with a 6 gram excess of water at the beginning and it all surprisingly evens out to a perfect 50% solution at the end. Just weigh everything before and after to find out how much water you're losing and add it back in when done mixing. And then doublecheck when it has cooled off.

It's normal for a 50% solution to be somewhat thick/syrupy (I'd actually be concerned if it wasn't). It shouldn't have flakes, though. If it does have flakes, it could be any of these things: Your mixing or storage container had some soap residue in it and the lye has reacted with it to form harmless soap flakes; it might be harmless sodium carbonate that has formed from the lye in the solution reacting with air (it doesn't dissolve, but can be strained out); it could be that the solution has gotten too cool and the lye has precipitated out (applying a little heat will remedy that); or there wasn't enough water present for the lye to stay mixed properly (just add a little more water).

As for flakes forming on the spout, this happens to me, too, but I've noticed they dissolve when mixed back into the solution. I usually see a few flakes on the cover to my container, too, and I've noticed that as the cover sits on my counter during the time it takes for me to weigh out my needed amount of solution, the flakes on the cover turn into liquid. That's because lye is very hygroscopic (attracts moisture in the air to itself).


HTH!
IrishLass

 

[LuvOurNewf]

IrishLass,
Thanks for all the useful information. I will absolutely follow your lead with weighting, weighting and re-weighting. I know the solution gets hot but never thought about how much evaporation there may be. As a matter of fact I'm on my way to put this into practice.
Thanks again.

 

[FaeryKiss]

container for lye water

Hi all, I want to master batch my lye water and unsure how to start. I am not sure what kind of container to store it in. I have been making cp soap for years and want to try room temperature soap. Thanks!

 

[MzMolly65]

bumping an old thread rather than starting a new one.

I want to masterbatch some lye water too and I have a # 2 container with a screw on lid, will that be adequate to store a 50/50 solution?

 

[MzMolly65]

bumpity bump bump ... still hoping for an answer

 

[Lindy]

Is it dishwasher safe? If it is then I think it would be fine for lye. That's the rule of thumb that I go by. I don't know what mine is (it's full of lye and I kinda don't really want to look at the bottom IYKWIM) but I did buy it at the dollar store so it's pretty cheap plastic and I haven't had any problems. It flexes when I add the lye into the water from the heat but it holds up and that's what's important.

 

[Tienne]

To store a strong NaOH solution, you should keep it in a container made of polyethylene. Never use a container made of *PC or *PETD plastic;

"Immediate damage may occur. Depending on the plastic, the effect may be severe crazing, cracking, loss of strength, discoloration, deformation, dissolution or permeation loss.

http://www.calpaclab.com/Chemical-Compatibility-Chart-s/789.htm

 

[new12soap]

HDPE with the recycle code "2" (inside the triangle thing), like a thoroughly rinsed out laundry detergent or fabric softener bottle should be fine.

 

[cmzaha]

I use a number 2 hdpe with a safety cap for my lye solution, but I do not pour it in the bottle hot.

 

[Lindy]

I actually make mine right in the container... But it is like a container with a lid that has a hole and cap for pouring.

 

[cmzaha]

Lindy, how do you get it mixed well enough? I find I have to stir my 50/50 lye solution a lot to make sure it is fully dissolved? I also do not always trust the heat from mixing a gallon at a time in hdpe bottles. My #2 hdpe buckets get pretty soft when I mix a gallon at a time, which is why I always mix in the sink in case they acquire a leak

 

[MzMolly65]

I did a bunch of research and come up with this .. my container is #2 HDPE . I don't understand the bit about the 1% and 50% below. If I mix my solution 1:1, water:lye is that a 50% solution?

2 – HDPE – High density Polyethylene

Also readily recyclable – Mostly used for packaging detergents, bleach, milk containers, hair care products and motor oil. Is recycled into more bottles or bags.

Sodium hydroxide 1% - LDPE at 20C°-50C° shows little or no damage after 30 days of constant exposure. HDPE at 20C°-50C° shows some effect after 7 days.

Sodium hydroxide 50% - LDPE / HDPE at 20C°-50C° show little or no damage after 30 days of constant exposure.

The lid on my container has no numbers on it at all so I suspect it's not safe. It's a new container, big and with a grippy indent for picking it up BUT it's not good for pouring. It's got a very large mouth and I thought I could put a stainless steel ladle in to scoop but my head is starting to think that's playing with fire, LITERALLY!!

I'd like to find a good container that I can store and pour safely. I'm hesitant because I've put diluted bleach in an old dish soap bottle in the past and while the bottle was fine the pour spout ended up cracking. That was a mess, but not near the dangerous situation I'd have on my hands if it was lye.

ETA: how long can you store a lye masterbatch?? I'm looking at a 3 ltr stainless steel fusti with ss spigot but don't know how fast I'd use 3 ltrs of lye mix. Can it sit indefinitely or does it go "bad"?

 

[Lindy]

Carolyn I use a large paint stirrer (by hand naturally) and I keep stirring until it is dissolved plus I do also add my silk at this point and that is the one that is a pain to get dissolved but I keep coming back to it until it is dissolved. It can take me up to a hour to get it dissolved. I too mix mine in the sink in case of a leak.