Storing soaps to see if they will hold up

[MySoapyHeart]

As I consider myself to be new at this cp soaping (been doing it for way under a year, can`t remember the exact date)
I have a question I haven`t been able to find searching this forum. Sorry if this is a bit long, but want to make sure I give you enough info.

When I make soap, I cure it in a basket - like the ones grocery stores have their veggies in. They are made out of sturdy plastic with holes in the bottom for good ventilation and I get them for free from my local store.

Experimenting with my recipes I keep all my curing and cured soaps in separate baskets, with specific notes so I have full controll over which soap is made out of what recipe, brand of oil, how old it is etc. (keep the exact same notes in a notebook so it doesn`t matter if something happen to the note beside the soap)

They are stored in a storageroom where they can be left alone and with good air circulation and little to no dust. The temperature of the room is tinybit under comfortable roomtemperature, but it isn`t really cold per say...

I took all soaps that are done curing and divided them into two groups. One group to stay in this storage and will be untill a full year has passed for each soap (as someone here adviced me to do)
The other half of them we have used everyday to see how they feel and perform. They are kept dry and in the normal comfortable roomtemperature, bathroom, kitchen etc.

So the soaps in the storage are for observation purposes only, to see if they are developing DOS, go rancid, if the smell lingers or disipates.
The oldest soap is at least 7 months, and then others are a bit younger than that, and so on and so forth. All cured soaps has been tried and tested a long time and feel great, but look forward to them all passing a year so I can be sure they behave.

But now I started to get a bit unsecure: Is it really best for them to stay in that storage that is a bit colder than a warm roomtemperature to see how they hold up a year, OR is it better if I perhaps put them somewhere a bit warmer, too see if a warmer room will "trigger" a different behaviour?

Thank you for any advice and input! :wave:

PS! No soaps are wrapped in paper or plastic, just covered lightly in cheesecloth for dust avoidance.http://www.soapmakingforum.com//no.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/

 

[TeriDk]

I store my soaps in my basement, a southwest room but away from the window. The max temp we heat our house is 65F - about 18C by your rock. I've not had any problems. I think sunlight pull fade colors and most of the scents I use will also fade over time, especially EOs. Around here most people do not like strongly scented soap. Use fresh, high quality oils and you shouldn't have problems assuming you follow good calculators... at least I haven't.

 

[Rowan]

I use to store my soaps out in the open in a spare room, but ran out of space. I pretty soon had to put them in cardboard shoe storage boxes. Before that, I found that whether the room was warm or cold, like Teri, it was sunlight which made the scent go fastest. My soap stayed exactly the same. The only discernible difference was for my salt soaps. They would 'sweat' in humid/colder weather.

 

[MySoapyHeart]

I store my soaps in my basement, a southwest room but away from the window. The max temp we heat our house is 65F - about 18C by your rock. I've not had any problems. I think sunlight pull fade colors and most of the scents I use will also fade over time, especially EOs. Around here most people do not like strongly scented soap. Use fresh, high quality oils and you shouldn't have problems assuming you follow good calculators... at least I haven't.

Hi TeriDk! Thank you for taking time to reply

Sounds good, it is around 17/18C in my storage space. It has no windows and it is completely dark so no light comes in there, other than the lightbulb when I switch it on.
When I give my soaps away to family and friends to help me test different recipes out, it seems they always gravitate to the ones that has medium smell, not strong or weak, but something inbetween. Which I find a bit difficult as my EO`s or two basic fragrance oils are sort of weak smelling. But as times moves on and I get more and more experience I will invest in a bit more scents so I can get a better feel of what works with my recipes. So, no sunlight - check!
Thank you again!

ETA: I use only VOO when making Castile soaps, makes awesome soaps. Tried refined olive oil once, it made the soap a more slimy mess that made me cringe:sick: (identical recipe - just refined olivce oil vs. unrefined) Never tried Pomace, can`t get it where I live, have to drive three hours to get it.
Chosing not to use refined oils, with one exception and that is coconut, as it is easy to get a hold of, soaps great and mixes wonderfullywith my unrefined coconut. Always use SoapCalc, as I find it easy to use and with great overview of hardness etc. Love SoapCalc!

 

[MySoapyHeart]

I use to store my soaps out in the open in a spare room, but ran out of space. I pretty soon had to put them in cardboard shoe storage boxes. Before that, I found that whether the room was warm or cold, like Teri, it was sunlight which made the scent go fastest. My soap stayed exactly the same. The only discernible difference was for my salt soaps. They would 'sweat' in humid/colder weather.

Hi Rowan, thank you for your answer!
Sounds like it is direct sunlight that is the culprit regarding scents, but not neccesarily made the soaps go bad. Haven`t made a saltbar yet, but will do so when I can get a hold of some smaller saltgrains, preferably Himalayan pink salt. I have seasalt, but from reading about that, it is not something I should use in a saltbar...:-?
Thanks again for your time!