Surgical Spirits

[Karen81]

Hi, this may be a stupid question, but can I turn gel hand sanitiser into a spray I can spritse onto my CP soap?

I live in Saudi and cannot buy surgical spirits. None of the pharmacys supply it, and obviously the hospital can't sell it to me. I can however buy gel hand sanitiser that has alcohol in it so I was wondering if anyone knows whether if I water it down a bit so I can spray it, would it still do the job as I want to make cupcakes but don't want to get soda ash on them. Thank you

 

[coffeetime]

What are the ingredients on the sanitizer? I don't think this would work but I'm curious anyway.

Can you get plastic wrap for food? I've seen some people cover the tops of their loaves to prevent ash. Also, gelling your soaps will minimize ash. Neither of these techniques really work with cupcake shapes though so perhaps someone else will chime in.

 

[Karen81]

That's what I was thinking as well as I cover my soap loaves with cling film but I don't think it will work with cupcakes .
It's got alcohol, water, propylene, glycol and a whole load of other things I've never heard of

 

[KristaY]

Personally, I wouldn't trouble myself trying to make the sanitizer work because I've never had any success with alcohol keeping the ash away. If I were you, I'd make a covering for the tray or whatever you will put them on after you pour, like a cardboard box. Something that will fit over the cupcakes but not touch them. Then you could put cling or towels over the box. It won't create an airtight seal but it'll at least cut down the amount of air in contact with the soap while it's saponifying. I've used this technique when I pour something with a tall, decorative top and it mostly works, lol. I just can't avoid ash to save my life no matter what I do so usually end up washing it off unless it looks okay with my design.

 

[Karen81]

lol, thanks KristaY, I'll give the box a try, but I agree, I think I'm just going to have to learn to like Soda ash

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

Would steam not work on the cupcakes?

 

[Karen81]

Hi, would i steam the cupcake the whole 24 hours before I unmould it or just at the end to remove the ash?

 

[KristaY]

Wait until after they're unmolded and there's no more zap. If you do it before the lye monster is done working you may end up with more ash and have to repeat the process. I usually wait a few days (or a few weeks!) to remove ash. Steaming is probably the best way to remove it from cupcakes because of the potential nooks and crannies you'll have from piping the tops. When I have a smooth top I usually use pantyhose with a bit of water to scrub it off.

 

[Cactuslily]

KristaY, you've given me a great idea for all the old pantyhose I never wear! Thanks! I'm with the rest of you too with the soda ash problem. From all the beautiful pics, I thought I was one of the only ones struggling with this. Thanks for the tip! As to gelling reducing ash, I, in my very minimal experience, seem to be having the reverse problem. When I don't gel,( of my two experiences), one didn't ash at all, the other one, after @12 hours out of fridge, the top started to mute its colors, which seems to be sign #1 of ash developing :-(