Tap vs. Distilled - NYC

[SudsyPigeon]

The Tap vs. Distilled experiment begins! Here are my test batches of soap, each made with NYC tap water or distilled bottled water: one plain, one with a red clay swirl, using my usual recipe with olive, coconut, palm, and castor oils, along with sorbitol, sodium citrate, and sodium lactate. I unmolded and trimmed the sides and tops a bit, since their shape was wonky (new mold problems).

I was surprised at the amount of glycerin rivers and soda ash that appeared on these, but it might have been the new cupcake mold I used (zero insulation) and pouring at a low temp.

No discernable difference yet! They smell and suds up the same. The most noticeable difference was the color difference between the two waters, before adding the lye.

 

[Jenny Sparks]

The Tap vs. Distilled experiment begins! Here are my test batches of soap, each made with NYC tap water or distilled bottled water:

I’m keenly interested in following your experiment, as a fellow NYC based soap maker. Distilled water is getting harder and harder to source and I’ve been wondering how our famed tap water would pan in CP soap.

No discernable difference yet! They smell and suds up the same. The most noticeable difference was the color difference between the two waters, before adding the lye.

Do you plan to periodically revisit the soaps to compare at different points of the timeline post cure?

 

[anyulig]

Hi! Fellow NYC-based soaper here! I've always used tap water for soaping. I figured it was okay, since the tap water here is so high quality. I've never really had an issue with it!

 

[SudsyPigeon]

I’m keenly interested in following your experiment, as a fellow NYC based soap maker. Distilled water is getting harder and harder to source and I’ve been wondering how our famed tap water would pan in CP soap.


Do you plan to periodically revisit the soaps to compare at different points of the timeline post cure?

I’ll keep posting updates as it cures! I am very excited to switch over to tap. I have nowhere to tuck away my giant distilled water jug and I’m so tired of seeing it in the corner of my living room.

@anyulig that’s really promising! Anything to make soaping easier in our apartments, right? Now if only there was a way to buy (and store) oils in bulk!

 

[anyulig]

I’ll keep posting updates as it cures! I am very excited to switch over to tap. I have nowhere to tuck away my giant distilled water jug and I’m so tired of seeing it in the corner of my living room.

@anyulig that’s really promising! Anything to make soaping easier in our apartments, right? Now if only there was a way to buy (and store) oils in bulk!

I just saw your post on your workstation setup! Fabulous! I wish I had such a cool space. Keep everything in a little ikea dresser in a corner of my bedroom!

Re oils in bulk: whole foods sells a 67 oz container of olive oil for around 13$ dollars. That's pretty cheap! I use it for soaping and it works just fine. I go through them quickly because I'm obssesed with Castille Soap!

 

[SudsyPigeon]

For those interested: I posted my 2-week photos back on the original post, where I'll be putting updates moving forward since photos are allowed there. Nothing interesting (which is a good thing!).