What is your Heating Pad Technique?

[MichaelP]

Hi All,

I have one of those garden type heating pads that I use for when I do sourdough in the cooler temps. I've started using it for my soap now for gelling but realize I'm not completely well versed on the ins and outs. For those who use heating pads what is your typical process? That is, after pouring batter in the mold, place the mold on the heating pad and do some kind of cover. How long do you keep it like this? There is also variability in temperature so are you going for a higher heat temperature (say above 90 degrees F) or below? Any advice/thoughts greatly appreciated!

Happy soaping everyone!

 

[Zing]

I like to gel my soaps. In summer months, typically just burying the soap under towels overnight does the trick. In colder months, I use a heating pad. I pour my soap into the mold. I cover with plastic wrap and a piece of cardboard. I place the mold on the heating pad and then I cover with a small pile of towels. My heating pad automatically turns off after two hours.

I have never used a thermometer to measure the temperature during gelling. The mold gets pretty warm and can take 24 hours to cool back down to room temperature. Good luck!

 

[dibbles]

I use a regular heating pad rather than a seedling type of pad which I think probably gets warmer. I have a thick faux fur blanket that I lay down on the floor, then an older heating pad goes on top of that, then my soap mold (covered or in a box), and then another heating pad on top. I wrap the blanket up over all of that. The reason I use two heating pads is that the older one doesn't seem to get too warm anymore. I also soap pretty cool most of the time. I set the heating pads to high. One turns off after one hour and one after two. I usually check the soap at some point during this two hours, and if it is quite warm I will just wrap it in the blanket again and let it be. If it seems like it could use a little more encouragement, I will keep the heat on (but lowered to medium) for another hour. I don't take temps during this process either.

ETA @Zing and I are both in Minnesota, where it gets pretty cold in the winter months. We have our heat set pretty low overnight, so I want the soap to have a good long time to heat up. During the summer, I still use a heating pad and wrap my mold, but an hour is usually sufficient.

 

[MichaelP]

@Zing and @dibbles, Thank you for explaining your process that helps! I am also starting to soap at lower temperatures which is why I am interested in using a heating pad. Also, Winters coming! Although we here in California are rather wimpy when it comes to actual cold weather! I won't even pretend to know Minnesota Winter cold!!! Happy Soaping!!!