What would you consider to be a well-ventilated area?

[Angie in Bellingham]

Hello! I am about to make my first batch of soap - yippee!! I was going to set up in my office area, but I'm wondering if it would be considered well-ventilated. It's a fairly large room, has a mini split and a ceiling fan, two windows I can open though not super large. I'm thinking I can open the windows some and turn on the ceiling fan.

If I mix the lye and water outside, am I good working in that space for the rest of the process? Seems like the worst part for fumes is the actual mixing of the lye with water, but do I need to be concerned the whole way through?

I don't have a big respirator mask, but I do have some Covid masks - do those help for now? Thanks in advance!!

 

[natik]

Ideally, well ventilated area for mixing lye is under the hood. With that being said, you don't need it. Any place that has enough room to mix and spread your tools is OK. It is better to have a sink nearby, in case you spill the lye or fresh soap and need to wash it off. But you can just have a bucket of clean water standing nearby.
I wouldn't mix the lye outside. It is more dangerous to carry it through the house, than mix it where you will be using it. When I started, I did everything in the kitchen and mixing the lye under the kitchen hood. Still had a lot of vapor. To avoid it, all you need to do - is freeze the water or any liquid you use first in the ice cubes. Then weight the required amount of ice cubes with about 10-15% of room temp water on top and then start mixing the lye in. As the lye reacts with water - it will melt ice and the resulting mix will get to about 130-140F, which is not hot enough to evaporate. It will save you lungs. This way you don't need any airway protection. At least I don't
I suggest mixing ice with little water because without it by the time ice melts under the lye - you will end up with lye crystals on the bottom of the container. Not the end of the world, but it will take a LOT of mixing to dissolve them. Room temp water will prevent it from happening. Of course, you have to add lye to the ice/water mix slowly, and keep constantly turning/mixing ice cubes till they melt and dissolve the lye.
The most important suggestion - keep you gloves on and wear long sleeves, just in case you happen to spill something. Good luck.

 

[Angie in Bellingham]

Ideally, well ventilated area for mixing lye is under the hood. With that being said, you don't need it. Any place that has enough room to mix and spread your tools is OK. It is better to have a sink nearby, in case you spill the lye or fresh soap and need to wash it off. But you can just have a bucket of clean water standing nearby.
I wouldn't mix the lye outside. It is more dangerous to carry it through the house, than mix it where you will be using it. When I started, I did everything in the kitchen and mixing the lye under the kitchen hood. Still had a lot of vapor. To avoid it, all you need to do - is freeze the water or any liquid you use first in the ice cubes. Then weight the required amount of ice cubes with about 10-15% of room temp water on top and then start mixing the lye in. As the lye reacts with water - it will melt ice and the resulting mix will get to about 130-140F, which is not hot enough to evaporate. It will save you lungs. This way you don't need any airway protection. At least I don't
I suggest mixing ice with little water because without it by the time ice melts under the lye - you will end up with lye crystals on the bottom of the container. Not the end of the world, but it will take a LOT of mixing to dissolve them. Room temp water will prevent it from happening. Of course, you have to add lye to the ice/water mix slowly, and keep constantly turning/mixing ice cubes till they melt and dissolve the lye.
The most important suggestion - keep you gloves on and wear long sleeves, just in case you happen to spill something. Good luck.

Thank you for all that info!! Very helpful. :]

 

[DeeAnna]

Ventilation means the ability to remove contaminated air and replace it with fresh air. A stove hood that vents to the outdoors. Working outdoors. Opening windows and using a fan for cross ventilation in your work space. Things like that.

Most people worry about the mist that comes off hot lye solution. That's certainly a hazard, but it's easily handled by simply loosely covering the container you mix the lye solution in. If the mist can't get out, it can't cause problems. The container needs to be covered only while mist is actively being produced -- 10-15 minutes at most.

Some people use ice cubes or refrigerator-cold water to reduce the amount of mist. These can be helpful, as long as you don't allow the lye solution to get so cold the NaOH cannot dissolve properly.

People tend to ignore the health risk from working with concentrated fragrances, whether essential oils or fragrance oils. Ventilation is also essential for controlling these vapors.

Respirators are helpful, but don't rely only on a respirator for control. Ventilation is the main defense; a respirator is secondary protection.

The "covid" respirator you mention is for particulates. It would remove mist (liquid droplets = particulates), although I wouldn't count on this type of respirator to be 100% effective against a strong alkali. It definitely doesn't remove gases or vapors -- you need an organic vapor cartridge for that.

 

[paradisi]

What DeeAnna said. And nix on the ceiling fan. It would only distribute vapor widely, not remove it.