When cleaning dishes?

[sunset2burst]

So I'm really careful with the lye. As far as cleaning bowls that have soap "batter" all over it, is that ok to wash with bare hands in running water. I know lye is very toxic and so is the water with the lye, but after saponification/trace and pouring it, is the left over "batter" really that toxic? I wore gloves when washing lye/water cupetc. How careful should I be when washing the soap dishes? Can I use a dishwasher?

 

[chicklet]

Speaking from personal experience, I've found that the fresh soap batter is very "hot" (caustic) and can irritate your skin, especially if it gets into a cut (ouch!). I'm one of those who leaves the soap pot and any smaller cups I had batter in (for coloring) until the next day. The remains are less caustic then so I don't have to be quite as careful, but even then I'll put on disposable gloves to clean up. I wipe out the pot and cups with newspaper, throw that in the trash, then put the pot and cups in the diswasher. It's my understanding that saponification is not necessarily complete within the first 24 hours. Getting the soap to trace does mean that the lye is doing it's thing and reacting with the oils, but it can continue to do that for a while after the batter starts to thicken.

 

[sunset2burst]

Thanks! Does most saponification happen during the first 24-48 hours?

 

[Hazel]

Saponification does occur within 24-48 hours if you're gelling the batch. Ungelled batches can take several days. I had one ungelled batch which wasn't fully saponified until about 6 to 7 days later.

 

[Hausfrau007]

I hand wash my oily, slimy soaping paraphernalia with hot water and dish soap in the sink first to get most of the guck off, then I put them into the dishwasher (heavy duty pots and pans scrubber with extra heat).

 

[VanessaP]

I really wouldn't use the dishwasher for anything that hasn't already been washed out, as far as anything that has been scented. Reason being, you never know how AWFUL something smells when it is in a hot & humid environment. Yes, my family member stuck my glass measuring cup with Dragon's Blood that I hadn't washed out yet straight into the dishwasher as I had to pour into the mold and run to town for dinner - she loaded the dishwasher while I was gone. Took 2 months (even with vinegar) for most of the smell to dissipate. Even now 9 months later, I can once in awhile get a faint whiff of DB. And the hot & humid smell of it just turned me off of it and makes me sick to my stomach to smell DB now. So now I can't even bring myself to make more DB soap even though my best friend loves it.

If I'm doing CP, I mix up and pour into the mold, scrape as best I can, take a couple of paper towels or pages of newspaper to swipe at the worst of it, then set the stuff in the garage out of the way until the next day or the day after. By then, its generally saponified so I just wash it by hand. Nice to not have to actually use any dish detergent to wash them up. I do still tend to use gloves because the soap is still harsh compared to what it will be in a few weeks. With HP, I just pour into my mold, stick the crock in the sink and let the water run hot, then fill the crock and let it soak while I'm banging the air out of my soap and putting plastic wrap on top.

I have a dedicated pitcher that I use to mix my lye solution in - I just let it sit in the sink and run over with water for a minute or two while I'm stickblending then I give it a good full dump and fill two or three times before setting it out to dry after I've poured into the mold (or while my HP is cooking). I don't like to wash my lye pitcher with soap because it usually causes floaters for me (my pitcher is PP5 plastic) and I absolutely hate having to find my strainer for my lye.

 

[Koshka]

Per suggestions of our wonderful soapers I now wait 24 hours before cleaning my pots. The lye loses its effect and is safer to handle and I'm not dumping toxic waste in the garbage.
If I need to clean my utensils/pots right away, I like to use gloves and protective eye wear, just because a splash of "dirty" water did get onto my eyelid once and it did burn (a lot). I'd rather be safe than sorry. Afterwards I clean my sink very well and make sure there's nothing on the floor/counter. I always wipe my counter top with cleaning solution/vinegar to neutralize any amount of lye that is potentially left there. I also keep my soap making equipment stored in plastic containers and on shelves apart from my regular cookware.
Hope this helps

 

[Maythorn]

I putthe bowl with the end of the stick blender in it and spatula in on a corner of the bathroom tile floor by the tub and forget about it til the next day or so and it's just uncured soap by that time. I've gotten raw soap on my hands and even a small stinging splash of lye water so now I wear at least one glove. My waste is just that glove and 1-2 paper towels but my batches are only 1-2 pounds for now. I soap on these white cutting mats I got at Walmart that just get rinsed off. I don't know about everyone else, but I'm happy when I can get every drop of soap poured into that mold and not spilled.

 

[Dennis]

I put a little Dawn in the soap pot, half fill with hot water and stick blend it. SB is clean as a whistle and just wipe it off with a paper towel. Then I use the pot to clean everything else. Wear gloves unless there is something on your hands you haven't been able to get off and really want to. Sometimes I don't but the hands will be dry dry dry.

I wouldn't trust putting anything like that in the dishwasher.