Where to make soap/hazard to pets?

[Katie68121]

I’m about to make my first batch of CP soap, but my housing situation isn’t ideal. I have a small apartment, no yard, no garage. Small deck (where I plan to make the soap). I have a dog and two cats that frequent the deck daily, but obviously they will not be allowed out there when I’m soaping. However, is it safe to allow them back on the deck after I’m done making the soap? I’m thinking it will be ok, as long as nothing spills on the deck, but I’m just super nervous because I don’t want to cause any harm to them. Thank you!

 

[BattleGnome]

Hose everything down when you’re done, if you can. A quick rinse should get rid of all but the worst spills and be just fine for the critters. Waiting a few hours before letting them out will help as well.

 

[Catscankim]

<—— My cat is named Bad Betty for a reason. At first i was schootching her away, which became a constant battle. Take off my gloves, put her on the floor. Repeat over and over. Then i got nervous that schootching her off the kitchen pass-thru would make her jump the wrong way right into my batter.

But honestly she just sits on the pass-thru and just watches like a statue. So i let her stay and watch. I keep my eye on her, but its never a problem. When i make my lye-water, she will give me a dirty look and take off if she gets a whiff. She has learned when she can come back when the lye doesnt smell so bad.

The dog just lays on the sofa, only getting up to follow me to the bathroom, then back to the sofa.

i clean up pretty good when im done and check the floor for drips etc. Keeping them out all together is impossible for me. Everybodys animals are different though.

 

[trellism]

I have no door to my kitchen and keeping cats and curious husbands out was difficult. I've now moved everything up to the attic.

 

[artemis]

Is the soap going to stay out there? If so, curious cats should not be out there, where they can stick a nose in. And you'll want to watch out for animal hair, I suppose.

 

[TheGecko]

I work out of my kitchen...it's open to the dining room which is open to the living room. I could perhaps lock the cats and the husband in the bedroom while I'm making soap or whatever, but once they discover that I'm not making food, they all wander back out into the living room. Everything gets cleaned up after I'm done including mopping the floor in case of any drips between the island and the sink.

If you're worried about drips or spilling...when my kids were little and learning how to feed themselves, I used to place an old sheet under their high chair or booster seat at the table.

 

[atiz]

I don't lock the cat out either -- she just watches but is not super interested these days.
I think you will be fine. After soapmaking my clean-up is basically what it would be after cooking; I wipe the counter down, and that's pretty much it (I think unless you make a huge mess, "hosing down" the deck is really an overkill. It's not like you are playing with poison out there -- lye can be dangerous but it isn't poison).
If you have a kitchen, it may be better to make it there than on the deck. First I used the deck too, but going in and out with the lye and the oils is more dangerous and more hassle than just mixing everything in the sink.

 

[cmzaha]

In my opinion, it is so much safer to soap in the kitchen where you have a sink readily available. I always mix and pour lye solutions in the sink. When soaping I want water and a sink available at all times.

My cat never comes in the kitchen when I soap or if she does she does not stick around. My kitchen is open to the living room so no closing out the kitty. I think she just does not like the smells. Other I would put the dogs on the deck if they cannot be trained to stay out of the kitchen. When I had to take care of my daughter's dog several years ago I just told her to go lay down in the living room and she did. But she was such a good girl she would not move until told she could move.

 

[shunt2011]

I have two dogs and soap in my kitchen. Generally they just lay in their bed off to the side if they even wander into the kitchen. My kitchen is open to my livingroom so no isolating the animals. It's much safer to do it in the kitchen where I have a sink.

 

[MGM]

I agree with the kitchen being the ideal place....there's really no benefit to being outside and lots of potential hazards (rain, wind, falling leaves, sun in your eyes, etc). Much more controlled environment inside.
Can you lock your pets on the deck while you use the kitchen?

 

[Katie68121]

Is the soap going to stay out there? If so, curious cats should not be out there, where they can stick a nose in. And you'll want to watch out for animal hair, I suppose.

No soap wont stay out there, i

In my opinion, it is so much safer to soap in the kitchen where you have a sink readily available. I always mix and pour lye solutions in the sink. When soaping I want water and a sink available at all times.

My cat never comes in the kitchen when I soap or if she does she does not stick around. My kitchen is open to the living room so no closing out the kitty. I think she just does not like the smells. Other I would put the dogs on the deck if they cannot be trained to stay out of the kitchen. When I had to take care of my daughter's dog several years ago I just told her to go lay down in the living room and she did. But she was such a good girl she would not move until told she could move.

Yeah my apartment is very small, our kitchen is like no kitchen. Kitchen is basically in the living room, animals would be exposed to the fumes, which I didn’t think was ok? It is the biggest open area in the apartment though. Dog will not tolerate being locked in another room, and I wouldn’t want to do that to them. I want to enjoy making the soap, not stress about the pets while I’m making it.

I agree with the kitchen being the ideal place....there's really no benefit to being outside and lots of potential hazards (rain, wind, falling leaves, sun in your eyes, etc). Much more controlled environment inside.
Can you lock your pets on the deck while you use the kitchen?

Dog, maybe. Cats, no way they will be stupid and fall off the deck! It’s happened once already...I would also be stressed out if they were out there. Thanks though.

I have two dogs and soap in my kitchen. Generally they just lay in their bed off to the side if they even wander into the kitchen. My kitchen is open to my livingroom so no isolating the animals. It's much safer to do it in the kitchen where I have a sink.

So it’s not harmful to be soaping in same room as pets?

I don't lock the cat out either -- she just watches but is not super interested these days.
I think you will be fine. After soapmaking my clean-up is basically what it would be after cooking; I wipe the counter down, and that's pretty much it (I think unless you make a huge mess, "hosing down" the deck is really an overkill. It's not like you are playing with poison out there -- lye can be dangerous but it isn't poison).
If you have a kitchen, it may be better to make it there than on the deck. First I used the deck too, but going in and out with the lye and the oils is more dangerous and more hassle than just mixing everything in the sink.

Thank you! I was just in the mindset that lye is very very dangerous and do not soap anywhere near pets. So if I soap in the kitchen, Animals will most likely not come by me, dog will probably lay on floor near the kitchen, cats won’t bother, you think that’s safe?

 

[artemis]

The concern with animals (and small children and apparently some husbands) be is that they might be underfoot. This can cause accidents. Or, they might be injured if there's a splash. Or, that they might get into your lye solution or caustic batter.

The fumes dissipate very quickly.

My suggestion would be to open the windows, mix your lye in a container in the sink and then go play with the pets in another room for a little while. The solution will have to cool, anyway. If the animals wander in while soaping, treat it the way you would ripping hot cup of coffee around them.

 

[Catscankim]

I made my lye solution the other day, then a friend stopped by. So i put the container in another room and closed the door.

then i had to get it and carry it back out to the kitchen. My furballs reminded me that it was not a good idea to walk around with lye. They follow me everywhere, which put them literally under my feet.

next time i will just lock it in the microwave for safe keeping.

 

[TheGecko]

Freeze at least half your water as ice cubes and refrigerate the rest...very little to no fumes to worry about.

 

[Katie68121]

The concern with animals (and small children and apparently some husbands) be is that they might be underfoot. This can cause accidents. Or, they might be injured if there's a splash. Or, that they might get into your lye solution or caustic batter.

The fumes dissipate very quickly.

My suggestion would be to open the windows, mix your lye in a container in the sink and then go play with the pets in another room for a little while. The solution will have to cool, anyway. If the animals wander in while soaping, treat it the way you would ripping hot cup of coffee around them.

Thank you! This sounds like my best option.

Freeze at least half your water as ice cubes and refrigerate the rest...very little to no fumes to worry about.

great idea! Thank you!

 

[cmzaha]

Fumes only last a few seconds so do not stress it. I mix gallons of lye at a time with no issues.

 

[TheGecko]

[QUOTE="cmzaha, post: 841445, member: 6100"}Fumes only last a few seconds so do not stress it. I mix gallons of lye at a time with no issues.[/QUOTE]

I love master batching my lye the bast.

 

[MGM]

Especially if you're making smaller batches (under 1kg), the amount of lye you're mixing won't generate much in fumes. One thing to be careful about is not to spill the granules on the floor (or counter) where a pet would come and lick up the "crumbs".

 

[goat soap rulz!]

Think of it like this

bleach can burn you. It can kill you if you ingest it. It isn’t good for you to breathe the fumes in.
You spray your kitchen counters with bleach every night (at leaf I hope!) and you don’t lock the pets up. As long as you don’t let your cat up on the counter when it’s wet with bleach, they will be fine!

 

[mtinetti61]

OK, here's another option. I've been soaping for 20 years + and have gone through all the stages of kids, grandkids, dogs, several cats-- you name it (I'm down to 1 cat at preset). I do small batches (5# at most). I mix up my lye in the kitchen sink in a very tall plastic pitcher with a very long stainless steel spoon, so there's very little in the way of funes. I cover the solution, put it in the bathroom sink with the door shut, then measure the rest of my stuff which is non-toxic in the kitchen. I then mix up the soap in the kitchen sink, but you could easily carry the cooled oils to the bathroom, shut the door, and do the mixing there.