Wooden Mixing Spoon

[soapballs]

Why do some people say you should not ever use a wooden mixing spoon when making HP or CP soap (or is it just one of them)? I would much rather heat up wood then overheat plastic which could possibly leach toxins into my soap.

Is there a solid reason behind the no wood spoon rule? :???:

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

It can give off little splinters, especially if it has spent any time in lye or raw batter - these splinters can end up in the soap.

That said, I use wooden spoons until I find some cost effective plastic ones.

 

[Ruthie]

I am a proponent of wooden spoons! Yes, the lye does wear them out quickly, but when they begin to show signs of splitting and flaking, I just throw it away and get a new one. Just be sure you do not try to extend the life of that particular spoon through "one more" batch. When it shows serious wear, toss it!

 

[Dennis]

Be aware that eventually the lye will break down that wooden spoon and it will splinter and end up in your soap or worse. It is porous so before it splinters it will absorb lye. Now if it splinters just as you grab it to use and stick a lye heavy splinter into your finger the effect will be immediate whereas the plastic spoon could be used by your descendants making soap in their shelter on Mars while having a conversation about your final words before passing at the age of 136, "The spoon! It was that plastic spoon!" :mrgreen: I've been using the same plastic spoons for a few years with no problems in cp. I haven't done hp yet but use plastic spoons when cooking with no problems. The plastic will not absorb the lye and should withstand high temps unless you're using plastic spoons from a fast food joint. Then all bets are off.

 

[Susie]

The first soap I made, I used a previously-used-for-cooking wooden spoon. It turned black where the lye touched it. I threw it away after that batch, and bought some from the dollar store. 4 spoons for $1 that last through everything without discoloring or flaking. I wish they made more than one color, because I would love to have a set for cooking.

 

[Dennis]

The first soap I made, I used a previously-used-for-cooking wooden spoon. It turned black where the lye touched it. I threw it away after that batch, and bought some from the dollar store. 4 spoons for $1 that last through everything without discoloring or flaking. I wish they made more than one color, because I would love to have a set for cooking.

If you're concerned about mixing up cooking and soaping utensils use a Sharpie and put a few identifying rings around the handle of your soaping set so as not to use them for anything else. I store all soaping paraphernalia together and away from the kitchen. If a hobbyist and not in the whole growing business thing your storage away from other kitchen utensils might look something like this - but it works. Admittedly it has grown to a larger container but organizationally looks the same.

 

[soapballs]

I am just in the buying supplies/accumulation stage currently. I bought a nice thick wooden spoon with a flattened edge at Walmart for a few cents shy of $3. It is very thick and well made though so hopefully it last It never occurred to me about the splintered duh! I was racking my brain on that one and the so obvious never occurred to me!

 

[cmzaha]

I love these soap/ stir spoons and they last forever https://www.thesage.com/catalog/products/Soap-Spoon.html. I do not use wood spoons for the same reason I do not use a stick blender with plastic housing around the blades. Lye after time weakens the wood as mentiond earlier and you get splinters which you may not even notice. Lye also weakens the plastic on the sb and pieces of plastic can break off into your soap which you may not notice until it is to late. I had to toss a 5lb batch of soap that was a very high percentage of shea because after it had been poured and hardened I noticed my sb had to broken pieces off he blade guard. I absolutely could not take a chance of having the plastic in the soap.

 

[soapballs]

Oh those are awesome looking. Thank you for sharing that!

 

[Obsidian]

I used a wooden spoon when I first started soaping, a nice big expensive one. Three uses later and it had a huge hole eaten through it, I'll only use silicone now.

 

[Dennis]

I used a wooden spoon when I first started soaping, a nice big expensive one. Three uses later and it had a huge hole eaten through it, I'll only use silicone now.

Not to mention the trees destroyed and the energy consumed to make all of those wooden spoons.

Ahh, youth! Bless their hearts, they mean well.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0hFSktb0jk[/ame]

 

[bjannr]

Does anyone use stainless steel spoons?

 

[DeeAnna]

Sure can! It's just harder to scrape out a container with a spoon. Spatulas work better for me all around, so I only dirty up (and have to clean) just one utensil, not two.

 

[shunt2011]

I use large stainless steel spoons as well as silicone. Tried wood the first time and it went in the garbage.

 

[Dennis]

Sure can! It's just harder to scrape out a container with a spoon. Spatulas work better for me all around, so I only dirty up (and have to clean) just one utensil, not two.

Duhhh! I never thought to use the spatula. All this time I've used the spoon to mix lye and batter, ignoring the spatula until after pouring into the mold to get everything out of the bowl. Thanks.

 

[seven]

spatulas for me too. silicone ones are my fave for everything from mixing the lye, and the soap.

 

[Seawolfe]

I like wooden paint stirring sticks for stirring the water and lye. They don't haven any place for lye granules to land on, because they are straight. My local Ace Hardware store gives them away with every purchase, so I just use them for stirring and throw away if I see any signs of wear beyond discoloration.

 

[songwind]

If you're concerned about mixing up cooking and soaping utensils use a Sharpie and put a few identifying rings around the handle of your soaping set so as not to use them for anything else. I store all soaping paraphernalia together and away from the kitchen. If a hobbyist and not in the whole growing business thing your storage away from other kitchen utensils might look something like this - but it works. Admittedly it has grown to a larger container but organizationally looks the same.

I used colored electrical tape to do this. I put red rings on the handles of all my soaping utensils. Nothing without a ring goes in the soap after lye, and nothing with a ring goes into the kitchen.

 

[LadyM]

I use a stainless steel spoon to mix my lye solution and a silicone spatula for scraping pot sides BUT - I've been using the same heavy duty wooden spoons to stir my soap (when mixing lye and oils together for stirring) for over 8 years and they show absolutely zero sign of decay, splintering or erosion! I LOVE LOVE LOVE my woodens and wouldn't trade em! I think you just have to find some super hearty ones, and never put them directly in lye solution!

 

[soapballs]

LOL I jusyt saw the post of the video and laughed. I am not that bad lol. But you could use fallen trees or reclaimed wood Walmart used new wood and well it was not an endangered wood and its sustainable with less factory soot from making it but anyhoo.... lol

I used a wooden spoon when I first started soaping, a nice big expensive one. Three uses later and it had a huge hole eaten through it, I'll only use silicone now.

oh wow only 3 uses! Today while shopping I found a nice stainless steel spoon for $2 at Aldi. Its not a very flimsy one either so I think I will take back the wooden one. Stainless steel is okay right? Just not aluminum?

I used colored electrical tape to do this. I put red rings on the handles of all my soaping utensils. Nothing without a ring goes in the soap after lye, and nothing with a ring goes into the kitchen.

Oh that is a good way to mark them! Any angle you will be able to see the tape! That reminds me of my sterile processing days in the hospital. They mark surgical instruments the same way to keep sets together or a certain grouping of a particular doctors etc.

I like that ideal. Thank you for sharing that! So far I have my collection of things I've accumulated so far sitting on my coffee bar until I got everything I need. And I was wondering how i was going to make sure nothing got mixed up.