How to deal with cat hair and curing soap

LucyPfeffa · Jul 28, 2017

I have a question about waiting while the soap is curing...how do you keep random cat hairs from landing on the soap, if air has to circulate around the soaps? I understand Stella & Bosco have to be locked up or go outside when I'm dealing with the lye, etc., but afterwards? Does covering with cheesecloth impair the curing process?

BattleGnome · Jul 28, 2017

I think you should be ok with cheesecloth.

I have 3 cats and don't worry about it, but we have a decently sized house and the cats don't spend too much time around my soaps. My BiL is very allergic to cats and hasn't complained about cat hair on my soaps. If he ever does I might resort to the cheesecloth idea or something similar.

DeeAnna · Jul 28, 2017

I have 4 cats and 4 dogs. They shed constantly. And so do I. And I live in the country on a gravel road, so our house is dustier than most.

I keep my soap lightly covered either with sheets of thin waxed paper or thin cotton toweling. Anything reasonably breathable is fine -- inexpensive muslin or "tea towels" or flour sack towels to give you some ideas. Even white paper towels. Your cheesecloth would do, although it won't be quite as effective against dust.

SunRiseArts · Jul 28, 2017

Don't mean to be rude or anything, but animals should not be near the soap area or the soaps. Unless you only soap for yourself?

When I had pets, they were always outside, and never came inside the house, seems nowadays people always let them in. :think:

toxikon · Jul 28, 2017

SunRiseArts said:
Don't mean to be rude or anything, but animals should not be near the soap area or the soaps. Unless you only soap for yourself?

When I had pets, they were always outside, and never came inside the house, seems nowadays people always let them in. :think:

Speaking for myself, I have a small house where dog hair lurks in every corner. It's an impossible mission to avoid it. :mrgreen:

I don't sell but I make sure soaps are hair-free before giving away soap to friends and family.

Covering with a light cloth during curing helps, then boxing then up when they're done curing.

Primrose · Jul 28, 2017

My cats have a tendency to try to eat my curing soaps, especially the honey, milk and oat ones
I just cure my soap in a spare bedroom and keep the door closed

DeeAnna · Jul 28, 2017

SunRiseArts said:
Don't mean to be rude or anything, but animals should not be near the soap area or the soaps. Unless you only soap for yourself?

When I had pets, they were always outside, and never came inside the house, seems nowadays people always let them in. :think:

If I feel the need to preface my remarks with an apology, then it's nearly certain my remarks are indeed rude. Indeed, that's one of my rules for deciding whether to speak my mind or not.

I have had indoor cats and dogs since I was a little kid, and that's been a more decades ago than I care to admit. It has nothing to do with "nowadays" or not; it has everything to do with family preferences. The wealthy family that built the Longview Farm in the 1800s in what is now the southeast part of the Kansas City metro had a separate room constructed near the parent's bedroom on the second floor just for their dogs to sleep in.

Whether it's pet hair or my hair, it doesn't matter -- I want my soap to always be clean and sanitary, so I take precautions to keep it that way. It works fine. And, yes, I do sell.

earlene · Jul 28, 2017

SunRiseArts said:
When I had pets, they were always outside, and never came inside the house, seems nowadays people always let them in. :think:

Well, I am almost 70 and our pets were all allowed indoors from my first memory of having family pets. I cannot imagine living in Texas and not allowing your pets inside. (Of course, maybe you didn't have pets while living in Texas.) My granddaughter's dogs would have surely died long ago from heatstroke if they had never been allowed inside their house in San Antonio! And if my husband & I had pets, which we don't because we travel too much to properly care for them, I would never treat them like livestock.

I can't argue the fact that it may not be Good Manufacturing Practice to allow family pets free run of the soap room, but I sure would argue relegating pets to the great outdoors and never allowing them inside the home. IMO they aren't pets if they aren't allowed indoors.

The Efficacious Gentleman · Jul 29, 2017

I think it is a good point to highlight - if you give a soap to someone then it should be clear of hair in case of allergies. That doesn't necessarily mean the animals aren't allowed inside, but that caution can be used to make sure that the bars are clean when giving them away.

Kittish · Jul 29, 2017

I use a sheer panel curtain over my rack to keep dust and hair off my soap. 2 longhair cats, one tribble-spawning dog, me with nearly waist length hair and an ogre with hair everywhere except the top of his head. Plus, we live in a desert, our soil base is mix of caliche, clay and sand. Tons of dust. Very, very fine dust that goes right through cheesecloth. The rack is attached to the wall behind the door of our computer room and the curtain is set up so it's tight to the wall above the rack and naturally drapes snug to the wall down both sides. There's a fan on in here 24/7 already, because of the computers, so there's steady circulation through the room. When soaps come off the rack, they'll be packaged in shrink wrap (not fully sealed) and stacked in a crate on top of my gadget rack in the kitchen with the crate probably covered with another sheer panel. So far it looks like the only problem I'll have with the setup is running out of room to cure soaps. And that's sort of by design, actually. I need to try to not drown myself in soap right away.

navigator9 · Jul 29, 2017

I've always cured my soaps in a cabinet with trays that slide in and out. I've always had cats and or dogs, and although they did not hang out in the craft room, their hair can float just about anywhere. When I wrap soap for sale, I always do it with glasses on, and under a bright, gooseneck lamp, so that I can inspect every single one. It was very seldom that I would find a stray hair, but with this method, I felt confident that I didn't miss any. I've always had pets from as far back as I can remember, and I'm 67. My pets are family. Just as much as the two legged ones. I actually prefer them to some of the two legged ones. As a customer, I would not like to see either animal or human hair on the products I buy, but I think that you can live with animals in the house and still manage to produce products that are hair free.

"tribble-spawning dog"....Kittish, it took a few seconds for that mental picture to form.

biarine · Jul 29, 2017

I crochet a bags that can fit 4 bar and I put them in a small basket, it help to minimise a cat hair and dust. Sometimes I made a small cover individually here's the one.

ImageUploadedBySoap Making1501374507.188098.jpg

Dahila · Jul 29, 2017

dogs are outside to run, to relieve themselves, they are members of the family, cats too . I always had a dog hair in house and it did not make me unhappy. I would rather vacuum clean everyday than not to have dogs and have clean house.
I do not want to be rude but the statement of keeping dogs outside upsets me........
BTW dogs who are kept outside do no have social skills and can get in pretty nasty habits ...........I had seen it in Spain

Nyathera · Jul 30, 2017

Kittish, that is a very clever idea!

I have 3 cats, all indoor cat's. I make my soaps in the kitchen, without cats. They can stay in a bathroom that time. They always get a treat after that

When soap is curing I cover the mold with something, like paper towel. And when it's time to cut the soap, I have kitty-free bedroom were I put the soap after cutting, in a cardboard boxes

I'm not selling but I do like to give them as gifts.

Kittish · Jul 30, 2017

Nyathera said:
Kittish, that is a very clever idea!

I have 3 cats, all indoor cat's. I make my soaps in the kitchen, without cats. They can stay in a bathroom that time. They always get a treat after that When soap is curing I cover the mold with something, like paper towel. And when it's time to cut the soap, I have kitty-free bedroom were I put the soap after cutting, in a cardboard boxes I'm not selling but I do like to give them as gifts.

Thank you. I haven't got the space to keep a room cat-free. Eventually I hope to have a dedicated crafting studio, for all of my assorted hobbies. It's going to be a few years yet before I can manage that, however.

The Efficacious Gentleman · Jul 30, 2017

In Ireland it was actually odd to keep dogs inside the house, so let's not get bent out of shape based on other cultures and their habits. Btw, those dogs were also loved and lovely when treated well.

Dahila · Jul 30, 2017

my Irish friends have dogs inside,,,,,,,,,,

penelopejane · Jul 30, 2017

The Efficacious Gentleman said:
In Ireland it was actually odd to keep dogs inside the house, so let's not get bent out of shape based on other cultures and their habits. Btw, those dogs were also loved and lovely when treated well.

Yes lots of dogs and cats are kept outside in Oz too. Doesn't mean they are not part of the family.

SunRiseArts · Jul 30, 2017

Yikes guys, don't get mad at me.

In the country we had barns for the animals. I remember my father in law digging holes out side for the dogs and filling with water, so they would cool off.

Now I live in the suburbs, sadly, because I really want to move back to the country. I do not have animals in my house, because is my personal preference, and I feel they do not have space to run and be free. But that is just me. I get it that people love their pets, nothing wrong with that.

In my personal preference, people that mess with food and cosmetics, should not have animals around. Before I made soap, I always asked to the people I bought from if they had animals in the house. If they did, I would pass. I am one of those germ freaks. But again, is probably just me, and most people don't care.

biarine · Jul 31, 2017

For me there's a lot of soaper that has pet but they took more steps to sanitised their soaping area and I seen a lot of soaping videos that the soaper's don't have pet but their soaping area isn't spotless either. If I am a neat freak I will check where they made and cure their soap too not only if they have pet. Hygiene is more than just a fur...

How to deal with cat hair and curing soap

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