Floating lye

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Sanctuary

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2012
Messages
46
Reaction score
18
So....I made my first batch of CP soap. I followed all precautions....including mixing the lye and water outside because I have a McCaw and 2 dogs. The weirdest thing happened.....the lye floated in the air.....out of the bottle there were all these little tiny balls of lye. I looked around....there wasn't a breath of air outside. I'm thinking that maybe the lye is negatively charged or something(chemestry 101....lol). I'm thinking that maybe I need to measure the lye inside and then adding to the water outside. I am trying to be very careful with the lye...I don't want any kind of accidents inside the house. Has this happened to anyone else......should I measure the lye inside the house and then combine it with the water outside?....Can someone please advise.....Is there lye crystals that can be purchased? If there are...I would much rather use the crystal then the floatie ball type....anyway...my first batch turned out pretty good....it's been a little over a week. Other then the soap having to absorb some of the oils....it's turning out pretty good. If anybody can respond to some of the questions I had...it would be greatly appreciated.
Blessings,
Sanctuary
 
Lye is pretty light, I know when I pour it into plastic cups it tries to jump out, Im guessing its due to the static. Im not sure if you can purchase it in other forms, I've only ever seen the little balls (Ive bought from the hardware store and The Lye Guy). Congrats on your first batch, its always a great feeling when you learn something new and it turns out well!
 
The lye I am currently using is flakes that I bought from Brambleberry. It doesn't seem to try and jump around when I am measuring or pouring. I can get Rooto cheaper at Ace Hardware around the corner but its all small pellets and dust. Haven't seen or felt a difference in the final outcome of the soap but without adding in the extra cost of shipping it is still less expensive to use the Rooto so when I am out I will probably switch back.
 
Congratulations on your first batch!

Floating lye would have been freaky to see. I'm glad it didn't cause any problems for you. As HutCar92 mentioned, static can cause the small balls to disperse. I had a problem a couple of winters ago with lye flipping out of the container when I opened it. I guess the warm and dry air coming from the furnace was creating static. A tip someone mentioned is to buy the unscented dryer sheets and wipe the exterior of the container before you open it. This should eliminate the static and the lye won't scatter around. I tried it and it worked for me. You might want to give this a try and see if it helps you.

Another suggestion is to buy a covered container, weigh the lye into it and then take it outside to pour into the water. I've seen syrup containers with pour spouts and sugar containers with the screw on lids in dollar stores. Containers like these might work well. The negative side of this is I think the ones I saw in the dollar stores were glass. It might be better to look for one which is plastic just in case it gets dropped.

Below is some links to pics to clarify what I mean.

Syrup Dispenser
Sugar Dispenser

I think something like this one would be better if you could find one which wasn't too big. Mini Keeper
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I use the dryer sheet trick and I wipe the container I'm measuring into as well. Since I started doing that - no problems at all.
 
That's the main purpose of this forum - dissemination of helpful advice. :wink:

I have learned so much from people on this forum that I often forget who mentions which tip. If I had a better memory, I would give credit to the people but at least I remember the tips. :D

@Sanctuary

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get off topic.
 
Thanks everbody for the info....I'm going to try the dryer sheet trick with my next batch. That really was a bizarre experience that I never want to happen again. I guess because it was so hot out that day ....98.....I'm also going to look for longer gloves, so that none of it gets on me or down into the gloves. Again...thank you so much for all the helpful info and all the encouragement....it trully is appreciated.

Blessings to All
Sanctuary
 
Back
Top