Is there some trick to cleaning melted soap out of pyrex and other utensils?

Soapmaking Forum

Help Support Soapmaking Forum:

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

misfities

Well-Known Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2015
Messages
85
Reaction score
19
Love making soap. Next day, I've got soap caked on the glassware so thick that its impossible to get off. Is there some kind of trick? Do you throw everything in the dishwasher? I can't seem to 'wipe' it all off and you can't carve it off with a flexible knife. What's the secret?:roll:
 
I scrape and wipe my dishes mostly clean then allow to harden and scrape off anything that remains into the trash before washing. I've heard of dishwashers needing repairs with made to deal with too much debris.

The bigger thing is that you need to switch from using pyrex or any kind of glassware with lye. It can develop tiny etches over time and suddenly shatter on you. It's not worth the risk. Use stainless steel or plastic containers only for CP. Check the bottom of a plastic contain for a number 2 or 5. Those are safe to use. I'm fond of painters' buckets from home improvement stores.. they are cheap, bendable and easy to store.
 
Love making soap. Next day, I've got soap caked on the glassware so thick that its impossible to get off. Is there some kind of trick? Do you throw everything in the dishwasher? I can't seem to 'wipe' it all off and you can't carve it off with a flexible knife. What's the secret?:roll:


I put all the pots and utensils in a big stainless pot of hot water and clean most of the stuff off in it and run everything thru the dishwater. Then I throw out the pot of water on my girlfriends flower bed.:grin: Soap is pretty easy to clean up compared to the beeswax I work with a lot.
 
First of all, do yourself a favor and not leave any of your precious soap behind by scraping every little bit that you can into the mold with your spatula. Then take a paper towel and wipe out any residue that's left. Then next day, when it's no longer oily, wash with hot water and dishwashing detergent. That's what I do, anyway.
 
hozhed what's the secret for beeswax & butters?

I make lip and hand balm with beeswax and butters, I use a silicone spatula to scrape out the liquid balm, then when it is down to the hard bits, I scrape out all I can with a metal spoon, then I pour boiling water into it, wait a minute, and then drop ice cubes in. This melts, then hardens the beeswax and butters so all I have to do is grab the hard bits with a paper towel or something.
 
hozhed what's the secret for beeswax & butters?


I have no idea. I am brand new at making cold process soaps. Some others here would have much more knowledge than me. I have been beekeeping for a while tho, and make a pretty good lip balm if I do say so. It took me a while, but I finally got it right. I use my honey and propolis in some of my melt and pour soaps. I think beekeeping and soaping kind of go well together.:mrgreen:
 
For a container with beeswax residue, I personally, heat up the container until it melts (whatever is in the container) then wipe it out and wash it with hot water and dish detergent. Very easy.
 
For a container with beeswax residue, I personally, heat up the container until it melts (whatever is in the container) then wipe it out and wash it with hot water and dish detergent. Very easy.

Containers are not too bad, but strainers and basters and such are a pain. Never seem to be able to get everything out.
 
Oh, I must have missed "basters". I would do the same thing: heat up some water with detergent and pull up the hot water into the baster for awhile until it's all gone. However, if you've got fragrance oil, in there, it's probably not coming out.
 
I scrape and wipe my dishes mostly clean then allow to harden and scrape off anything that remains into the trash before washing. I've heard of dishwashers needing repairs with made to deal with too much debris.

The bigger thing is that you need to switch from using pyrex or any kind of glassware with lye. It can develop tiny etches over time and suddenly shatter on you. It's not worth the risk. Use stainless steel or plastic containers only for CP. Check the bottom of a plastic contain for a number 2 or 5. Those are safe to use. I'm fond of painters' buckets from home improvement stores.. they are cheap, bendable and easy to store.

Thank you for the two or five number reference for plastic containers. I've never heard that before and I appreciate you posting that! I originally was going to use pyrex to mix my lie. But after seeing this post and reading others, I've decided that plastic is the way to go.
 
Back
Top