Dissolved Lye

[mglory]

I just made a batch of soap using clear water for the liquid and usually I have used goats milk for the liquid. Before I added the dissolved liquid to the fats and oils I noticed floating little particles in the water. I thought the lye was dissolved when I finished stirring but I mixed it up some more and the floating pieces just mushed up against the side of the pitcher and would not disappear. Everything was very clean when I mixed it up so I don't know if that is the way it's supposed to look and I don't see it because I use the gm. I ended up cutting up an old dish towel and strained it before I added the lye water to the fats and oils and it was clear at that point. Any ideas about what this is? :?

Thanks.
Pat

 

[Guest]

I have had this happen a time or two . I don't know what causes it though .I wonder if the lye was getting old ( if it does) or somehow moisture got into it , or is there something besides 100% lye in the container .I strained it too and the soap is fine .Maybe someone who knows "why" will pop in

Kitn

 

[Egzandra]

That happened to me too,slightly, I was using mineral water from a bottle (as I could not find distilled) and I wondered whether it was the minerals floating on the top. It reminded me of the film I get on the water in our kettle as we live in a hard water area.

The soap was fine, I actually did not bother to strain it.

 

[mglory]

Thanks for the quick replies. I used my tap water, not distilled. I live in the country and we have our own well with very hard rusty water. We have every kind of filter and a softener so I thought it would be ok to use the tap water.

 

[jarvan]

I have had this happen a couple of times. When I stopped washing my soaping stuff in the dishwasher and washed everything right before I started to soap, I noticed a big improvement. Also, I strictly stick to distilled water in a jug I keep in the fridge. I think the couple of times it happened to me, it was either oil residue or that and a combination of dishwasher soap residue that caused the "floaties" that stick to the top of the lye solution and the pitcher.