Don't clean up

[Bigmoose]

A while back when I was washing my soap making equiptment I thought "If I let this set it will turn into soap and be easy to clean". I did it once. Has this crossed anyone else's mind before?

Bruce

 

[Ganiggle]

A while back when I was washing my soap making equiptment I thought "If I let this set it will turn into soap and be easy to clean". I did it once. Has this crossed anyone else's mind before?

Bruce

I'm new to soaping. Good idea! I absolutely hate cleaning up afterwards. Everything is SO GREASY! It's like... I clean it, and it looks clean... but it's still all greasy. I haven't cleaned up from yesterdays soap making yet, so maybe I'll just try leaving it for a while

 

[xraygrl]

lots of people do it that way. Me, I can't stand if everything isn't cleaned up and put away when I'm done.....I'm a little OCD that way.

 

[gekko62]

A while back when I was washing my soap making equiptment I thought "If I let this set it will turn into soap and be easy to clean". I did it once. Has this crossed anyone else's mind before?

Bruce

YES!!!! was one of the first tips I came across when I started researching soap.....great for batches where you use a big pot but I find with smaller ones(which most of mine are) it's just easier to do it straight away.I fill my soapbowl with sudsy hot water to clean the SB anyway so just use that to rinse any extras,then its just a regular washup

 

[LJA]

I do it that way. Of course, it's in a basement wash tub and out of the way, and I usually don't have much left in the pot anyway because I spatula the bowl to death and wipe any excess goop out with paper towel. Whatevers left on my tools just turns to soap and cleanup IS easier. I mostly did it though, because people have warned me that the raw soap in my drain is bad....I'm not sold on that totally (it IS drain cleaner, after all) but...well...I took their word for it...lol.

I wanna know how you guys deal with beeswax. I HATE cleaning that up...

 

[gekko62]

I wanna know how you guys deal with beeswax. I HATE cleaning that up...

I found a great tip for beeswax-don't know if this is quite what you meant LJA,but I reckon cleaning up ONCE has to be better than every bloody time! lol
You melt all the big chunky beeswax,have a sinkful of icy water ready,then trickle fine threads of BW across it.It sets into lovely little bits,scoop out with a slotted spoon,repeat til its all done & leave to drain,and then you've got lovely little managable BW bits which you can easily melt with other oils(I reckon I'd break em up a bit so they were like bw crumbs).....and therefore avoid bw all over knives/vegie peelers/graters/box knives/screwdrivers/saws etcetcetc LOL (that stuff is a PITA!)

 

[LJA]

I wanna know how you guys deal with beeswax. I HATE cleaning that up...

I found a great tip for beeswax-don't know if this is quite what you meant LJA,but I reckon cleaning up ONCE has to be better than every bloody time! lol
You melt all the big chunky beeswax,have a sinkful of icy water ready,then trickle fine threads of BW across it.It sets into lovely little bits,scoop out with a slotted spoon,repeat til its all done & leave to drain,and then you've got lovely little managable BW bits which you can easily melt with other oils(I reckon I'd break em up a bit so they were like bw crumbs).....and therefore avoid bw all over knives/vegie peelers/graters/box knives/screwdrivers/saws etcetcetc LOL (that stuff is a PITA!)

Great tip! What I actually was referring to (sorry for hijacking the thread...ugh) was after I melt beeswax in a measuring cup or something and pour it into whatever concoction I'm making (I don't use it in soap). What's ever left in the cup that didn't pour and dried, is a PITA the get out, not to mention the spoons you stirred with, droppers etc. I started using wooden tongue depressors for stirring (disposable!) but I still have to clean containers. If I were more organized, I'd only use glass for remelthing and wiping or whatever, but...alas...
::handing the thread back over...sorry:::

 

[gekko62]

::handing the thread back over...sorry:::[/quote]

No,me that should be sorry bout that

 

[xraygrl]

The best way I have come across for cleaning up beeswax is to reheat what is left in the container and immediatetly wipe it out with a paper towel. Works like a charm!

 

[artisan soaps]

..

 

[Guest]

I let my utensils and tools sit in the soap pot with water in it , I whiz the SB in a jug of hot water and clean the soap pot the next day. Sometimes I clean it up right away , I am pretty anal about scraping every last drop of soap out , though, so it isn't a lot of raw soap. :wink: .

Kitn

 

[xyxoxy]

I mostly did it though, because people have warned me that the raw soap in my drain is bad....I'm not sold on that totally (it IS drain cleaner, after all) but...well...I took their word for it...lol.

My Dad was a plumber for over 40 years. He tells me that raw oils and even the soap itself is pretty bad for septic systems. So there is no good answer there. He says both oils and suds will slowly clog the ground over time limiting your septic systems ability to drain properly.

I suppose those of us on public sewage systems don't need to worry AS much... but I think the lye would corrode the pipes over time and the oils would build up... so probably letting the soap do it's thing before washing down the drain is better for us.

 

[redfishingirl]

I read a tip somewhere about 5 batches ago and so far it works great for me. I hated wasting paper towels, and knew it was bad to wash the soap down the drain. I tried leaving in the pot 'til it turned to soap- what a PITA to get out when it was hard!
SO-
I wipe everything off with regular towels, then let the towels sit in my wash tub a couple days, and run them through the wash cycle. My soap dishes are clean enough to wash and put away, and I am not wasting paper towels!

 

[heyjude]

Before and after my soapmaking is when my kitchen is at its cleanest!!
If I don't clean up right away, I'm afraid it might never get done!

Jude

 

[Vinca Leaf]

I totally let all my soap equipment set for a day, maybe two if I'm lazy.

Beeswax? I have a dedicated cup for it...well, a couple...and I heat it in the micro with equal amounts of an oil (usually olive). There's always a wee bit of beeswax "mixture" left in it, but it's like an almost disposable cup...so when it's time to go, I will not be sad!

(I just keep reusing the same cup to melt beeswax)

 

[gekko62]

I mostly did it though, because people have warned me that the raw soap in my drain is bad....I'm not sold on that totally (it IS drain cleaner, after all) but...well...I took their word for it...lol.

I suppose those of us on public sewage systems don't need to worry AS much... but I think the lye would corrode the pipes over time and the oils would build up... so probably letting the soap do it's thing before washing down the drain is better for us.

Well,the reason we use draincleaners is to clear the skanky fat buildup,plus washup detergent emulsifies the oily raw soap to a point,plus its all diluted to the nth degree so on one hand it seems ok.

However,leaving til the soaps set means you dont have to add detergent,(I run warm water into the soapypot,wash in that then rinse)& the less the better as far as our environment goes....6 of one/ 1/2 dozen of the other I say...

btw...lye shouldn't corrode sewerage pipes,being they're plastic,ceramic or clay

 

[flyingpig]

A while back when I was washing my soap making equiptment I thought "If I let this set it will turn into soap and be easy to clean". I did it once. Has this crossed anyone else's mind before?

Bruce

Yeah, that's one of the sweet things about making such a mess in the kitchen! You can just walk away from it for a day, and the next day cleanup is a snap.

 

[Deda]

I used to let it sit, but I can't stand to leave it all out. (sometimes I do - but I still can't stand it)

I make soap everyday. When I'm getting ready to start a soaping session I love having everything all ready set to go. Much easier.
If I had to wash up before I started I might never start.

 

[gekko62]

Much easier.
If I had to wash up before I started I might never start.

LOL ...I know THAT feeling!

 

[xyxoxy]

btw...lye shouldn't corrode sewerage pipes,being they're plastic,ceramic or clay

I'm thinking of the small lead (?) steel (?) drain pipes hooked to my sink drains and the old cast iron drain pipes that those smaller drain pipes flow into. I've had cast iron pipes like those crumble in my hands when trying to open a clean out (different house). My current house was built in the 50's and those pipes have probably already seen a fair share of drain cleaners and other chemicals over the years.

I have no problem dumping some lye down those drains when they are getting slow but I don't like the idea of running it through those pipes on a regular basis when it's not needed.