Few basic general questions

[MrDurden]

As you are going to be moving your lye solution through all three containers(you must add the lye/solid oil mixture to the liquid oils, not the liquid oils to the lye/solid oil mixture), you need to be absolutely sure all containers are safe for the lye to be in. I bought additional containers to be able to do this method. You sell, so you probably already have plenty.

My oils are stored in food-grade plastic containers I get from a restaurant supply store. I've only mixed lye in stainless steel. So my pot for soap making gets the solid oils (where I put on low heat to melt them) and then add the liquid oils. Then the lye/water mix. But now I will try it with putting the solid liquids in the soap pot (as usual) then add the lye/water mix that I made in another stainless pot right after it's mixed to melt the solid oils. Then add the liquid oils.

Selling is something I do very little of. Just want to make that clear. I give away most everything I make. That whole thing got blown out of context on here.

 

[Susie]

If you add the oils to the lye solution, you could splash that lye solution all over. That's why everyone tells you to add the lye solution to the solid oils, and then to the liquid oils. I can tell you from personal experience that even though you try to be careful and slow, you are going to get in a hurry and dump quickly at least once. And that once lands who knows how much lye solution where it does no good. Then you have to start over with the lye solution to have a good soap(after cleaning up). It is just not worth it to do it the other way.

You may want to check the bottom of those food grade containers to see what they are made of. If it has a 2 or a 5 in the little triangle, you could use one of those to do the final step of mixing the lye/solid oil mixture to the liquid oil.