A lake of castor oil and tears

[newbie]

Today, I decided to pour castor oil from my 25 pound box into my 7 pound jug for ease of pouring. I set a funnel in my jug and carefully placed it beneath my box, which was fairly full, turned the spigot and made certain the thin stream of thick gooey castor oil was going into the funnel. I figured in the few minutes I was taking to prepare for my next batch of soap, I would have a few inches in the jug, which is good enough to go on.

Have I mentioned that I have a very short attention span? Yes, I do, very short indeed. I completely forgot I had set this up and went downstairs to find a vast lake of castor oil in my basement, created over at least a couple hours. My 7 pound jug is full, at least. I suspect my 25 pound box is nearly empty though.

What is one to do? I set down an entire roll of paper towels to get the first draw up done, my socks sticking slightly to the edges where I couldn't see the shore of the lake. I can't even see all the places it went so I will have to work my way from the outside in. My mom is in rehab after breaking her shoulder and tonight was dedicated to preparing food that she will eat and getting my house in decent shape for when I leave to drive up to her tomorrow morning.

I am very sad. One could interpret that to mean I am emotionally down or that I am pathetic, and both would be correct.

 

[Millie]

Oh no! Do you have sawdust or kitty litter? Sorry to hear about your mom.

 

[Susie]

OH, NO!!!

You are NOT pathetic!!! You are human! Every last one of us has pulled a stunt like that. I had a lake of laundry soap all over the kitchen (container that I knew was iffy used to store it). Have you ever tried to clean up gallons of laundry soap off a floor when it has sat all day? The more you rinse, the more that is there. Big hint-get a wide paint scraper or other large scraper, and scrape off as much as humanly possible before starting to rinse. It will save you an eternity of washing. I hate you lost all that castor oil, though!

 

[newbie]

I'm trying to be positive. I figure I will now have fresh castor oil, since I will have to reorder sooner than expected. I have no idea which I'd prefer, oil or soap all over the floor....

I make have some wood litter we got for our injured wildlife cage. That's a good idea.

 

[Soapmaker145]

You might be sad right now but you're not pathetic. I think you just had your mom on your mind. It's understandable. My mom broke her shoulder to and I spent very nice time going with her to PT and then taking her out to lunch and shopping (more like a bribe for her to do her PT). You may also find a silver lining somewhere in this mess.

I should probably tell you about the time I tried to dilute 12 kg of laundry soap paste and forgot about the pot until the smell of soap reminded me that there is something on the burner. It had boiled over, ruined the glass surface of a fairly new electric stove, and covered the floor with a lake of soap. Talk about a slippery mess and never ending bubbles. By the time I finished cleaning, I was happy I didn't break my neck.

I see that Susie and I have something in common.

 

[cmzaha]

That is a big loss with the price of Castor Oil. Do not feel bad I also have a very very short attention span and make bo bo's and messes. Fortunetly I have not had pools of oil to clean up but have had a fairly large pool of glycerin I was pouring out of a 5 gallon bucket. At least that I was able to clean up with water. I would go for the kitty litter too.

Sorry to hear about your mom, hope she heals well. You are certainly not pathetic, just to much to do with your mom. Good luck to you Newbie. Be careful driving to see and help your mom

 

[mommycarlson]

Newbie, ditto to everything said above. Don't be so hard on yourself! We've all done things like this, I have a list of things myself, I am so easily distracted it happens too often, but just think of the funny stories you can tell. Okay, it's not funny just yet.....but it'll be okay! Healing wishes for your mom, my mom has broken more body parts than I can count, bless her little heart

 

[shunt2011]

What a bummer. You are not alone. We've all made attention span errors. Hope you get it all cleaned up and hope your mom is okay!

 

[HowieRoll]

Oh, I am so sorry this happened! I can be a little too absent-minded all too often, so feel your frustration. It sounds like you have a lot on your mind these days.

I like the clean-up methods mentioned, especially Susie's suggestion to use something to scrape up the bulk of it. Maybe use two pieces of stiff cardboard, or flexible cutting mats, or a snow shovel to get it into a bucket or other container?

Good luck with all of this, and I hope your mom is back on her feet again very soon.

 

[Millie]

'A lake of castor oil and tears'... you could write Hallmark cards for soapers

 

[Kamahido]

After the second time I did that with my Olive Oil I now sit down and watch the 7 pound jug fill.

 

[dixiedragon]

Bummer! The kitty litter is a good idea, other than that. Just be sure you don't let any pets lick at it, since it is a laxative!

 

[earlene]

Newbie, Sleep well tonight and drive carefully tomorrow when you go see your mom. Maybe you and she can laugh about it tomorrow. There's nothing like a mom to understand when we make these little mistakes.

While you're out, maybe you can buy some kitty litter. It's what my husband uses in the garage and on the driveway to clean up motor oil. It works so exceptionally well, it amazes me. Not just absorbing all the oil, but also the stains from the concrete. Oh, and you might want a new stiff push broom, too. And a good sturdy dust pan to sweep that oil absorbing kitty litter into.

I am known for leaving the water faucet on to heat up the washcloth so I can wash my face, and walking away because it takes so long for the water to get hot. I couldn't even guess how many times my husband has come to me and said, 'The water's running in the bathroom.' Always in an exasperated tone. I never told him about the time I did that and water ended up all over the dry sink-style bathroom counter and even ran down inside the cupboard underneath and into some of the storage bins inside the cupboard. At least it was just water, but it sure took a lot of time to clean it all up and get everything dry again and put away. Thankfully I've not done that particular one again, but that's not to say I haven't left the water on for too long since, just haven't had it go all over the place.

 

[mx5inpenn]

Sorry this happened! We all have days that the attention drifts

 

[newbie]

I started cleaning it up. Lord above, it is so gooey! Now it seems like a lake of clear snot.

Thank you for all the well wishes for my mom. I will pass them on to her. She had a rough go at the start but is gaining traction now. I wish I could say this happened because I had my mind on her but I'm afraid that had nothing to do with it. I'm notoriously distractible.

It could have been worse, for sure. I know someone who put a chicken in the sink and was running cold water over it to thaw it quicker, then forgot. They ended up with an entirely new kitchen because she destroyed the entire floor. I just have various tools and boxes stuck to the floor in stringy goop. It's all covered so the pets won't lick it, but it wouldn't surprise me if some mice find it and get the runs.

 

[CaraBou]

I wish I could say this happened because I had my mind on her but I'm afraid that had nothing to do with it. I'm notoriously distractible.

For someone with abbreviated attention you sure can focus on designing stunning soaps! No one can have it all but in my book you've got it straight. I hope you recover from this expensive hassle nearly as quickly as your mom recovers from her injury.

 

[newbie]

I must add that if you ever want to seek revenge on anyone, please consider spilling castor oil all over their floor. After the initial clean up, they will find it is necessary to wipe it down over and over and over to get the everlasting sticky film off the floor. I just finished cleaning up (I think) but we will see if my shoes still stick a bit tomorrow.

Thanks for all the thoughts for my mom. She is slowly but surely improving.

 

[dibbles]

Sorry newbie. I can be easily distracted too, and feel like I've walked the edge many times and have been pretty darn lucky. The worst for me was laundry related, which in no way compares to oil. I can't even imagine. I am glad your mom is recovering. Wishing you both well.

 

[penelopejane]

So sorry, Newbie. What an awful thing to happen.

If it is a concrete floor the kitty litter will draw the oil out. Don't use metho or turps as that will make it penetrate further.

If it is a lino floor you will just have to wipe and wipe and wipe.

Don't beat yourself up too much. I can't even remember the number of saucepans and frypans I have had to throw away (without my DH knowing - I think he thinks I clean them!) because I have turned dinner into charcoal.

 

[Nao]

I second penelopejane, who knew you could boil potatoes into fire briquettes?