Curing The Soap

[mgood86]

Hello I am curious to know if anyone has built a curing room with a dehumidifier to help cure the soaps faster? I dreamed of doing this the other night and woke up just wondering if it is possible to do this. Can any of you "Seasoned Warriors" offer me some ideas on the absolute best locations to put the soaps to cure, like maybe in the furnace room where it would tend to be less humid? Thank you for putting up with my incessant chattering.

 

[Mouse]

I am FASCINATED by this question...sorry I don't have the answer. Does humidity slow cure time? I knew it affected soaps, especially makes them sweat and stuff...right? I have no idea. I am fortunate enough, in terms of soap making, to live in a very dry, arid desert area in eastern WA. I simply don't have challenges related to humidity that others have, I suppose. It would be really interesting to soap in a different climate and see how it affects process and finished product.
I'm really interested in responses to this!

 

[Tegan]

Currently I cure my soap on top of my kitchen cabinets. Keeps them out of the way. I'm going to have to make a curing rack soon though, I'm quickly running out of space since going into serious production. I'm in Iowa. Where it can get humid in the summer. But honestly, since we have kids and pets we run the ac...which keeps the humidity down. No issues in our winter.

 

[tlm884]

I have this feeling that humidity does increase cure times. I live in a bachelor suite and every time I shower my house becomes a sick humid mess and I think it is affecting the dry/cure times of my soap.

Dehumidifiers are expensive. Another option you could use is something called a moisture magnet. It is calcium chloride in a bag and it sucks water out of the air and then it falls into a pail underneath the bag. They are about $8CAD where I am.

Edit:

I just found this on a random website and thought it couldn't hurt to share. The worst thing that happens is you have a bunch of newspaper stuck in your drying closet!

Newspapers: If you are the type of person who likes to use items that are already on hand, then here is a simple method - newspaper. Roll up fairly recent newspaper (old papers have absorbed moisture and aren't as effective), rubber band them and then place them standing up in closets. Every couple of months be sure to replace the newspaper and you will have a very reasonable and handy way of dealing with humidity without having to buy special items.

 

[IrishLass]

I'm probably of no help to you since I live in one of the few most driest places in the US and have absolutely no moisture/humidity problems with my soap, but I've heard of several soapers who live in humid climates having a spare room set aside somewhere in their house with a closed door and dehumidifier, and they have good success with that. I've also heard of some soapers using some kind of moisture absorbant material such as what tlm884 mentioned, and they say it works great for them. Hopefully some of them will chime in soon.

Yes- humidity can affect cure times because soap can absorb moisture from the ambient air. In Dr. Kevin Dunn's book, Scientific Soapmaking, he points out how the weight of a soap can fluctuate due to humidity changes in the room it's being stored in.

IrishLass

 

[mgood86]

Ahhhh, so my brain was working overtime trying to help in my new addiction! LOL Thank you all for posting your comments. That's what I was thinking that humidity has to have some sort of effect on cure time. I live in Michigan and being born and raised here we know that if you don't like the current weather just wait 5 minutes and it will be something different! LOL As it is it is usually humid in my home as I have reef aquaria in three rooms so I need some ideas where to get the best curing punch. I can build shelving racks in any given place. Looking forward to more comments.

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

Hi, I'm a newbie and I've also been wondering lately about the effect the changing season will have on soap curing time. We're in a log house in Virginia and just recently started up our coal stove for the winter (I can't believe we just got our first snow today :shock: ). In spite of my best attempts at putting moisture back into the air, our house's humidity levels stay really low all winter long ~ 19-23% is avg., it's 25% today but winter isn't here yet. I keep water on the stove and dry my laundry on racks in the living room (faster than using the dryer!) and I'm wondering if my soap will cure faster now. I don't have them near the stove, I wouldn't want to melt them! How does one really tell if a soap is done curing? I don't mind letting them set for the required amounts of time, but how do you know when they're "done"?

 

[Fyrja]

I live in an extremely humid area of the country. In the summer not only do I have issues with soaps overheating, I have to deal with humidity as well. I'd be curious to find out if a room with a dehumidifier would help with curing.

I've only had one soap sweat so far (a salt bar with honey), because I tend to store them in a relatively cool place. I found it took much longer to cure and I just had to sop up the extra moisture every day or so.

Funny thing about that salt bar though. I sent one to Hazel before it was cured. She finished curing hers there and had no sweat problems with it at all, while mine were sweating like hookers in church. So I definitely think the environment makes a difference.

 

[youreapima2]

I live in an extremely humid area of the country. In the summer not only do I have issues with soaps overheating, I have to deal with humidity as well. I'd be curious to find out if a room with a dehumidifier would help with curing.

I've only had one soap sweat so far (a salt bar with honey), because I tend to store them in a relatively cool place. I found it took much longer to cure and I just had to sop up the extra moisture every day or so.

Funny thing about that salt bar though. I sent one to Hazel before it was cured. She finished curing hers there and had no sweat problems with it at all, while mine were sweating like hookers in church. So I definitely think the environment makes a difference.

I also live in a high humidity area, and am curious to know if this will work, or even adding a dehumidifier to the room. I had THE same exact problem with salt bars sweating too. I thought it had something to do with the salt & humidity, but was not sure. I', glad you mentioned this. I lived in Illinois as well, but I was not making soap until I moved South, so I have nothing to go on as far as differences. I wish I did though. My normal curing/hardening time is approximately 4-6 weeks, depending on what ingredients I use in the soap.

 

[IrishLass]

Hi, I'm a newbie and I've also been wondering lately about the effect the changing season will have on soap curing time. We're in a log house in Virginia and just recently started up our coal stove for the winter (I can't believe we just got our first snow today :shock: ). In spite of my best attempts at putting moisture back into the air, our house's humidity levels stay really low all winter long ~ 19-23% is avg., it's 25% today but winter isn't here yet. I keep water on the stove and dry my laundry on racks in the living room (faster than using the dryer!) and I'm wondering if my soap will cure faster now. I don't have them near the stove, I wouldn't want to melt them! How does one really tell if a soap is done curing? I don't mind letting them set for the required amounts of time, but how do you know when they're "done"?

Well, as long as the soap is tongue-neutral when the zap test*(see below) is applied to it, the cure time for your soap is up to you- it's all a matter of preference.

*The zap test is used to detect the presense of active lye. What you do is basically lather up some soap in your hand or between 2 fingers, and then touch the lather to the tip of your tongue. If there is still active lye in the soap, the lather will sting or 'zap' your tongue. If you find that your soap zaps, let it cure for a few days more and test again. If your soap was made properly, the zap should go away within a week or so after unmolding (I had a batch once that still zapped for about 7 days before finally mellowing out). If it's still zapping much more after that, you may need to rebatch with some extra oil.

I've found that my soap is at it's earliest best at 4 weeks, but 6 to 8 are even better. The longer you let it cure, the milder, harder, longer lasting, and sudsier it will be. The way in which I determined the least amount of time to cure mine was to try out my soap at different intervals throughout the days and weeks after unmolding and cutting. By week 4, it felt and behaved good enough to me to enjoy it in the shower and not be ashamed if I decided to give some away. Although it's even better to me at 6 to 8 weeks, sometimes it's hard to wait that long! :wink:


IrishLass

 

[WomanInTheWoods]

Thanks IrishLass

I've done the zap test previously by just touching the soaps to my tongue for a couple seconds to wait for the zap. Is the lathering up first method a better indicator? Does the lye show up better that way? I've been lucky to have not found a zap yet, but now I wonder if that was because my method was wrong! I've only been soaping for a month now, so I'm just now getting to see the benefit 4 weeks has given to my early soaps.

I hope the dry atmosphere in my house will help speed things along a bit, but even if it doesn't I guess I'll just have to learn to be patient... it's not always (read *ever*) been a strong suit of mine.

I'm learning to think/plan ahead (took me long enough!)... I'm planning to make a 100% castile soap with a little bit of Lavender Chamomile Huggies FO in it now, so that way I have it ready well in advance for the next baby that pops up. I love baby stuff... so cute and smells soooo good!

 

[PippiL]

I cure my soaps in the laundry room and have a dehumidifier running during the day,no problems with the soaps.