Is It Always Nearly Impossible To Buy Lye?

[Guest]

Alright so a friend has talked me into making CP soap. I read A LOT, watched a lot of videos, etc. Today I woke up bright and early and went out to get my lye.. it is now 12:30 in the friggin' afternoon and I have no lye :shock:

I went to Home Depot, Lowes, Wal~Mart, Food Lion, Dollar General, Farmers Feed and Seed and Farmers Hardware. The only place that even carries it around here is Farmers Hardware and they were out. The salesman told me they get it in every Wednesday and there is another soap maker who goes in there and buys all of it every Wednesday. Well I hate to break it to them but now two canisters are to be put on hold for me every time they come in :twisted: I looked online but after shipping, it doesn't seem worth it unless I'm buying a 50 pound bag. WHY IS IT SO HARD TO FIND IT AND WHY DOESN'T ANYONE CARRY IT? Oh and I really got a laugh at the person in Home Depot who looked at me funny and said "Why would you make your own soap?" :roll:

 

[MagiaDellaLuna]

I am sure that I read somewhere, or saw it on T.V. that the "independant" drug manufacturers use lye in some of their processes. Can't remember whether it was for Crystal Meth or Crack, but I would imagine that you would get funny looks anyway when shopping for lye.

 

[TheSoapyEwe]

It is hard to get most places because it is used to make meth.
I live in a small town and both the farm and home store and the hardware store carry it which is good otherwise I'd have to drive about 30 miles to get it.

I have ordered it online from Brambleberry and The Lye Guy.
The Lye Guy has 2 lb containers for 5.25 and if you buy 6 you just get charged for 5.

I pay around $4.00 for a lb of it if I run out and have to buy it local :cry:

 

[Sunkawakan]

I asked the same question (why is it so hard to find) to a friend of mine who is a sherrif. Apparently lye is used to make methamphetimines (sp?). Who knew? I didn't have a clue (nor do I care) what ingredients are used for that stuff, I just want to make soap, not stuff that will hurt someone! She also said its used for making other not so nice things - I stopped her before she could elaborate.

I do the same thing, have the co-op save me some when their shipment comes in though I'm getting to the point that it might be worth it to pay shipping charges due to my increased volume and recipies I want to try.

 

[Vintageliving]

I bought lye in the plumbing section at an Ace Hardware. It was with the drain cleaners. The brand is Root-o. It is clearly marked 100% lye. (Root-o also makes a lye that has something else in it.)

 

[Deb]

yes, i distinctly remember being lectured while in ireland on the subject. I think I may have returned with a 'never thought of it but here's what I use it for' followed by a lecture on soap making and one on customer service = never assume your customers are doing illigal **** and if you do, don't accuse them of it without good reason!

 

[Layne]

yeah, at our local hardware store you have to ask at the register for it because the meth heads were stealing it.
the guys there keep jokeing with me about bringing them some sample soap.
i think its a ploy to see if i am realy making soap. lol
so im going to take'em some soon.
who knows maybe i'll get a customer out of it. lol

ps: the lye guy is cheaper if you can wait on the shipment
its $5.00 a lb here

 

[JenniferSews]

I bought lye in the plumbing section at an Ace Hardware. It was with the drain cleaners. The brand is Root-o. It is clearly marked 100% lye. (Root-o also makes a lye that has something else in it.)

I've found it there as well, after also searching Home Depot, Lowes, etc. For what I spent in gas over 2 days I probably did better online.

 

[HomekeepingGran]

Our local True Value Hardware has it and their brand is also Root-O, labeled 100% lye. Wal-Mart used to keep it but it wasn't there this week. I meant to check at the grocery store I almost always use (which is not Wal-Mart!) but forgot. And I suspect there may be other local places to find it. I'll have to look around.

 

[Manchy]

it was very hard to find it here, too. first, i found it at the store that carries some electronics equipment - apparently NaOH is used to spread some metal over other (can't remember) and in developing your own photographs. so, if you have trouble finding lye, try such places, too - they might be carrying it.
for those purposes it also has to be 100% pure, so it's good for soap making.

 

[debsmad]

...

 

[IrishLass]

The Ace Hardware by my house still sells the Rooto brand lye (8 oz canisters), but I make so much soap that I buy mine online now at AAA Chemical Supply in Texas. I like them because they sell theirs in easy-to-manage 2 lb containers instead of a big bag.

IrishLass

 

[Sunkawakan]

I found it at Menards and there was a ton of it right on the shelf, no hassles. I need to go back and get more now that I'm hooked on this soap making.

Menards would be great.... except that the nearest one to me is in Rapid City SD, some 400 miles north of here. While I'm up there every summer for a week, I think I'll pass on driving that far just for lye, lol.

 

[jennikate]

I found it nowhere around here so i also got it from aaa I also got a fo sampler pack from them. Haven't tried fo yet.

 

[Guest]

WHOA I had NO idea people made meth with lye :shock: THAT explains why a couple people looked at me all snotty when I asked

I haven't tried an Ace store yet! Actually...now I think of it, I don't think we have one around here......

 

[Vintageliving]

The Ace Hardware website has only the lye-based Root-o, not the 100% lye.

The Ace Hardware store I go to, sells the 100% lye Root-o in one-pound containers (plastic with childproof, screw-top lids) for $3.49 plus tax.

 

[debsmad]

...

 

[TessC]

The Ace Hardware website has only the lye-based Root-o, not the 100% lye.

The Ace Hardware store I go to, sells the 100% lye Root-o in one-pound containers (plastic with childproof, screw-top lids) for $3.49 plus tax.

^This. You have to be careful when you buy your lye at ACE, the store I go to sometimes has both the 100% lye Rooto and the "lye based" Rooto on the shelf, right next to each other.

They looked at me funny the day I bought 6 of the 1lb containers, but I showed them pics of my soaps on my phone and they got a big kick out of it. Now the one cashier asks me when I'm going to bring her some soap just about every time I'm in there.

I do eventually plan to order lye in bulk, it's just not that practical for me right now due to a lack of safe storage space. The 1lb containers go up on a really high shelf in a storage room that's not accessible to the dog, cats, or kiddo. I'd brain myself if I stuck a heavy container up there, I just know it.

 

[KigerKat]

I bought lye in the plumbing section at an Ace Hardware. It was with the drain cleaners. The brand is Root-o. It is clearly marked 100% lye. (Root-o also makes a lye that has something else in it.)

That's the only place I've been able to find it as well. $3.99 for 1 pound, not bad for a local store.

 

[artisan soaps]

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