Is Lye supposed to have a static cling to it?

[hungryhawaiian]

I recently switched brands of lye and noticed that when I pour into my plastic bowl, some of the lye beads tend to gravitate to the sides of the bowl and stay there until I force it down with a spatula. The beads also seem to cling to the container it’s held in, forcing me to have to clean off the rim of the bottle before closing it back up.

I have since changed to a glass bowl but I was curious about if this is a natural occurrence or did I get a faulty batch of lye? Either way I don’t plan on buying this brand again.

 

[Clarice]

Mine does this all the time. ANNOYING!

 

[zanzalawi]

happens more often than not to me unfortunately

 

[jcandleattic]

Is it supposed to? LOL not sure, but my beaded lye certainly does, especially when working with HDPE. Which is not often, but it happens.

What I do before opening each batch before masterbatching is I rub a dryer sheet on my lye container before opening, on my container and utensils I will be working with and pour it out of the container slowly. This either totally eliminates the static or reduces it significantly.

When working with flakes and SS equipment I get much less static than I do any other time.

 

[dixiedragon]

Some folks wipe the outside of the container with a drier sheet to combat that. I wouldn't think one brand of lye would be more static-y than another brand...I would assume the weather is different now.

 

[Zing]

I use a plastic bowl to measure my lye in. I too have trouble getting all the crystals out and into the water pitcher. I learned a tip from here and now pour some of the lye/water mix back into the bowl, swirl, and dump back into the pitcher.

 

[hungryhawaiian]

Is it supposed to? LOL not sure, but my beaded lye certainly does, especially when working with HDPE. Which is not often, but it happens.

What I do before opening each batch before masterbatching is I rub a dryer sheet on my lye container before opening, on my container and utensils I will be working with and pour it out of the container slowly. This either totally eliminates the static or reduces it significantly.

When working with flakes and SS equipment I get much less static than I do any other time.

Good to know! And the hdpe makes sense because the bottle that contains the beads is made of hdpe. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Dawni]

Hmm I've never noticed mine do that.

I measure out my lye flakes into a margarine tub, that sometimes doubles as my soap mold, and I spoon it into my plastic jug, and the very last flakes get dumped in.

None is left in the margarine tub and there's none on the sides of my jug. Easy peasy always for me.

My lye is weird? Lol

 

[jcandleattic]

I measure out my lye flakes into a margarine tub, that sometimes doubles as my soap mold, and I spoon it into my plastic jug, and the very last flakes get dumped in.

Flakes, that's the difference. The flakes for whatever reason don't have the static that beads do.

 

[hungryhawaiian]

FMLye... lol

 

[jcandleattic]

FMLye... lol

LOL

 

[Dawni]

FMLye... lol

Haha

I wonder why that is.. Is it how it's made, the beads?

 

[MickeyRat]

It may not be static. I'm a hobbyist and I measure out my lye and water in my kitchen then go outside to mix them and get past the fumes. Inside I hardly notice it clinging. It's more humid outside and that's when the lye starts sticking to stuff. As I understand it, lye attracts moisture from the air. That's why you need to keep the container closed tightly. I'm no expert so, take this for what it's worth.

 

[jcandleattic]

Haha

I wonder why that is.. Is it how it's made, the beads?

I honestly don't know, and am not sure why the beads get the static cling and the flakes don't, but when I get flakes, they never ever have static cling, but my beads do, especially when the air is more dry. (sorry @MickeyRat, I don't think it's the humidity causing static cling, however, yes humidity will make it stick to surfaces, due to the moisture it's pulling from the air)

However, I like using the beads better than the flakes, because they dissolve so much better (for me) than flakes do. Flakes just take longer, and when masterbatching I'm just too impatient for the extra time, especially when it takes so long even with the beads.

 

[hungryhawaiian]

It may not be static. I'm a hobbyist and I measure out my lye and water in my kitchen then go outside to mix them and get past the fumes. Inside I hardly notice it clinging. It's more humid outside and that's when the lye starts sticking to stuff. As I understand it, lye attracts moisture from the air. That's why you need to keep the container closed tightly. I'm no expert so, take this for what it's worth.

I do all my soaping in my workshop. It’s completely dry in there and I still run into a strong static cling.

I suspect maybe the lye beads are lighter than flakes, allowing the static clings to be seen more. Maybe lye itself produces that static from rubbing on itself? Or even rubbing on the hdpe containers it’s usually stored in?

I’m particularly curious about this because it can be seen as a danger to us soapers and a liability to the companies that sell it. The last time I poured lye into my plastic bowl, the cling was so strong that some beads flew out of the bowl and onto my hand and my table. Luckily I was wearing gloves & a long sleeve (as we should be), and only 1 tiny bead was able to make it between that 1 in a 1million chance gap between my sleeve and glove and caused a small lye burn. I wish I had videotaped it because the cling was that strong.

I’m now considering on buying glass containers to store it. Maybe even large (really large) mason jars.

 

[jcandleattic]

I’m now considering on buying glass containers to store it. Maybe even large (really large) mason jars.

I don't know how dry lye would react to glass, but lye solution will etch the glass and eventually (if use often and long enough) cause breakage.
If you have dryer sheets, it's just as easy without the worry, to wipe everything down before opening/using the lye itself.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...I suspect maybe the lye beads are lighter than flakes, allowing the static clings to be seen more...."

Yep, that's right. Plastics tend to build up an electrical charge due to their chemical structure. Most things that are electrical insulators (like plastics) tend to do this. When the humidity is sufficiently low, the static buildup will be greater because there is no water vapor to allow the static charge to dissipate. Anything sufficiently light (human hair, NaOH bead) that has its own electrical charge (or electrically polarized structure) will be attracted to anything with an opposite charge.

"...it can be seen as a danger to us soapers and a liability to the companies that sell it..."

Selling NaOH to retail consumers is already a huge liability for a supplier because it's so hazardous, even without static cling. It's nearly impossible for some soap makers in other countries to buy NaOH at all, so we're lucky in that regard.

All I expect from my supplier is to provide NaOH in a sturdy, cost effective container that's suitable for shipping and long-term storage. I do not expect my supplier to also solve the problem of static cling. It's honestly a minor, intermittent problem that can and should be dealt with by the user. I can think of a number of solutions --

Use dryer sheets to reduce static cling.
Wipe down your work surfaces with a damp cloth to temporarily raise the humidity right before working with the dry NaOH.
Shake the lye in its tightly-capped container (with a finger over the cap for safety) for 10-20 seconds before opening it to help equalize the electrical charges between the plastic and the NaOH.
Do not soap when the room humidity is below, oh, maybe about 40%.
Make larger quantities of masterbatched lye solution when the humidity is sufficiently high to prevent static buildup, so you have lye solution to use rather than have to repeatedly measure dry NaOH.
Find a source for NaOH flakes, which are heavier and not as prone to static cling.

As far as using glass to store dry NaOH, I don't recommend it. If you want to get away from plastic, I'd advise using a stainless steel container for greater safety (stainless is not breakable) and doesn't create static cling (stainless is an electrical conductor.)

 

[SaltedFig]

You could get a grounding strap for your wrist (and optionally a grounding mat to stand your scales and your lye container on) to measure your lye.
Grounding mats and straps are used in computer repairs and building, so they are cheap and plentiful.

(This grounding strap costs less than $1)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1pc...ge-Cables-For-Electrician-IC/32885865933.html

 

[Dawni]

When the humidity is sufficiently low, the static buildup will be greater because there is no water vapor to allow the static charge to dissipate.

Ohhh so I guess the relative humidity here is helping me with that? I use flakes, but if I were to use the beads I mean...

 

[DeeAnna]

Ohhh so I guess the relative humidity here is helping me with that? I use flakes, but if I were to use the beads I mean...

Yes, you're right. I only have problems with static cling in the winter when the house humidity is low.