Is Lye supposed to have a static cling to it?

[Marilyn Norgart]

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.

that's what I see with my lye too--I have brought some in from the garage and it seems like when its cold it attracts a little moisture and then it sticks to even glass.

 

[DeeAnna]

There's a difference between the cling from static electricity in low humidity and sticking due to absorption of water vapor in higher humidity.

If individual NaOH beads quietly stick to the container or form small clumps, that's water absorption at work. You don't have to be pouring the NaOH to see this clumping or sticking happen. Just open the container and let the NaOH and water vapor meet up.

Static cling is at work when the beads don't quietly stick or clump -- they remain in motion. Individual beads will cling to the container but they quiver or jiggle in place. Or beads will actively jump up and away, as far as several inches away, when they're being poured out of the container. The difference depends on the electrical charges involved.

There's a distinct difference. From what I can tell, most everyone in this thread is talking about static cling, not water absorption. It's going to be more of a problem in arid climates or in heated houses during winter -- anywhere the humidity is very low.

If you mix your lye outdoors in cold weather in a temperate climate (what you have in North Carolina, Minnesota, etc), the humidity outside will usually be fairly high. You're not as likely to see static cling.

 

[Nanette]

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.

Lye beads, especially micro beads tend to get static clingy...I dont think its the brand.

 

[SoapySuds]

I don’t have a problem with static cling when using stainless steel scoops, bowls, funnels, spoons, etc. glass and especially plastic are problematic for me.

 

[2lilboots]

This thread was just what I was looking for. Lately when I pour my lye pellets they seem to fly everywhere. Well I used a dryer sheet on my measuring cup and wiped the lye bottle as well. Then I shook the crap out of the bottle before I poured the lye. No jumping lye pellets. It was awesome. Thank you for this thread.