papillonpotions
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That was an extremely useful tip! Thank you
Lye static.. beads went everywhere
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That was an extremely useful tip! Thank you
boyago
Well-Known Member
I thought that was trolling, wont shaking the bottle increase the static? Isn't the charge from friction between the bottle contents and the bottle? Like rubbing a balloon on your head?
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Anyone else started watering up looking at that pic?! Yikes! Wipe everything down with a dryer sheet. This includes the package the lye is in, the lid, the scale, the cup. Lift the lid of the oven if electric after removing the grills and saucers, and then you can wipe what fell in.
Goggles always.
Gloves better than not, and I always use them.
I stick blended once and a fresh early blended batter flung onto my goggles directly over my eye. I was quite glad I was being smart about precautions at that moment.
Goggles always.
Gloves better than not, and I always use them.
I stick blended once and a fresh early blended batter flung onto my goggles directly over my eye. I was quite glad I was being smart about precautions at that moment.
No, but I do many different things!
Well, ya, maybe I do just melt everything LOL
I built my own small home foundry to melt aluminum for casting my own parts for some stuff. I made the sodium silicate myself by melting silica beads in lye solution then used it to bond perlite for homemade insulating refractory for the foundry I built. :-D
I bake wood (not melt it ) to make my own charcoal. BUT I do use that charcoal to melt the aluminum in the foundry to cast.
I also use the charcoal to cook with sometimes, it is very good at melting cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches and cheeseburgers! :mrgreen:
papillonpotions
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Heh well if it was, it got me! :-D I haven't tried it but I'm having the same dang issue, beads everywhere. I'm to the point I'm swiping everything down with a used dryer sheet (which helps a bit).
"...wont shaking the bottle increase the static? Isn't the charge from friction between the bottle contents and the bottle?..."
Yes, shaking the lye flakes/pellets in their plastic storage container will change their static electrical charge. But that may not be a Bad Thing. What if the shaking alters the charge on the lye particles so they are attracted to the other plastic container you are pouring the lye into, rather than be repelled from that container?
It's very dry here in the midwestern US -- 25% relative humidity in my house today -- so if lye bits were inclined to fly around, they would have plenty of excuses to do so. When making soap this weekend, I shook my lye container vigorously with the goal of breaking up some chunks. I didn't do anything special to control static ... but I didn't get any fly-away bits when pouring my lye beads.
I didn't think too much of it at the time -- I notice the static when it's a problem, but I pretty much forget about it when it's not ... until it is a problem yet again.
When I read Earthen Step's tip, the memory came back of two batches of lye beads poured with nary a fly away. Now I'm really keen to verify this idea. Good excuse to make more soap!
A tip from the chem lab -- If you want to try the shake method, check that the cap is firmly screwed in place before you shake AND hold a couple of fingers over the cap as you shake. Caps have been known to fly off or loosen. If it's pancake batter you're shaking up, that's one thing. Lye is another.
Yes, shaking the lye flakes/pellets in their plastic storage container will change their static electrical charge. But that may not be a Bad Thing. What if the shaking alters the charge on the lye particles so they are attracted to the other plastic container you are pouring the lye into, rather than be repelled from that container?
It's very dry here in the midwestern US -- 25% relative humidity in my house today -- so if lye bits were inclined to fly around, they would have plenty of excuses to do so. When making soap this weekend, I shook my lye container vigorously with the goal of breaking up some chunks. I didn't do anything special to control static ... but I didn't get any fly-away bits when pouring my lye beads.
I didn't think too much of it at the time -- I notice the static when it's a problem, but I pretty much forget about it when it's not ... until it is a problem yet again.
When I read Earthen Step's tip, the memory came back of two batches of lye beads poured with nary a fly away. Now I'm really keen to verify this idea. Good excuse to make more soap!A tip from the chem lab -- If you want to try the shake method, check that the cap is firmly screwed in place before you shake AND hold a couple of fingers over the cap as you shake. Caps have been known to fly off or loosen. If it's pancake batter you're shaking up, that's one thing. Lye is another.
SoapBro
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Oh man so many comments regarding my post while i was away, i didnt say you shouldn't wear ANY safety gear, i just said that i didnt see the big deal with purely skin contact like getting some batter on your hand, i left some batter once on my arm for like 20 minutes because i didnt notice it, it didnt do anything after i washed it off, i'm fully aware that if it splashed my eyes i'd be royally screwed, obviously you SHOULD wear eye protection incase of splashes and i do, personally i just dont bother with gloves.
Purplerain
Well-Known Member
First time I made soap, the stick blender threw out some batter. Who knew it would do that? I had taken gloves and glasses off because I thought they were only needed when mixing the lye and water (duh!). Got batter on my face, my arms and yes, in my eye. I looked like I had measles and it stung and burned like heck. For a long time.
I am now very very careful.
Newbies don't know what can happen.
I am now very very careful.
Newbies don't know what can happen.
Earthen_Step
Well-Known Member
It works for me 100% of the time. I had lye bouncing all over before I started shaking first. I don't know the science behind it, just know it works.
*I would never troll you wonderful soapers! Gamers on the other hand, it can be hard to resist.
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While I am not terrified of using lye, I am respectful of it. Goggles? I can't wear them. So I wear a full face shield. I learned my lesson just the other day, I was banging a mold and a speck must have flown up and landed right on the side of my nose , about 1/2 inch below my eyeball. I did have my glasses on. That burned before I noticed it. If it went just a bit further (my glasses aren't that big) I'd be screwed. So wear eye protection, at a minimum.
You will see us emphasizing safety. There's a reason for it. An experienced soaper just had a terrible experience (and is still going through it) by losing her grip and pouring 40 ounces of lye down her front. I won't get into the gory details, but she's had surgery, has to go through debridement, and will have further surgery to close the FOURTH degree burn on her thigh. Lye is nothing to trivialize.
I just got done with a messy batch of soap a few minutes ago! Nothing drastic or major, just a mess! After I got the first box mold filled what was in the pot still was getting too thick and I had to scrape it out with a spoon to fill other small molds. Needless to say soap batter was all over my gloves by the time I got done fighting with it. I'll have a good deal of cleaning to do on pots, spoons, mixer, and other implements of destruction later!
At least with the gloves on I could worry more about he soap than keeping my hands clean or getting them washed fast.
I think my scale went whacky, maybe batteries going dead. I tried weighing something and it showed me the weight then it starts changing just sitting there for no reason.
So I don't really know till I test my scale if I have correct amounts of lye and fats or not now and they may been the problem? Or maybe I traced too thick, or maybe it was the coffee?
At least with the gloves on I could worry more about he soap than keeping my hands clean or getting them washed fast.
I think my scale went whacky, maybe batteries going dead. I tried weighing something and it showed me the weight then it starts changing just sitting there for no reason.
So I don't really know till I test my scale if I have correct amounts of lye and fats or not now and they may been the problem? Or maybe I traced too thick, or maybe it was the coffee?
hmlove1218
Well-Known Member
Oh my word! I haven't heard about this. Is it a member here? I would say I hope she's alright, but from the sounds of it, she's not. I just hope she has a complication free recovery.
Anyway, freak accidents like this are why people here are extra cautious about lye. I will admit that I am the worst about safety gear. I rarely wear gloves, and sometimes forget my safety glasses. However, they are very important pieces of soaping equipment and should be recommended to every newbie that starts making soap. They don't need to be told otherwise because accidents happen and safety gear is a better safe than sorry step of precaution.
Eye protection is a given -- the long-term consequences of a splash to the eye are so severe and the damage can happen so quickly.
There's a reason for wearing gloves too, although the consequences are not quite so life changing. If you get lye underneath your fingernails or under the cuticle, it can be very difficult to get out completely before it does its damage. The injury and pain to these sensitive areas can be intense.
There's a reason for wearing gloves too, although the consequences are not quite so life changing. If you get lye underneath your fingernails or under the cuticle, it can be very difficult to get out completely before it does its damage. The injury and pain to these sensitive areas can be intense.
"...I think my scale went whacky, maybe batteries going dead. I tried weighing something and it showed me the weight then it starts changing just sitting there for no reason...."
Could be your batteries -- certainly something to check. If the stuff you're weighing is hot so water is evaporating off it, or if there is a lot of air movement around the scale, the weight reading can change a little bit. But I'd sure check the batteries first.
Could be your batteries -- certainly something to check. If the stuff you're weighing is hot so water is evaporating off it, or if there is a lot of air movement around the scale, the weight reading can change a little bit. But I'd sure check the batteries first.
hmlove1218
Well-Known Member
It could be your batteries or it could be that your scale isn't level. Mine tends to act up when I set it on my counter, so I had to start putting it on a cutting board to make sure it was on a flat surface. I guess there's a slight dip in my counter top.
kchaystack
Supporting Member
Am I the only one who likes wearing his goggles?
They are just cool!
They are just cool!
Those are way cool goggles, kaychaystack!
I always wear goggles. Like DeeAnna said, they're a given. My go-to goggles are actually those that are sold as 'onion goggles'. I bought them several years ago at my local cooking supply store (long before Brambleberry started selling them) to use them for their original, intended purpose, which is to prevent tearing up while cutting onions (for which they work great, btw!), but then I discovered how wonderful they were for soaping, and it wasn't long before they started pulling double duty. They're very comfortable, and the foam lining creates a complete gap-less seal on my face so that nothing can get through to my eyes. I love them so much that I now have 3 pairs. lol
IrishLass
I always wear goggles. Like DeeAnna said, they're a given. My go-to goggles are actually those that are sold as 'onion goggles'. I bought them several years ago at my local cooking supply store (long before Brambleberry started selling them) to use them for their original, intended purpose, which is to prevent tearing up while cutting onions (for which they work great, btw!), but then I discovered how wonderful they were for soaping, and it wasn't long before they started pulling double duty. They're very comfortable, and the foam lining creates a complete gap-less seal on my face so that nothing can get through to my eyes. I love them so much that I now have 3 pairs. lol
IrishLass
Pretty sure it's the battery now, or the scale is dying. I've tried a couple things, sitting it different places and using stuff weighing different amounts. 40oz when first weighed will go up or down by about 2oz just sitting there. Take it off and sit it back on again and it weighs 40oz to start then begins changing again. Actually not certain it's even 40oz, just what scale says most often.
I'll get new batteries and hopefully also find my other scale I lost awhile back. Too many places for things to hide!
Oh how terrible!
I hope her recovery goes as quickly and smoothly as possible!
I'll get new batteries and hopefully also find my other scale I lost awhile back. Too many places for things to hide!
Oh how terrible!
I hope her recovery goes as quickly and smoothly as possible!
She's on the Facebook groups, I don't know if she's here or not. The good thing that will come out of this is we are working on chemical resistant aprons that extend down below the knees. Trying to keep them inexpensive, there's a nice logo that's been designed for them, and the fund that was started (through no desire of the burned soaper) has been turned over to the apron team to help defray costs so soapers with little means will be able to afford them. Any incident is a wake up call, but so awful to have happen!!
