My LYE Accident - What was yours

[MissChris]

Just to remind everyone old and new. Sometimes, we can get lazy at safety protection. DON"T
And Even when being careful, accidents happen. So, always be prepared.

Everyone has their own story.
Here is mine...
Share yours.
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Made different batches of soap today. Tring to get an inventory going to put online since i am just starting up again after a few years off. Get to the last batch. By this time, I am really tired and working slower. As I mentioned the other day, I am fighting cancer right now, so I seem to get worn out faster these days. ... Of all people who have to be very careful, I would say it is me... This shows just how fast crazy & weird accidents can happen. Even when you're being extra careful.

So, I just cleaned up after the last batch. Started on the new one. I am pouring the lye in the water bowl, which was sitting inside the center of my sink. >>Suddenly I Sneezed!
with no warning at all.. Sneeze 1, sneeze 2, sneeze 3

Some Dry lye chrystals shoots up in air and of all things. Not too many, but enough for an issue.

TWO OF THEM GOES IN MY MOUTH, landing between the top gum and top of lip inside. The other one in the mouth is on the top tip of my tongue... I can clearly feel and teel its two crystals or two small areas and they start to burn instantly! Talk about the panic city!

My immediate response was to put my hands in the mouth to get it off my gums and tongue but caught myself, realizing I needed to take hidden grease left on gloves off and rinse hands. Also realized instantly as i went to grab a paper towel, that might have been to hash to gently get it off. So, I grabbed the open bottle of vinegar and took a big gulp of it, switching mouth as I ripped gloves off and washed hands at the same time as fast as possible. I was more concerned what might happen IF I were to swallow any of it... The last thing I need is more toxins or damage to inside body.

Reached in and grabbed the one on the tongue first. Quicky rinse of hand again, then went in again to get the one on gums out.. clean that area... swished out with vinegar again... then, of course, my focus went into rinsing out my mouth about a dozen times as i strained hard not to swallow until I felt rinsed well. Yep that was a scary moment. Only, it was not over yet..

ONE of those crystals I took out did not rinse off my finger... so by then it really was burning a hole in my finger, and that one crystal was now stuck in the hole, not fully dissolved yet, but wet. And that one dot crystal was now burning the heck out of it! (i cant win lol) Is not too bad, but did burn through a couple of layers of skin. All of that happened in less than a minute. With 2, maybe 3 pieces of lye crystals.

Well, let me tell you one thing.... Vinegar sucks swishing mouth out straight up from the bottle! Yum! like to try and avoid this again for at least another century!
no blisters in mouth, thank goodness.
The finger is very sore but will be ok. Just got a tiny raw hole is all. it will heal in a couple of days.

Grateful to myself now for always putting vinegar at arms reach "WITH THE LID OFF" as routine everytime I make soap, in case of any accidents. I never really hear people talk about taking the lid off, but more should. Is a good safety habit to adopt. If the bottle had been closed, and your hands are greasy or gloves are greasy.... those few minutes struggling to get lid off can make a difference. Not sure which is best, water or venager. have heard both. water is suggested by the MSDS sheet. but they say vinegar deactives it. Was not taking chances until the results are out.

The only accident I ever had prior was a long time ago. I leaned on the edge of the countertop with my arm as I was cleaning up at the sink. Did not realize there was some lye water on the edge. My arm looked like I had a long rash for a week. That is when i started taking the lid off the vinegar as a routine when I make soap. ( and i wipe the edge of the sink with it too, ever since! lol)
Life & learn.

That's my lye accidents.
Thought I'd share it; at the same time, remind everyone to soap safe.

Lye Accidents happen.
What was yours?

 

[cmzaha]

I am glad to hear you are okay, but you really should have grabbed a cup of cool water for washing out your mouth. Vinegar just adds another chemical

 

[MissChris]

i did them both. vinegar stopped it burning first i have heard along with water. Yep, I can understand such. Personally both burns. lol so not sure if myth or not. was not taking any chances because it does not say if it water deactives and i have heard that vinegar does.
is why i did both. the MSDS sheet suggests water. but the other is still up in the air as far as I know.
never think about it going in the mouth though.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Vinegar works on inanimate objects. NEVER put vinegar on your skin if lye has touched it. Always follow the instructions in the bottle. If something gets on your skin like that is probably better to run and take a long shower.

I have had a couple of accidents. Thankfully nothing mayor..... but I even got batter on my hair once .... I have posted these before.

 

[Obsidian]

I agree, vinegar and skin is bad. Vinegar will have a chemical reaction that not only produces heat but a worse chemical burn than just the lye alone.

One time I was soaping and had a can of soda on the counter next to my mixing bowl. When I lifted the SB out of the bowl and sat it on the counter, a little drip of batter landed on the rim of the can. I didn't see it and took a drink, the drip touched me right at the corner of my mouth slightly inside.
Took a minute or two before it really started burning, I rinsed with water all the while wondering how I got batter on my mouth. I figured it out when I took another drink and it got on my bottom lip. They weren't bad burns but I had open wounds for a few days and they hurt. Now I don't have any drinks in the soaping area.

 

[Lin19687]

Glad you are ok !!

I ALWAYS mix my Lye OUTSIDE with a big cup of water extra if there is any accidents. Which is probably why I didn't soap this Winter And only if it is not Windy or obviously raining hahaha
Lye I measure in the unfinished Basement so if anything spills there will not be an issue. No other people or PETS go down there. Screw on cap on the measured Lye and bottles in a baggie with handles (I pour a few batches at once since I am down there).

I have on occasion had a bit of batter spit on me while mixing. I just stop what I am doing and wash with cold water on that area.

So far, knock on wood, nothing too too bad.

 

[earlene]

How very scary! I do understand reaching for the vinegar, but sometimes the first response isn't the safest or wisest. Still, I am glad you are okay. I do hope the injuries heal.

I recommend you go see your doctor as soon as possible to evaluate any further treatment needs. Lye burns can cause some long term problems and healing can take a lot longer than one expects.

I also recommend wearing a mask when mixing you lye, especially if you are prone to sneezing like that.

So far, the worst lye accident I have had was when I made soap with lye rocks. It was a combination of using frozen cubes (milk, I think, or it could have been aloe juice) when making my lye solution. I was too new, without enough experience to realize what I was doing wrong and ended up with solid pieces of lye rocks (the size of small crystals you might see hanging from a necklace) in my soap! Then to be even more stupid, (Anyone reading this, DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME!) I touched my tongue directly on one of those lye rocks for a zap test! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Never again will I EVER tough my tongue to a solid in soap. It took weeks for my tongue to feel normal again. That is not the proper way to do a zap test. Anyone reading this, who wants to know the proper way to do a zap test: read this link.

 

[NsMar42111]

I'm going out on a limb and admitting I use vinegar if I feel the lye tingle myself. I tried only hitting the hose/faucet, but I end up with red marks which says to me it didn't work fast enough-so now I douse/wipe with vinegar and then run to the hose/faucet. Now, if I had a puddle of lye or a larger amount spilled on me I wouldn't go pouring vinegar on it because that's a lot of heat/chemical reaction created. But for the errant crystal, dab of raw batter, or the "slippery" feeling hands, I'm in the vinegar camp. Dabbed it on my tongue when a zap test proved positive too...but quickly rinsed my mouth out with water to get rid of both and did NOT swallow anything for half an hour...I drooled a lot too LOL.

That said, water is best...that's the official position and the safest. And NEVER put anything other than water/eye drops in eyes!

Side note: I use cider vinegar (table spoon in some water) almost daily as a "tonic" so the taste of vinegar doesn't bother me-matter of fact, I like it!

 

[Relle]

I've already shared my lye accident (it only happened once, that was enough), it's never happened again. I put the lye container on the floor, thinking I wouldn't be able to knock it over if it was on the floor, instead of the bench, but instead I kicked it, it splashed up my leg and the burn was there for 3 months, before it healed. I was also going to the dermatologist soon after and had to explain what the scars on my leg were from.

 

[SoapAddict415]

Oh my MissChris! That was definitely a scary experience! I'm glad you're ok. Other than having my soap volcano once as I was trying to refrigerate it (soap batter was EVERYWHERE) the only lye mishap I had was when I was working in a dimly lit area. I couldn't really see into my lye pitcher so I brought the pitcher closer to my face. I was trying to see if the crystals had all dissolved. I brought it too close to my face and accidentally inhaled the fumes. Now I make sure I'm in a well lit area and I wear a mask in addition to my goggles when I'm mixing my lye.

 

[Steve85569]

Back when I was younger...
I worked in a food processing plant where we used sodium hydroxide to sanitize equipment. We got the stuff in 50 gallon drums.

ALWAYS mix with COLD water ( or ice).
ALWAYS follow safe procedures.
ALWAYS wear PPE's.

In the 8 years that I worked with the stuff we only had 1 young man that failed to follow procedures. He is okay and healthy but he did have a short trip to the ER for it. Sodium hydroxide will turn any oil into soap ( that has a SAP value).

 

[Primrose]

I've mentioned mine before, it was for the hidden heart swirl challenge. Let me preface this by saying I have a very high tolerance to lye and soap batter and I don't tend to really get burnt. As a result, with fiddly designs I often soap without gloves. This time I was holding three columns in place within the mould that were trying to float away on me with one hand, and alternating pouring colours into the columns with the other hand, I still don't know how I did it but I got some straight lye milk onto my lips and instinctively licked the moisture off my lips. Turns out lye milk tastes like lemon juice weirdly. Anyway I didn't want to sacrifice the soap so I kept pouring, removed the columns and swirled before rinsing my lips and mouth with water. I ended up with just a small red dry patch for a few days. As I said I'm pretty lucky that I seem to have the hide of an elephant when it comes to lye.

 

[scard]

Miss Chris, glad there was no serious harm done. My problem with lye was learning the hard way not to brush your hair out of your face with raw soap on your gloves. Some of my hair managed to slip through a clip and was aggravating me so I pushed it aside, getting the soap on my forehead.
I didn't notice it right away and ended up with a small burn over my brow. I've since learned to keep my hands away from my face.

 

[Desederata]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. Miss Chris, I hope your burns heal quickly and I'm sorry to hear you're fighting cancer. I'm always nervous when mixing the lye and water but I try to be really, really careful. I've only done it four times so far. Just a few weeks ago while making only my second batch of soap I neglected to put the gloves on and got some raw soap on my hands. I had no idea that this was dangerous. I was under the assumption that only the lye mixture would burn. Needless to say I found out very quickly that raw soap burns too. My thumb, index and middle finger tips on my right hand still feel a bit numb. I made sure I wore the gloves yesterday when I made soap. After removing them I still managed to get some on my hands while cleaning up the mess. Should have left them on until I was completely finished. Guess I'm learning the hard way.

 

[amd]

I don't even have vinegar in my soap room. I've always dealt with lye spills with water for soap/fresh mixed lye, and a dust pan for dry spills. I am fortunate that I have a sink right beside my soap lab door. My husband put it there for a reason [see below]. My husband set it up so I can connect a short hose (maybe 4 feet?) to the faucet so if I ever should spill I can get water wherever on my body it is. The hose is long enough that I can hold it over my head like a shower, or put it directly on my feet. There is a longer hose on the hook by the sink that will reach anywhere in the soap lab in case I should do a large spill in there. [knock on wood, this has not happened in the new space... yet] When I make soap, I always make sure the short hose is hooked up and ready to go. We do have two drains in the floor - one in the area the sink is in, and the other in the soap lab, so I do not have to worry about where the water goes. The drain and sink are godsends because...

Two years ago I was getting ready to make my first batch of soap cupcakes. This was at my old house, so I was making soap in my dining room. My table was a higher set table, just slightly higher than the average counter top, which made it a great space to work at. And occasionally dangerous. I mixed my first batch of soap and set it aside to setup to be used as frosting. I stupidly set it much too close to my working area. As I was mixing the batch for the cupcake base, my elbow pushed the frosting batch off the table. This was my first ever spill of any kind (on my newly refinished original hardwood floors, no less) so I panicked big time. Without switching off my stick blender, or taking it out of batter, I dove for the floor to try and "save" the batter or floor, or both... I'm still not sure what I was doing... Not only did I end up with batter all over my bare feet from the first bowl, the stick blender in the second bowl shot batter all over the dining room and completely covered me from chest up. (Safety goggles were in place, thank goodness!) About this time, my at-the-time-boyfriend-now-husband walks in the door. I yelled at him to goggle and glove up to clean up the dining room and I am running through 2 rooms to get myself to the bathroom shower. I didn't take anything off, hopped in as I was. I didn't take off my goggles until I was positive that I had all the batter off my face (ever tried taking a shower with safety glasses on? Do it sometime when you're not in a panic you might find it more humorous than I did.) and then worked on the rest of my arms and feet. My arms came out fine, my face had some very mild burning (the skin was light red in patches for a day), and my feet had a sunburned look and feel for about 5 days. I went to see the doc the day after just to make sure they would be ok. I was fortunate that I had no blisters or open wounds because of this burn, but I now wear shoes when soapmaking. After that I always had a bucket of water handy, and I learned that panicking makes it much worse, so I don't do that any more either.

PS the dining room floor fared better than my feet did.