Newbie in high humidity climate

[SoapinTheNightAway]

Hello soapers. My name is Christian Whittemore and i am brand new to soaping. I am preparing for my first ever batch of CP soap(or any soap for that matter) and I'm curious about whether I need to adjust anything due to the high humidity in Orlando. Should I be discounting any ingredients, most specifically water, to compensate for high moisture air? What have others that soap in this type of climate experienced? It would be unfortunate to follow the recipe/instructions to a T, only to experience disaster due to something such as a unique climate. Thank you for all the help you offer us newbies. I've read through many posts in The Forum and it is very special that there are so many of you willing to help us. Hope you have a great day!

 

[Hazel]

Hi Christian,

Welcome to the forum! Normally, I would suggest using a water discount to someone who lives in an area with high humidity just so there would be less water to evaporate. A full water amount might take slightly longer depending on how humid it is in the house. However, I don't know if a water discount is a good suggestion since you've never made a batch. Using less water means the batch will trace faster and you might have difficulty recognizing trace. On the other hand, it's not a problem to miss the beginning of the trace stage if you're not wanting to do swirls, etc. I tend to let my batches reach a heavier trace if I'm not using colorants. There are some oils which are slow to trace like olive. Another thing to consider is whether you're going to be using a fragrance oil. Some FOs accelerate trace and the batch can seize. What recipe are you going to be making? I'd say use a water discount if the recipe has a large percentage of olive oil.

Another thing to consider is whether you use air conditioning. If you do, that might help lower the humidity.

Also, you might want to wait to hear from people who have a similar climate. It gets terribly humid here sometimes but I'm sure it's not as bad as it gets in Orlando.

 

[savonierre]

Do you have air conditioning or a dehumidifier? I think for your first batch just try a a simple recipe just to get the gist of how it goes and how it cures in your climate. I live in an area not known for humidity but do have a dehumidifier and it fills up quickly..

 

[soapsbysonja]

I live in Middle Tennessee and our humidity is high. I am a Floridian so I know about high humidity there. I don't discount the liquid much!! Sometimes depending on the recipe. I do have a humidifier running in the basement all of the time. Might help. Good luck and be prepared... it is addictive

 

[cerelife]

Christian, no worries! I'm in South Georgia and I've never changed a thing to compensate for our ridiculous heat/humidity
AND we live in a 150 year old 'historic' house with 15-foot ceilings...sure, we have central AC, but when you live in a house like this you pretty much get used to fact that you can run the AC 24-7 and STILL sweat! The fact that I couldn't bear to part with our home's original "wavy-glass" 7-foot windows certainly doesn't help with our insulation issues

 

[mbeachysoap]

I live in South Carolina just a few blocks from the ocean and I have never changed anything with the recipes to compensate for high humidity .. never have had any problems relating to humidity .. now .. my first few batches had problems but that was only to the fact that I was new to it and nervous causing me to make mistakes. Also as soapsbysonja says .. it IS addicting! Good luck

 

[neeners]

hi Christian. I live in Barbados, and I haven't discounted the liquid in my soaps (i'm a newbie soap maker too). my oldest soap is just over 4 weeks. some newer ones are still soft, and will likely take a while to harden, but I didn't want to discount water on the get-go and fail miserably. so I think you should be ok with following with a recipe. good luck, have fun, be safe, and know you are entering an ADDICTING world of soap making!

 

[SoapinTheNightAway]

Thank you so much for all of these wonderfully helpful responses. Glad to hear that I can continue on without having to worry about discounting. Was hoping not to have to figure out discounting. I know i'm in trouble; I have an extremely addictive personality already and i love everything i've seen and read about soaping. I'm so excited I can't even put it into words. Thank you so much. Time to put down the books and pick up the stick blender!

 

[neeners]

don't forget the safety gear!!! safety first!

good luck, and can't wait to see your soaps!