oh no! darn you math!! help?

[return2300]

I got my calculations wrong on my last batch of soap. As a new soap maker I guess this was bound to happen. What I wound up with had WAY TOO MUCH WATER. I was hoping that I could just let it cure longer but the truth is I don't want my molds to be occupied for something that might never harden up. Is it possible to just unmold everything and throw it into the crock pot? Has anyone else ever had this problem before? Or should I just throw it out and start again?

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

How much is too much?

ETA, Lye calculators can do the hard work for us when it comes to working out the numbers

 

[return2300]

How much is too much?

ETA, Lye calculators can do the hard work for us when it comes to working out the numbers

I'm not exactly sure what I did wrong so I don't know. The calculator I used usually suggests around 28% lye solution. I'm guessing I'm closer to 20%. I probably did something dumb like switch between units as I recall doing a lot of tweaking while I was figuring out the batch

 

[IrishLass]

Yikes! If you used a 20% lye solution, that's a lot of water! If it were me, I would dump it out into a pot or crockpot and cook it on low, or about 170F- 180F to help evaporate some of that excess water out. When the soap starts looking like the consistency of mashed potatoes, I would glop it/press it into the mold and let it set up. I don't think it should take much more than about 15 to 24 hours after glopping/pressing to set back up enough to be able to unmold/cut.


IrishLass

 

[return2300]

Whew! I was really hoping I didn't have to start from scratch. I'll give that a try. Thanks

 

[return2300]

I tried the fix last night and it worked just great. It's s already quite firm from curing overnight at room temp.