rainwater in soapmaking

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SubLowe

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is it possible to use rainwater in soapmaking? would one have to boil the water first to get rid of any bacteria?
or is it generally better to just use distilled water?

TIA
Mirka
 
Depending on where you are, rainwater would have picked up pollution in the air. Boiling would not remove that.
 
sudbubblez said:
Depending on where you are, rainwater would have picked up pollution in the air. Boiling would not remove that.

im kind of in the middle of nowhere in NC, well not middle of nowhere but its the country surrounded by farms. we use the rainwater for our farm and we grow bioponic - Hydro+organic. im pretty sure the water is good. the plants are happy lol.
 
I used filtered, rather than distilled water for CP soap. So I would have no problem filtering my rain water. If I had any rain water to filter that is.
 
green soap said:
I used filtered, rather than distilled water for CP soap. So I would have no problem filtering my rain water. If I had any rain water to filter that is.

haha yea i just moved from Socal to NC in January ( missing socal :( ... ) so i know what you mean haha. how would i go about filtering it?
 
Why would rain water be dirty? Surely if you put out a clean container the water collected would have to be one of the purest waters available. I can remember my parents collecting rain water for the car radiator & battery and my mothers new steam iron because of its purity.
 
Bubbles Galore said:
I drank un-purified rain water for years so I'd certainly make soap with it. :wink:

k i think i will try making it with our rain water. maybe ill just run it through coffee filter.
 
No, coffee filter isn't the same thing. Water filters, like those Brita makes, can filter out a lot more than a coffee filter, which just separates out big stuff from the water, small icky stuff can still get through.

if I remember correctly from the 25 years or so that I lived in NC, there are some problems with acid rain, and depending on where you are, there can be some significant pollution that floats over from Charlotte, Winston, and other cities. I don't know that I would use rainwater there, personally.
 
fiddletree said:
No, coffee filter isn't the same thing. Water filters, like those Brita makes, can filter out a lot more than a coffee filter, which just separates out big stuff from the water, small icky stuff can still get through.

I remember correctly from the 25 years or so that I lived in NC, there are some problems with acid rain, and depending on where you are, there can be some significant pollution that floats over from Charlotte, Winston, and other cities. I don't know that I would use rainwater there, personally.

ive only lived here 4 months. so thanx for letting me know about acid rain. i dont know much about NC at all. ill check the ppm and ph of our rain water. i really wanted to use rainwater, but i dont want to ruin the soap or anything. maybe ill just get distilled water then.
thanx
 
This is a very good question!

We like to assume that rain is pure, don't we? (and I suppose long ago, not sure how long....it was!)

One way to find out how pure it is would be to take a sample (in a purified container of course) to your local government water purification place, and have them test it for you....do you have one nearby?

Because we live on a well, we need to have our water tested frequently, so there is a nearby testing place, government operated. Each time I bring in a sample for testing they give me a clean bottle for next testing.

I don't do this anymore, because we have a home water-purification system consisting of two tanks of potassium salt crystals, and also a UV filter. Well-water out here is not to be trusted....is it anywhere? another good question!!!
 
Woodi said:
This is a very good question!

We like to assume that rain is pure, don't we? (and I suppose long ago, not sure how long....it was!)

One way to find out how pure it is would be to take a sample (in a purified container of course) to your local government water purification place, and have them test it for you....do you have one nearby?

Because we live on a well, we need to have our water tested frequently, so there is a nearby testing place, government operated. Each time I bring in a sample for testing they give me a clean bottle for next testing.

I don't do this anymore, because we have a home water-purification system consisting of two tanks of potassium salt crystals, and also a UV filter. Well-water out here is not to be trusted....is it anywhere? another good question!!!

very true. after posting this it got me thinking how we are surrounded by all these non organic believeing or practicing farms and how they spray everything and im sure theres some kind of a run off which is polluting our local rain water. so maybe i will just use distilled water.
would spring water or water bottle water work if there is no distilled water available?
 
Most grocery stores sell gallon jugs of distilled water. Walmart carries it and I think it was 85 cents for 1 gallon, probably a little less than that. I've made about 12 pounds of soap total with this new gallon and actually threw out one measurement of water because I ended up not soaping then, and I still have about half a gallon left from that gallon. It will go a long way, especially if you're doing smaller batches.
 
I live near Philly and use rainwater unfiltered and it is fine. I do keep it in the fridge or freezer if it is going to be a while before I use it.
 
Back in the day, like of our grandparents and great grandparents, rainwater would have been perfectly fine. My grandmother used to say, when she was a kid, they would pick up snow on the ground and cover it with maple that came out of the trees and eat it. You can't do that today because of pollution. The pollution isn't bad enough that it would make you obviously sick the first time you drank it, but over time, those pollutants are building up in your system... it could cause a mystery sickness or do things to the body that arent so obvious. Rainwater for soapmaking, fine.. but I wouldn't be drinking it.

One thing to keep in mind with brita filters or any other carbon filters is that once the carbon becomes saturated with the impurities, it will actually leech out into the water and make it dirtier.
 
So interesting to read everyone's opinions. I was thinking to collect some rain water for my soap making . It's just continued raining in England for a week now. Just wondering would I still have to check if it is okay to use?
 
So interesting to read everyone's opinions. I was thinking to collect some rain water for my soap making . It's just continued raining in England for a week now. Just wondering would I still have to check if it is okay to use?
This post is over 7 years old and none of the OP's are around anymore. Might get more relevant answers if you start a new thread, and link to this one.
 

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