Reducing soda ash-inputs and experimenters needed!

[julieanne]

Hi Group!

This thread is being pushed into a separate category to get feedback from you all as a means to find out if the quality of lye used in combo with purified water yields batches of soap that experience less soda ash development. Please experiment and post results from batches that have used food grade lye, technical grade lye, and hardward store lye sold to clear pipes. For your lye solvent, use purified, distilled, and/or tap as your water- no milk additives or we can't quite make straight-forward comparisons.

Using all combos of the above, my findings are that technical grade lye used with purified water from the grocery yields little to no ash.
This would make sense there are fewer minerals in purified water to react and salt (ash) out from the finished product. Same for the lye- lower percentages of impurities in food grade and tech grade lyes when compared against Red Devil Lye made to clear pipes.

Thanks in advance!!

 

[kazmi]

Ok. Next batch will be with food grade lye and purified water (which I always use anyways) and no milk additives. May not get a chance this weekend but will provide updates when I do.

 

[squeakycleanuk]

I have always used tap water and had no issues with ash at all hth

 

[mel z]

I only use food grade lye and store bought distilled water.

I have (fortunately) only had 2 batches get ash. The first batch had too much shea and was not insulated (poorly covered) properly.

The second batch I intentionally did not cover or insulate, but, I did not have 91% isopropyl alcohol. I only had the 70% to spray on it. 70% did not work. All other batches left uncovered get sprayed with 91% and do not get ash, and shea is now kept to 5% or under.

Just the results of my experiments to add to the pot.

 

[meeplesoap]

I use tap water through a brita filter and experience little to no ash, especially in soaps that I 1) spritz with alcohol, 2) cover while gelling, and 3) spritz the bars again occasionally as they cure.