Should I Move My Soaps?

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OK, it's been raining like crazy and it doesn't appear to be stopping any time soon. I have soaps curing. Some were made about two weeks ago, some were made last night (I still have some in the mold). They are in the kitchen. The problem is, I do not have an air conditioner, so my windows are open. And it is very humid. Should I move the soaps to an unused room that has the window and door closed or should I just leave them where they are? How big of an issue is humidity to the curing process? Right now all of the soaps were done with HP. However, I'm thinking of doing some CP so I can learn to do colors and swirls. Should I clear out some space in one of the unused (aka junk goes here) rooms and put the drying racks in there? I live in Tennessee, so humidity is an issue during the summer. I have a dehumidifier for my bedroom, but not for the whole house.
 
I'd move them to the other room and place a small fan in there for circulation. Im in Tx and the rain is CRAZY and I understand the humidity..yuck..
 
My theory is this: Those soaps are going to live in a damp bathroom. So, they may as well start as they are going to go on. I do not run a dehumidifier on my soaps at all. Just provide adequate ventilation, and let them cure a little longer than when it is not as humid.
 
If you put them in another room, a fairly cheap way to dehumidify a room is a product called "DamRid". It's some type of dehumidifying crystals in a ventilated bucket. We use it in our basement and it works pretty well. You can find it at Walmart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.
I'd be amazed if Damp Rid would dehumidify a room - there's just not enough capacity there. A closet maybe. A cardboard box or storage tote - definitely.

Cheaper yet ... Damp Rid is just a deliquescent salt, in this case calcium chloride. Deliquescent means a solid that will absorb water from the environment to the point of becoming a puddle of sticky goo. If you check your local hardware store they may have a bag or two of the stuff, intended for use as ice melt, in the back room. You can get 10# of that stuff for $13, or you can buy less than a pound of it for $5. There's a better than even chance you have some of this if you live in colder climates, or your hardware store may make you a stellar deal on a bag with a tear in the side.

Another deliquescent material that you have is lye. If you leave it open it will absorb water till it dissolves in a puddle. Of course it's not nearly as safe as a salt - just pointing it out.
 
Lee, we used DampRid in 2 gallon tubs with holes poked in the bottom for drainage, then put those tubs on bricks in 5 gallon tubs down in Cameron Parish, Louisiana(right on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico) when my grandmother's house was closed up to prevent mildew from growing on the walls and furniture. One to two tubs per room worked well, believe it or not. We went once a month or so to empty the water out and put fresh DampRid in.
 
Oh I believe a couple 2-gallon buckets would do it. I was more picturing the 5oz ones sold in most stores.

In a closed space it really only needs to dry it out once. I imagine it worked great.
 
Thanks. I moved my rack to the guest bedroom last night and left the ceiling fan on. The window and door are both closed and it is much drier in there than the rest of the house. It's actually better in there any way. Now I can use the bottom two shelves for drying without worrying about the dogs eating soap. Before, the bottom shelves were strictly storage.
 
I would put them in the room with the dehumidifier. IMO, curing in a damp environment leads to DOS. I haven't done a structured experiment, but I had some soaps in my damp, cool basement and some in my dry, hot attic (same batch) and the basement soaps had DOS and the attic soaps did not.
 
Waaaay more than the 5 oz packs. I should have been more clear. lol. Just wanted to give her an idea of what I was talking about and didn't think about the size that we use versus what I actually showed her.

That said, the ice melt idea is a pretty good one. We have a lot of that stuff in the garage. Not sure that they would have a whole bunch of it in TN, where the OP is from though.
 
No. We don't have much of the ice melt in the dead of winter. I don't think I'll find it now. It's fun living here. If there's a threat of snow on Thursday, they shut everything down Tuesday afternoon and wait until the storm passes before opening schools and businesses back up. I'm going to see if I can get another dehumidifier for my drying room. There's no way I can give up the one I've got for the bedroom. I'd die!
 
You can always get a window unit for the soaping room. I mean the soap must be protected! :)


Bahahaha! I was thinking that same thing. The soap is actually in the best room in the house as far as consistent temperatures are concerned. Morning sun, afternoon shade. If my bed would fit in there, I'd move it.
 
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