Using metal in soapmaking?

[emerald7]

A friend of mine & I just made our first batch of soap this week and it is curing. When we made it, we did the lye solution in a metal pot, and we heated the fats in a separate metal pot. After we turned the heat off we stirred them together in a metal pot. It was pretty foamy while we were stirring it... Is that normal? After we got done we read somewhere that you're not supposed to use metal in soapmaking. Is that right? what happens if you do? Thanks.

 

[RikRaks]

Stainless steel is fine, but NOT aluminum.

 

[emerald7]

Aluminum

Stainless steel is fine, but NOT aluminum.

I think one of the pots was aluminum. What does it do.

 

[emerald7]

Stainless steel is fine, but NOT aluminum.

The first pot, that we did the lye & water mixture in, was stainless steel. after that had cooled to 100 degrees, we poured that into the fats in the aluminum pot.

 

[RikRaks]

I am a newbie, but aluminum and lye do not mix.........


NEVER use aluminum, even if coated. Aluminum reacts to the lye and will destroy the pan and the soap!

 

[GoddessMama]

Aluminum reacts with the lye and eats the lye. Watch this video [ame="http://revver.com/video/67469/why-aluminum-and-lye-do-not-mix/"]http://revver.com/video/67469/why-alumi ... o-not-mix/[/ame] I would personally throw out the batch.

 

[ChrissyB]

If lye comes into contact with aluminium it makes the most god awful stench. Srsly, it'll make you heave.
You also run the risk of volcanoing.
Some forms of "drain cleaner" (not 100% pure lye) contain aluminium particles, and this is why those products are not to be used for soapmaking.

 

[Bubbles Galore]

I mean this kindly. You need to stop making soap for a while and start reading about how to make soap. Luckily, you're in the right place. :wink:

 

[donniej]

Mix some lye and water and put it in the pot you think is aluminum. If the pot is aluminum it will fiz and decay, if it's stainless then it will do nothing.

If the pot is aluminum then throw it and the batch of soap in the trash. The aluminum will have "nuetralized" an unknown amount of the lye and the soap will contain some of the aluminum.

You really need to be careful with material compatibility when working with lye. Stainless steel, silicone, teflon and HDPE (plastic with recycle symbol 2) are what you want to use. There are other materials you can use as well but these are the common ones...

 

[CherryGardenGirl]

I had purchased a 'non-stick' coated aluminum pan for a dollar from a thrift store . . . knowing that it was only going to be used to hold individual silicone molds (so our good baking cookie sheet wouldn't be ruined).

You can see where I dripped raw soap onto the pan. The lye instantly ate through the coating and started corroding the aluminum underneath. Some spots were rusted right away. Guess where all that aluminum is going . . . you got it, into the soap drippings!

 

[emerald7]

Coating

You can see where I dripped raw soap onto the pan. The lye instantly ate through the coating and started corroding the aluminum underneath. Some spots were rusted right away. Guess where all that aluminum is going . . . you got it, into the soap drippings!

Yes, it took part of the coating off just the bottom 1 inch of the inside of the aluminum pot. But there weren't any visible or smellable fumes, and the pot didn't really look that bad, so it didn't seem that bad at first.

Thanks everybody for your help... My friend & I have agreed to trash that batch of soap and re-do it in stainless steel & glass. And I threw out that aluminum pot.

 

[dagmar88]

:? No glass either, please!
Just look for a sturdy plastic pitcher at the dollar store and put that in your sink when preparing your lye solution.
Mix with a stainless steel spoon.
Don't forget to wear googles/safety glasses :wink: