Teach Soap

Well, I've been gone for a while, but I'm back to lurking the forums. Just used up the last of my last shipment of M&P base and was getting ready to order more when the thought hit me.

Why not try CP?

Well here is my question for you guys. Every recipe I see calls for distilled water. What if I can't get it? As in, literally, I have no provision for getting distilled water unless I fly to another country.
Can reverse osmosis purified water be used? (Your normal bottled water)

Thanks in advance. Bed time for now, will check in tomorrow when I am at work...researching CP soap and not working...

Hi BeachBum! I've always used tap water. Sometimes I'll use the water dispenser on my fridge so that it will be filtered. If you put plastic wrap (saran wrap) directly on the soap after you pour, it will cut down on the ash layer.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

I always use just filtered tap water. I have one of the Pur water filters on my faucet in the kitchen and it seems to work just fine for me.

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<3 SoapyJoes

Awesome now to look into ordering some oils, as what I can get locally is limited. As you can no doubt tell by a lack of simple distilled water. Pretty sure the only oils I can get locally is olive, corn, and vegetable (think Wesson brand) and of course Crisco.

No Palm or Coconut so gotta import those hehe.

You can make a nice soap with just olive and coconut oils. If you can get castor oil it's wonderful for adding bubbles to the lather. I've been experimenting with a Crisco, olive and coconut oil soap but it's too soon to use them yet so I don't know how they will be.

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Linda
I know the voices in my head aren't real, but they sure have some great ideas!

Do you have a dehumidifier? The water collected in it is also a good option. The tap water in my area has chlorine and flourine gas added - so if I were to use that, I'd let it stand overnight to let the gasses out of the water before using it.

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

I buy it at the grocery store. Even my corner market has it in the section with the bottled water. It's like $1 a gallon. But it's not necessary. Water is water- just make sure it's clean.

I disagree, water is not always water. I live in a rural area, and the water quality varies house to house. Some houses have great spring water, some are okay, and some has so much sulfur that you can't hardly walk into the kitchen, let alone run the water. Forget drinking it. And the city isnt much different. Some cities have a lot of salt in their water, others so much chloride that trying to drink it almost requires a gas mask. So water is not water no matter where you live.

If your water is bad and you cannot find distilled water, I would either buy the purified drinking water, or buy a filter as SB suggested.
If you are fortunate enough to have good water, without too many additives that may interact with the lye, then by all means, use your water. But exercise caution, especially the 1st time, as you don't need to be on the wrong end of a lye volcano because of an additive that you weren't aware of, or didnt think would matter. I have lived in 6 different places since I first began this journey, and in some of those places, I could not have used the water if I had wanted too. Using distilled water takes the guess work out, which is why it is recommended. But we always push envelopes and try things we want to try, and water is probably the least innocuous of these ventures.

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Remember, it's not just that we weather the storm, but how we dance in the rain.

Tammy

Thanks for the info. My water supply is spotty at time and sometimes there is a fair amount of chlorine. I'll stick to bottled water for now.

Now to read more of the Soapmaker's Companion book. (why yes, I did order it a while ago when getting MP supplies. I was thinking ahead. )