Teach Soap

So my in laws, as always got us a unexpected, practical anniversery gift this year. One year we got a Earth Box, (great for container planting, another a grill, this year the rain barrel.) I was wondering, can I make the soap from the rain from my barrel) we have already filled it up twice. I would like to do something other then flooding our yard with it.

I know soapers that make soap with rain water. Just make sure that it's clean.

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

I have made soap with rain water and with snow. It is always 'fresh' or 'just fallen'. The rain I collect in a very clean container. I would not use the water that has been sitting in the barrel for any length of time.

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Debbie

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

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Debbie

You can buy filtering accessories for your downspouts.

Hello i agree with the boiling, I use rain water a lot and not for making soap but i might try now that i have heard of this. I use cheese cloth or some other kind of cloth to filter the water and then i would boil it if u need to .....

Don't want to make a new thread for this, because it is kind of along the same lines. Do you think melted snow would work too? Being it is almost winter time here and all.


Sorry semeagher didn't mean to hijack your thread

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Debbie

its the same thing only it is frozen, I do know that if you take rain water and put it in a glass and go back and look at it 24 hrs or later u will see very small sediments on the bottom of the glass with snow you dont, Now dont ask me why cause im not for sure to me it all comes from the sky but maybe with it being frozen has something to do with it.....

Hmmmm....I wonder how much faster you could use the lye water made with snow.

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

I did a batch last January with new fallen snow. Used half snow, and added half goats milk to oils. My lye cooled rather fast. Ended up soaping at 100 degrees. So I would say... have your oils measured out before mixing the snow and the lye. I did not notice a change in the texture of the soap. Just be sure the snow is new and not yellow!!!

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Susie
Sometimes A Mistake is so much fun, You just have to do it again!

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Seashore craft, i agree with u 100 % , I dont think to many people really give it much though but it is true. I had a friend one time tell me that he was going to take snow and let it melt and then boil it and i asked why, his answer was to make it pure. (sillyness) i said, snow is as pure and natural as it gets.. justsayn

Well I am finally trying it. The water was not collected today, but relatively recently and i have some water test strips (from when I had a fish tank when i was teaching and I will test it first) I also was thinking of boiling it (which i am doing now) and then putting through a filter like a brita filter or something. I would have to buy one, but that way I would be sure it was clean.. Or I hope so and if it doesn't work out I will try again with water I collect and boil right away....