Teach Soap

I have read that some peopel preserve their distilled water by the gallon so as not to have to preserve it every time you make one product. I tried doing that for my room sprays with Germaben II. I just put it in a new gallon and shook it up. I thought it was fine until I went to use it again and it looks like it has flakes floating around in the water when I shake it up. Anyone have this happen or is there a process I should be doing to mix it better? Thanks!

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~Kelly~

I don't do this because many of the products I make that require preservatives also require heating & holding at 170F. Heat deactivates many preservatives, including GBII (above 140F).

Exactly what Robert said, and you also have to change your preservative amounts based on amount/types of other ingredients.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

Thanks guys! I was going to use this just for room sprays only so the preservative amount wouldn't be changing right? And i wont be heating anything up so i dont have to worry about that. I just thought it would be easier than preserving a 4 oz. bottle of spray every time. I don't have a scale that measures that low.

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~Kelly~

You need to calculate the whole formula, not just the water for the preservative. I use distilled water and add the preservative at a proper % to the formula before I make it. I don't add it to water as the water needs to be heated and held, which would negate most preservatives. Get yourself a jeweler's scale. It measures in tiny amounts.

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

If all you are doing is making air freshener, then you are correct, you do not need to heat and hold and you can mix the preservative into the whole gallon. Still, you will find it easier to mix well if your water is warmed. Just be careful to not over-heat it past the point that your preservative is good. Also, you will want to mix it just prior to using it. I would not add the preservative and then allow it to sit longer than it would take to get your bottles ready to be filled. That way you limit the potential of it separating. Also, make sure to stir well just before you pour it too.
Even though there is little scent added to a room spray, you will still want to calculate the preservative needed for the whole amount. So you will need to figure out the amount of scent you will be adding to the gallon of water, and then base your preservative amount on the total of the water and scent.

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

Tammy

Thanks lavenderlady! That's makes perfect sense. So I don't think that is going to work for me. I won't be making these sprays all at once so I won't be using up an entire gallon. I'm just going to ditch that gallon and make them as I need them. That explains the separation I'm getting. Oh well, thought I could make it a little easier. I'll have to invest in a jewelry scale because the one I have doesn't go that low. Thanks again!

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~Kelly~

Also some preservatives are not water soluble, so they would separate in water.

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

your welcome, and Irena is right about needing to double check your preservative. Still, you don't have to buy a jewelers scale and do each bottle individually. First off, I would change everything to grams when working with small numbers. Then, even though you don't want to use a gallon at a time, you could still do a master batch. If you want to make four eight ounce bottles, you could weigh the water out for all 32 ounces and preserve the entire amount. That night make things a bit easier for you....... just a thought!
Much luck, whatever you do!

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

Tammy