Teach Soap

Made my first lotion bars yesterday and i absolutly LOVE them! However when cleaning up it dawned on me. What it this wonderful waxy oily buttery stuff going to do to my septic tank! Anyone have any experience with this or ideas on how to clean up with out washing it down the drain?

I do not have any experience as far as having any issues with the septic tank, but I figure that the amount that is washed off your body can not be enough to cause an issue with your septic tanks. After a lotion bar is applied to your body, or any other lotion product for that matter, it eventually wears off throughout the day. I am no expert, maybe someone can answer that has more experience with lotion bars!

Sonya

I use Dawn for all my clean up since it cuts grease and breaks it down.

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

sorry i meant cleaning the utinsels i used to make it

I use popsicle sticks and plastic spoons, only because I don't want to mix up anything by mistake. In the beginning when I did buy metal utensils, I figured that eventually the metal would break down, and I figured the best sanitary way was to use disposable items, but I could be wrong. The only thing that I can suggest is to soak your instruments in scalding hot water for a day or two to see if that will at least break it down enough to then use the Dawn like ljm1180 suggested.

Sonya

Once you get a formula that you like, convert it to %. That way you only use/make what you need. There is very litle waste. Just a paper towel should be enough to wipe your containers or utensils down. For any residue use hot water and a detergent or inexpensive surfactnant based liquid soap.

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

I will ask my sister who inspects septic systems (construction, and reported violations). She also designs them. We have an aerobic system, what kind do you have?

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Dawn

A good detergent like dawn should break down the fat molecules so that they won't disrupt your septic system. They won't be any worse than washing a pan after cooking bacon.

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~~Heather~~
Mad [soaping] Scientist

If you do start having septic problems, try pouring some shock treatment into your tank. My husband regularly uses this as he read about lye destroying the bacteria that digests the waste. It turns out our septic problem was actually a collapsing pipe that he's currently digging out to replace.

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!

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

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Linda

I learn so much when I can't leave well enough alone!