Teach Soap

Has/Does anyone use(d) scientific beakers in their soapmaking like these: http://www.globescientific.com/beakers- ... Ogod4DUAQw

Since everything that I've read recommends having supplies specifically dedicated for soap-making (as opposed tosharing them with cooking-use) I'm trying to find some supplies that look nothing like my normal cookware. The soap supplies will not be stored in the same area as the cookware, but they may spend a little time in the drying rack after cleaning. Really this is just an added precaution as we have little ones under foot and I want my husband to easily be able to tell the difference between the cookware and the soaping stuff.

I was thinking glass would be better for pre-measuring my EO's, FO's, & colorants, right?

Any other suggetions? I've read a lot of soapers that swear by plastic, but then I've read that EO's can warp plastic. The more that I read, the more info there is to confuse me!

Also, how do you wash you're soap supplies after use? I'm specifically thinking of the items that will be used with raw lye and the raw soap. With the container you use to measure lye in, do you just rinse it out with water? Do you have to use distilled water to rinse it? Do you run vinegar in it first? What about your soap-making gloves? Do you rinse those off as well to avoid possible lye flakes left on them? And the containers with raw soap? What do you do with those?

I'm going to be soaping at night wen the kids are in bed, so I want to make sure anything potentially harmful is cleaned and out of the way before they wake up in the morning.

TIA!

For measuring FO's or EO's glass, silicone or stainless steel is best. I only use a dedicated, heavy duty plastic pitcher to mix my lye water in. Some vendors ship fragrances in HDPE plastic instead of glass to save you on shipping. It is best to transfer the contents from HDPE plastic when you receive them into glass or PET (special type of plastic) that can withstand the ingredients used to make the scents. I prefer PET for longer term storage due to local earthquakes. I find that fragrances stored in HDPE containers over time get that sucked in look. That means the plastic has started to leach into your fragrance oil. I would not use that in any application and dispose it.

If you don't need the pot after you make the soap, you can wait til the next day to wash it. That way it's soap that has saponified by then. You can use paper towels to wipe raw soap off, then wash with hot soapy water. Cheap soap or detergent seems to work the best as a degreaser. Whatever you measure your dry lye in only needs a good water rinse. Do not use vinegar there nor soapy water as that will give you little "floaties" next time you use that same container to measure your dry lye. You can use regular tap water to rinse. Rinse your gloves with lots of hot soapy water, then let air dry.

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

Extracts are not fragrances. That should be fine as is. If you have hard water, use distilled for the soap. You should be fine with tap water for rinsing. I have hard water here and have not had a problem.

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

Thanks for your help!

When I make soap it depends on how many batches I have to make that day on whether I wash my stuff right away or the next day. If I wash it the next day I wipe as much raw soap out that I can with a paper towel. Then I put the containers in a cabinet in my soap room then in the next day or two I pull them out fill them with hot water and then wash them out. If I can I try to do it this way so I don't have to wear gloves (as long as I didn't mess up my soap and it isn't lye heavy.) I still rinse out my lye pitcher and spoon right away though. If I wash it the same day then I do what Irena said. Soapy hot water. As for my gloves I got tired of wearing big bulky rubber kitchen gloves. My mom is a CNA and is constantly by accident bringing home boxes of disposable nitrile gloves and I take those from her. (She'll put a box in her scrubs pocket cause she is changing gloves about every 5 minutes and forgets to take them out.) Those work really well. You can also find them at walmart for a few bucks in the medicine section.

All that! LOL but also Dawn dishwashing liquid is the best degreaser. They even use it to clean wildlife after oil spills! I use cheap bar rags to wipe off excess soap batter from my equipment then toss it in a dedicated plastic bucket. By the time the bucket gets full, all that soap batter has saponified. The rags get tossed in the wash with no detergent added and then can be used again. The bucket gets rinsed out well with tap water. The bar rags only get used for soapmaking! They don't look pretty but it works.

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Linda

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

I rinse with tap water asap for my stick blender and lye pitcher. (I use heavy plastic for my lye pitcher). I have a dedicated spatula that I scrape my pot out with when I'm pouring into my mold so that there is not that much residue. DAWN dishwashing liquid is what works for me. I wear my gloves cleaning up and don't wipe stuff with paper towels, except drips on the table. I use a gloved hand to clean stuff with.

Happy Holidays!

Jill