What happens when you add water to lye?
Mixing water and lye creates an exothermic reaction that causes a dramatic temperature increase. Adding lye to room temperature water can cause the water to reach temperatures up to 200 ° F. The mixture also creates fumes, which should not be inhaled.
Put the lye soaked rags or paper towels into your sink and rinse them well with plain, cold water to dilute the lye solution.
Adding lye to water causes a exothermic reaction that causes the lye water to reach temperatures up to 200 ° F. Because the lye solution becomes so hot, it needs time to cool for soaping.
Sodium hydroxide is also produced by combining pure sodium metal with water. The byproducts are hydrogen gas and heat, often resulting in a flame.
Remember, the lye solution is created by dissolving and diluting lye into distilled water. A common dilution rate is 30% lye and 70% water. In other words, the total makeup of the lye mixture is 1 part lye to 2.3 parts water. When the ratio of lye to water increases, the mixture is more lye concentrated.
Lye water is used to raise the PH of the dough (neutralize the acid in the syrup). It also helps to gain an appetizing brown colour after baking and a fluffy tender texture.
If the soap does not contain enough lye, the oils will not saponify. Another reason for soft soap is there was not enough hard oils or butters (such as coconut oil, palm oil or cocoa butter). Soap made with only soft oils can take an extremely long time to unmold (such as castile soap).
Stir the sodium hydroxide, a little at a time, into a large volume of water and then dilute the solution to make one liter. Add sodium hydroxide to water—do not add water to solid sodium hydroxide.
Your water would have to be really hard to cause so much trouble as to not be able to use it in your soap recipes - and the rinsing problem comes with really soft water, not hard. So, the quick answer is – you should be just fine with tap water.
When you pour the lye water into the oils, the mixture starts to turn slightly cloudy and milky. This is the start of the saponification process, where the lye and oils begin to react and turn to soap.
What stops a lye burn?
Keep the wound covered and moist with a water-based product. Do not use oily salves, butter, or other fatty products on any burn. Never, never, NEVER use vinegar on a lye splash anywhere on your body. Rinse with plenty of plain cool running water.
It can react violently with strong acids and with water. Sodium hydroxide is corrosive. NaOH can react with moisture from the air and may generate heat as it dissolves. This heat can be enough to cause a fire if it is near flammable materials.
The process is called alkaline hydrolysis and was developed in this country 16 years ago to get rid of animal carcasses. It uses lye, 300-degree heat and 60 pounds of pressure per square inch to destroy bodies in big stainless-steel cylinders that are similar to pressure cookers.
To ensure the lye works properly, we recommend using it within one year of purchasing. It needs to be sealed tightly and stored in a dry place. Lye is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts moisture. If it's exposed to moisture in the air it won't be as effective in your recipe, and the soap may not saponify fully.
The short answer is no – all true soap begins as fats and lye. If you want to make soap from scratch, then you need to saponify fats and lye to create it. There's a way that you can skip having to handle lye, though.
To make lye in the kitchen, boil the ashes from a hardwood fire (soft woods are too resinous to mix with fat) in a little soft water, rainwater is best, for about half an hour. Allow the ashes to settle to the bottom of the pan and then skim the liquid lye off the top.
Place a small potato in the lye water. If it sinks, the lye isn't strong enough. If it floats, the lye is ready.
Lye has been used for thousands of years to make many important products like soap, food, and paper. It's also a key ingredient in producing many other things, such as glass cleaner and fertilizer. You can't make real soap without lye.
Sodium Hydroxide is a strong alkali which, among other facts, means that it is highly ionized and has a high pH. Thus, in wastewater treatment these products can be used to raise the pH level of the water. It is also helpful in the process of removing heavy metal particles from the water.
Then you can do the "zap test." It involves tapping the soap lightly on your tongue. It sounds weird, but it totally works. If the bar “zaps” you, it's likely lye heavy. The feeling is hard to describe, but you'll definitely notice it.
Why is my soap not thickening?
Some of the oils have not yet started saponification, and the mixture is not completely emulsified. These mixtures need more stirring and stick blending to reach trace. If the soap was poured into the mold at this point, the soap would not properly set up.
If your soap is soft and oily, melting it back down and adding small amounts of lye solution can save it. Rebatching, also known as hand-milling soap, is the process of shredding down and processing soap with heat until a molten, homogenous state is reached.
When you have a clogged drain and you're in need of a quick fix, it might be tempting to turn to a chemical drain cleaner. Here's the problem: Chemical drain cleaners, such as caustic cleaners (containing caustic soda or lye), are bad for your pipes and your health.
Lye drain cleaners also release heat (as do acid-based products) that softens and deforms plastic pipes. Never use them for a completely blocked drain, as they may well remain trapped long enough to do some serious damage.
Lye and bleach cleaners are caustic bases, which won't harm your pipes but will damage rubber and plastic. They may eat away at a clog at first, but chances are the clog will return, and pretty quickly.
NaOH + H2O = Na+ and OH- ions. The reaction will be Exothermic, where heat will be released. Sodium hydroxide is considered a strong base and as such is able to completely and fully disassociate in aqueous solution.
When you have a clogged drain and you're in need of a quick fix, it might be tempting to turn to a chemical drain cleaner. Here's the problem: Chemical drain cleaners, such as caustic cleaners (containing caustic soda or lye), are bad for your pipes and your health.
Saponification is the name of the chemical reaction that produces soap. In the process, animal or vegetable fat is converted into soap (a fatty acid) and alcohol. The reaction requires a solution of an alkali (e.g., sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide) in water and also heat.
Soft, squishy soap can be caused by several factors. One reason may be that not enough lye was used in the recipe. If the soap does not contain enough lye, the oils will not saponify. Another reason for soft soap is there was not enough hard oils or butters (such as coconut oil, palm oil or cocoa butter).
The pros of lye are that it's effective against sticky clog-smears like what you find in kitchen sinks, as well as thick hair clogs in bathrooms. The solution is denser than water, so you can pour it right into standing water and it will sink.
How long should lye sit in drain?
For best results, leave in drain for 15-30 minutes. Once drain has cleared, flush with hot water. If drain remains clogged, repeat steps 1-5. Avoid physical contact with standing water in sink from the first application, as burns may occur.
Lye, bleach and salt might seem like great, inexpensive ways to remove tree roots from a sewer line, but they have major drawbacks: They're not effective. Homemade root killers can flow past the target or crystalize, adding to the clog.