| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Ixy |
Soapy questionsAbout to tackle sopamaking to deal with the pigfat glut ( we had a very fat sow sent and had to cut 6kg off the chops alone! ) by way of soap...
question 1 - I need gloves; do they have to be marigolds, or can they be those disposable latex ones? question 2 - how do you wash things you've used for soapmaking? Will the 'rinsings' be OK in the septic tank? 
question 3 - most recipes seem to have bewildering array of oils in them, will I be able to substitute all/some of them for tallow, without it altering the amounts for the rest of the recipe? Are fats interchangeable basically. I know different oils do different things and I do intend to use a bit of some, but just cut out some of the variety in one recipe really as I have lots of tallow and not much money to invest in oils. |
| dpack |
eye protection ,caustic soda is nastier than it deserves to be to eyes
any waterproof gloves are fine ,latex or marigolds if making an aqueous solution with caustic add the solid to the liquid not the other way round ,it will heat up ,if it is so concentrated as to boil avoid breathing spray if problem with contamination wash with a large volume of water |
| dpack |
rinsings should be ok as by then you should have soap not caustic
dont use my pan please 
stainless steel is good ,avoid ali and cast iron enamal will work if in good condition |
| sally_in_wales |
Fats are not interchangeable! You need to go here http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php and put in the actual weight of fat you are using, then it will calculate for you the amount of caustic soda and of water that you need to use. From there on, either of the basic soapmaking methods in the areticles here will work, but you absolutely have to check your lye quantities using either a lye calculator like this or old fashioned maths every time you switch one fat for another or it can go horribly wrong.
Have fun! 
|
| Jools |
I prefer marigolds as they're longer and cover my wrists, unlike the latex gloves.
If you substitute an oil/fat, you MUST recalculate the lye amount needed in a soap calculator. |
| Jools |
Lol Sally, we posted at the same time! |
| colour it green |
so ah.. is there much difference between lard and tallow? |
| Ixy |
Lard is specifically pig fat and tallow is 'animal' fat, if I understand it correctly! |
| colour it green |
ah i expect in the chart that Sally gave.. that tallow means beef fat.
as it had a separate section for mutton. certainly mutton fat and pig fat are quite different - I've been rendering lots in anticipation of making soap - mutton fat tends to be solid even in a warmish kitchen.. pig fat is soft.. |
| Ixy |
everything smells of sausages in here now... |
| James |
I'd agree with dpack's suggestions about safety: If in doubt, use eye protection & gloves. Having said that, I admit that I dont tend to...but thats my risk. I take things very slowly and steadily. If you're not happy around nasty chemicals, take precautions.
One thing I do find nasty are the fumes given off from the hot caustic soda. Try not to breeth it in, and consider turning on a cooker extractor when making up the lye, or ventilate the area as best you can. It really is rough stuff I only use pyrex bowls- totally inert. One small one for the lye, one large one for the oils. Actually,when cleaning up, you don't have soap, you have a firm gloop of partly saponified stuff mixed up with free, unreacted oil and lye. So its really hard to clean up, and not very nice while your doing so. I doubt very much it'll do much damage to a septic tank, but I really would recomend wearing gloves for this bit. It often takes me a couple or three attempts to get things clean, using lots of hot soapy water. In York, the best place to get caustic is Barnitts, and the Indian spice shop on Monkbar sells cheap coconut oil. |
| Ixy |
Just to keep things on track - I'm good for the safety thanks, I've been reading soap-porn for about 4 weeks solid  - anybody know if the rinsings from cleaning the stuff will be OK in the septic tank? I know it'll be saponified, but soap still needs curing before it's good to put on your skin, so I'm assuming it'll be the same for the bacteria in the tank? Mayb I should 'cure' the waste water too?
|
| Cathryn |
Watch the water you use as well. I have used local tap water for years with no problems but the spring water here has meant I am getting too soft soap. I would use bottled although in fact I am just going to fill up a bottle at my Mum's each time. |
| Jools |
Most of the curing time is simply for drying the soap out. Leave the pot overnight and it should be fully saponified next day. |
| mochyn |
Rinsings have never done any harm to my septic tank. Must make soap tomorrrow... |
| sally_in_wales |
Agree with Jules, put your pans to soak overnight, and you should be fine by the next morning. If you are worried, put the bulk of the scrapings on the compost heap instead or in a scrape in the ground, they will break down fast enough in the soil to do no harm without overdosing your tank critters |
| Ixy |
Brilliant thankyou
|