Maximum temperatures for curing.

[Sponiebr]

What would be the maximum temperature that CP soap could be safely cured at, in a low/dehumidified low air circulated environment? (edit: I'm not talking about the ideal, but rather just how hot can you go and still get away with it.) 

 

Also, when you are curing CP soaps with fragrances, will curing different fragrances next to each other "muddy" each other's scents? Should only similar fragrance accords be cured together? 

 

I live in Florida where humidity is normally a problem, but I have access to a storage room that is dehumidified, but has no AC. The temperature sticks at about mid 80's F and remains pretty constant, (about what a typical attached garage would be, but with lower humidity.)  I've got my soaps curing down there for the time being, because I can't have scented things up at the house. I know the oils and formulation plays into DOS development, so my formulation is: 

35% Olive oil

40% Great Value Shortening (beef tallow/palm oil blend)

20% 76 deg Coconut oil

5% Castor

@ 10% superfat. 

 

There are clays (Moroccan Rhassoul, Red, and Rose) in some of these, mica in others, and all the fragrances are from CS. 

 

Another option for me to dry these bars would be to get a plastic tub container with a lid and put some desiccant in it and cure them up at the house. 

 

Any advice would be greatly appreciated! 

 

Slainte,

 

Sponie

 

Edited September 18, 2016 by Sponiebr

[KrazeKelly]

I think 80ish is fine. Especially if it's dehumidified. I don't find that my scents bleed onto each other. Even if they are right next to each other they may have the other scent for a short time but it doesn't last. 

 

Kelly

[Sponiebr]

Thanks Kelly, 

 

I just found out that it is 91.1 degrees down there. The air temp may be a little lower, but the ambient temperature of the room is 91.1 (temp taken from the inside of a book). 

 

So how high "could" one go before DOS was just about guaranteed? I wonder about this for applications like humidity controlled but not temperature controlled storage units and such. 

 

Good to know about the scents. Out of curiosity how are you wrapping your soap bars? Do you wrap just before selling, or do you wrap and store? -Sponie

[KrazeKelly]

I really couldn't say how high is too hot. Mine all cure indoors. I package my soaps at 4-6 weeks in clear cello bags that I cut vent holes in the sides of so people can smell them. I store them in plastic tubs that have air holes in the sides of them also. Benefit of having snakes. Ha! I repurposed all of our old snake tubs. 

 

Kelly

[TallTayl]

A good soaping friend of mine lives in hot, humid Australia. She makes 1500-3000 bars on a typical day. Her curing area is basically a long room with racks and racks lined up with dehumidifiers running 24x7. The low humidity and darkness seem to be the biggest Saviors against DOS ( along with a stable formula, of course). Her number one priority is getting the moisture out. The soap is in there for a relatively short time, so cross contamination of scent is not a concern. The little heat helps complete the SAP and curing process quickly. She pours soap in the morning, cuts in the afternoon and refills the molds to cut the next morning. Repeat.

 

Once I needed a really controlled dehumidifying area and built a box big enough for a rack and dehumidifier. That thing sucked the moisture out of the soap in no time! 

 

The bins with desiccant are expensive in the long run. And you need to keep up with emptying the desiccant hoping it does not spill when you're not looking. Give one a try, though, because it might work well for your environment. I tried that early on and thought it was OK. 

 

when I redo my curing area I plan to add a small window air conditioner for summer months. Those dehumidify, move air and cool : the trifecta of perfect soap curing details. The dehumidifiers I use throw so much hot air it becomes uncomfortable to work in the space.

[Sponiebr]

Thanks TT! 

 

Three thousand bars a day!!!!? WOW! I just can't even fathom that.  

 

I was wondering about the humidity being one of the underlying agents of DOS because IIRC DOS seems to pop up more frequently in wrapped bars than in bars that are left in dry, dark, circulated air. In fact I just heard a horror tale of someone down here in FL that went to an outdoor show (read: copious sunlight, heat, and humidity) and now many of the wrapped bars she brought back from her display are showing DOS'. 

 

Well, hopefully those bars will be cured enough that they could go into cardboard boxes and moved into the house in a few weeks. I still have A LOT more soap to make, so they'll be going to cure in that room. Some of them like the OMH soap on my make slate for tomorrow can just sit and cure in the place that I make them. My limitation at this point is money for fats /supplies and my molds. I really need to make/purchase some more/larger loaf molds. If I can get the next 6 runs done this week they should all be cured by the Christmas shipping cut off.    

 

Slainte,

 

Sponie

[Candybee]

I don't know about the heat but I can say from experience that humidity can cause my soap to sweat. Had it happen before on very humid days even with central air conditioning. Sometimes the humidity is higher than my central air can keep up with.

 

Soooo.... my advice would be to watch high humid days and be prepared to get a humidifier or set up a fan to dry the air a bit.

 

I set my soaps up so close together and never have scents intrude on different soaps. I mean patchouli will be next to lemongrass & lime which is next to rosemary mint next to coconut lime.... you get the picture. Batches are set up for curing maybe 1-2" apart so I have maximum room for all my soaps. At any given time I could have 30-40 different batches of 20 soaps all set up next to each other curing. No problem. I just worry about air circulation but they always come out fine and don't smell like the other surrounding soaps.