I am a paranoid soaper

[Sara]

I swear, the more I soap the more paranoid about lye I become. Lye is the only part (well besided clean up) that I just don't like. After pouring the lye EVERYTHING looks like a lye bead to me!!! Argh. LOL. Beyond worrying about my eyes I worry about a trail of lye following me around the house.

It is ridiculous.

[mountainmadness]

You are so funny Sara.

Don't refer to it as being paranoid- just cautious!

[RobinInOR]

I know the feeling. Not all that ridiculous, you've got kids around. Paranoid is good, that's how you reduce the probability of an accident.

I get kind of careless since I'm in the basement, but was thinking that Dundee walks through there on the rare occasion, what will happen when he gets a lye bead stuck between his toes

Remember, they (at least used to) sell lye to unsuspecting housewives to clean their drains Have you been more paranoid since you've seen the pics of the kid that dumped lye on his head? Poor thing...

[Michi]

OMG Sara:laugh2: I'm sorry, it's really not funny, but when you said something about a bead of lye following you around the house, I just pictured you runnin' around trying to get away.

I think this is the reason I STILL have not tried soaping, even though I have ALL the ingredients and then some, and have been collecting them all for about 6 months now.

I'm a paranoid fool.

Ok, dare I ask about this boy who dumped lye on his head????? and double

[macnmyer]

There was a thread on the dish. When it comes back up look for it. It was horrible but the little boy is doing fine thank god. I am paranoid of lye to. I measure and mix outside in my hazmat outfit. Not kidding the neighbors must think I work for CDC

[Crafty1_AJ]

When I mix my lye outside (complete w/ gloves and goggles), I'm sure the neighbors must think I'm running a meth lab here.

[dixylight]

When I mix my lye outside (complete w/ gloves and goggles), I'm sure the neighbors must think I'm running a meth lab here.

Me too! I'm sure mine do too! Lights on in the basement at all hours of the night...me walking around with a respirator...lol:laugh2:

[Crafty1_AJ]

LOL. When I used to buy my lye locally in small quantities (Red Devil containers), I'd always emphasize to the checkout clerks that I was a SOAPMAKER. I'd stress that fact. Just didn't want the county sheriff showing up at my doorstep thinking he was going to bust up a meth lab.

[Kaybee23]

I measure in my garage in my apron, goggles, face mask and gloves. Those little lye beads do pop around when trying to pour them in the container on the scale. It's an old scale that I keep in the garage, but the lye pellets eat the plastic coating on the top, yikes So right now I only deal with the lye when the kids are not home, too scarey.

[Sara]

I just wish there were some kind of suction shooter for lye that would dispense without the lye pellet dance. I'm glad Robin mentioned the fabric sheets to wipe things down that helps a lot. Those pellets literally POP around in the bag!! Or that lye came in big, peanut sized pellets - that would make things easier on me. I think someone needs to come up with rapid-dissolve tabs. Yeah. That's it.

The boy dumping the lye on his head was sad to read about. It is rare that I soap with my kids around, but like Robin I have an animal and for me, the fear of the runaway lye pellet. I'm paranoid about it getting in a kid's eye or something.

[gerrie]

Wow, you guys are scaring me even more. I want to CP so bad, but I'm also afraid of the lye thing, I've never even seen lye. I had no idea it was in pellet form, almost sounds like those wild styrofoam beads that used to be in bean bag chairs, they would fly and stick to everything....it that the way lye really is? Maybe CPing is not for me, I'm afraid I'd get careless and not repect the lye the way I should.

[Melly]

I poured lye upstairs once and ended up burning the finish off my countertops in little specks. Now I only measure and mix in the basement, then bring the container upstairs when Im ready to begin soaping. My son gets securly locked behind his baby gate. Luckily he is terrified of the stick blender, so He stays out of my way and screams "Too loud mommy" from the far side of the living room. Im working on cleaning up my downstairs workshop for soaping in once the warm weather hits, right now its too cold to ever hope for a gelling soap down there.

[TexasBrat]

I know what you mean. I pour mine outside in the garage and then open the garage so that alll you can see are my legs and my pitcher. I do wonder if my neigbors wonder what I'm doing. lol I put a plastic bag over my scale and put that on top of a newspaper. When I'm done I take the scale out of the bag and spray the paper and bag with vinegar and throw away. And, then I spray the concrete all around to make sure I didn't miss anything.

[Scented]

I'm paranoid about it too ... even to the extent that nothing comes into the kitchen when the stuff is out.

[jwahlton]

I do mine in the garage and lock up the dog! I was kind of freaked out having 5 different lye containers for that huge soap making frenzy I did. I just bought the welders type mask thingie, I like much better than the goggles. I wear glasses and those goggles never fit right. I put on a long sleeved shirt tucked into the gloves, jeans, sneakers and am pretty much covered from head to toe

[Bobbie]

I line my counter area with wet paper towels or newspaper and I use the dryer sheets. If any jump out they stick to the wet paper. I just fold it up and throw it out in a safe place when I am done. Works like a charm.

[OutlandishLady]

Sara, when the lye is chasing you, do you hear the Jaws music?!?

I am pretty paranoid also, even though I soap such small batches right now. I never soap when my kiddo is home and I clean like a demon as soon as the soap is tucked under its blanket in the laundry room.

[cmille3]

I had an experience with staticky lye early on that has left me forever cautious. I also worry about one of the kids or the cat finding a bead of lye.

Here's my little trick: I make a newspaper "nest" under my baggie covered scale. I also keep dryer sheets next to my jug of vinegar. Cleanup is also much easier - I roll everything up in another newspaper and double bag it in plastic shopping bags before putting it into a garbage bag and bringing it outside.

[shonda]

my teenage boys freak when they see sugar on the countertop...."what is it mom, is it lye"? and yes,i have been more 'careful' since i saw the lye spilled on the little boy head...makes me shutter to think about it again.

[Grumpy Girl]

Working with lye reminds me of what my DH said about women and motorcycles... if you don't respect them, they'll either hurt you really bad or kill you.

I was really scared of it at first but decided that it was time to be a big girl and just do it. I wear all the necessary gear and keep everyone out of the kitchen while I'm mixing. I use a dryer sheet to keep the lye from flying out everywhere but make sure I totally wipe everything down when I'm done.

[cheri]

Oh, I'm terrified of lye. I would love to attempt CP; however, at this point, I'm smart enough to know when I don't have any business doing something yet. I don't know enough about safety and clean-up to try it.

[Jennster]

Another Meth lab owner checking in, lol. Our neighbors have to think the same thing with me and my husband making concoctions in the middle of the night with dust masks and goggles on. I am one of those that is still on the first three cans of lye that I bought from lowes, I made it a point to tell them I was a soapmaker. He was like why didn't you pay cash!! Haha nothing to hide here. No room, too much soap curing everywhere.

[Meridith]

I've always been lucky because since I started soaping, my kids have been older and I have always had my own room to do it in. Kids and animals not allowed. I have always worn my eye protection, gloves and apron, but I do admit that I get lax on covering up the arms. You'd think I would learn since I am always getting lye somewhere on my arms. You know that one spot that I know one little lye crystal somehow got on and you know its there. And if that one little lye crystals can be felt, I can only imagine what more would feel like on your body.

[daniedb]

Ah....I'm lurking in the soaping area, because I'm so sad that my hesitancy about lye has caused me to call it a day for now. I made one batch of it, and if y'all had seen me, you would have bent me over your knee and spanked me. Knowing that I'm too careless with haz materials and with a toddler running around, there's no way I can justify it right now.

I read the post about the little guy that dumped the bucket of lye water on his head, and also read the reply from one of our very sweet own Ct'ers whose son ingested lye and has had to have surgeries, and I just know that no *matter* how cautious, no matter how careful, my little man has a way of getting into it - even if it means getting a ladder and a key - and I would never, ever, ever in a million years be able to forgive myself. So...it's not for now, but maybe for someday.

In the meantime, I get to revel in your beautiful soaps, so it means more business for you!

[Crafty1_AJ]

I am very careful with lye, but my children are also older so they know better than to mess around when Mom's making soap. They are 12 and 14, and I've trained them to be uber-cautious with my supplies, and to stay out of the workshop when I'm soaping.