Anna Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 I made some lye water about a month ago.Tonight I opened it up,and it had crystals on top of the mix.I stired it and it would not mix in.What is this?should I throw it out,and start over.It was made in a five gallon plastic bucket,and 33% lye solution. Thanks,Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cindym Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Anna you could try putting it in some warm water to see if it heats up a bit and the crystals disolve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mountainmadness Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 It sounds like a water issue... Did you use tap water? When I have used tap water I have the same thing. If it does not dissolve then dump it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherie Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Anna you could try putting it in some warm water to see if it heats up a bit and the crystals disolve.I was going to say the same thing. Did you put sugar in your water? We had some cool nights last week so that might have something to do with it. I'd try to heat it up but like Mountainmadness said, if it doesn't dissolve, you might want to pitch it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anna Posted April 13, 2006 Author Share Posted April 13, 2006 Thanks everyone for your replys.It was made with distilled water,with nothing added except lye.I thought about heating it up in a stainless pot.If that don't work I will pitch it,and start over. Anna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherie Posted April 13, 2006 Share Posted April 13, 2006 Anna, you don't have to heat it in a pot. If you have a big dutch oven, put some hot water in it and set the lye contain in it. You can check it occasionally to see how much the temp is increasing and also if the crystals are dissolving. I do this when I mix my water ahead of time and it's too cool for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Posted April 16, 2006 Share Posted April 16, 2006 Thi s seems to be a result of contact with air. If I let my solutions cool too much, I see this. I make about a gallon of lye solution . I store it in 2 1/2 gal jugs. You want to minimize contact with air Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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