cleaning/washing soy wax - problem! - EZ Soy

[esmetutu]

I'm having major problems washing the soy wax out of my "pour pots". The leftover wax got gummy, sticky and gluey when I rinsed the pots with very hot water. Adding dish detergent barely helped. Even the dishwasher left them with a residue. Not to mention it was hard to get off my hands. Is this due to an additive? Melting the wax too many times over? Bad wax? More info below:

I've been using EZ Soy wax for about 5 years. I use glass measuring cups to mix the wax, color, and FO. When I'm done pouring, I wipe the wax from the measuring cups out pretty well with paper towels. Usually there is just a light residue left. Then I'll wash them by hand with really hot water and a little dish soap. I have never had a problem getting them clean very easily until now.

I've recently begun using a Presto Pot(no spigot). There's always some wax left in it that gets heated and reheated. This last time I made some candles, wiped out the containers and I went to wash them only to be left with a sticky mess! (see above)

Any ideas?

[Stella1952]

Heat the pour pots upside down in the oven (set on 150°-185°F) in a disposable aluminum pan (I line mine with foil to get multiple uses from the pan). As soon as the wax has melted from the inside, wipe out with clean paper towels. That's ALL that is required.

To clean the Presto, heat it to 185°F with nothing in it and wipe with clean paper towels. That's ALL that is required.

Making candles is NOT like cooking food - the small amount of palpable residue remaining is not going to cause any difficulties so long as you do a thorough job of wiping out the containers while the wax is liquid.

Despite claims on websites, soy wax is NOT water soluble (read the MSDS). It can be cleaned up like any oil or grease by use of HOT water and an emulsifying, degreasing cleaning agent. When I clean glassware for reuse as testers, I melt out the wax as described above, soak (for 3-5 minutes) & wash the containers in HOT, sudsy water (using either Dawn dishwashing detergent or Parson's sudsy ammonia), rinse in HOT water and air dry upside down in the dishwasher. The glassware comes out squeaky clean - absolutely no discernible residue. I suspect you are using water that is not hot enough. Check the temp - your hot water heater may be crapping out on you! If the high temp bothers your hands, wear dishwashing gloves.

As far as removing the soy wax from your hands - one person's concept of "sticky" is another person's idea of applying moisturizer! If it irritates you, wear surgeon's gloves while making your candles. HTH

Edited April 1, 2010 by Stella1952

[esmetutu]

That's good advice. Thank you. My water probably wasn't hot enough.

I just thought it strange because usually the glass is easy to get squeaky clean with no effort. Yet this time around everything just turned gooey. Very weird. From what I've read there is no issue with reheating/using leftover wax in the Presto many times over so that's probably not it. I thought perhaps I had gotten a bad batch of EZ Soy.

I'm weird though because once I ordered a bunch of bakery scents from a much beloved FO supplier and thought they all smelled like a creepy multi-vitamin. I came on here and no one was complaining about the bad batch *they* got, so it must've all been in my head.

[Stella1952]

it must've all been in my head

Maybe... or maybe not. I sure would check that water temp... Sometimes these little irritating things we think are our imagination turn out to be the warning whispers we should have listened to...

When I have had a bad cold or allergy attack, sometimes my nose smells stuff that isn't there or doesn't smell something that IS there or changes it to something else entirely! It doesn't happen to me often, but when it does, it's very disconcerting to KNOW the nose on my own face is LYING to its owner!!!

[topofmurrayhill]

If the details of what you're reporting are accurate, there's obviously something odd here. You are washing things the same way as before--and even going to greater lengths--and they are not coming clean as before. That's a pretty reasonable thing to wonder about.

The temperature of the water when you're washing isn't that critical. Dishwashing liquid should emulsify EZ-Soy easily under warm water. And certainly your dishwasher should leave no trace whatsoever.

So the question is, what is that material that isn't coming off? The only things I can think of are polymerized soy wax, or some component of the fragrance oil you were using. Something connected to the FO would be my first guess I suppose, but soy wax is far from impervious to damage from repeated high heat, so your Presto could possibly be the culprit. Maybe even an odd combination of the two, where the FO is reacting with decomposed oil.

Edited April 1, 2010 by topofmurrayhill

[esmetutu]

Thank you for understanding! It was a real WTH? moment when I put the glass cups in the sink to wash and the wax turned to glue! I used several different FOs from different companies, so it's most likely the wax. I think next time I will try the same wax again, and then change out the wax if the same thing happens as before.

I was a little surprised that people were reporting that the same wax could be melted over and over in the Presto Pot. I know if I melt a soy tart too many times, or leave it melting for too long, the wax starts to smell a bit off and when it cools it's crumbly.

5 years of doing this and I feel like I know less now then when I began!

If the details of what you're reporting are accurate, there's obviously something odd here. You are washing things the same way as before--and even going to greater lengths--and they are not coming clean as before. That's a pretty reasonable thing to wonder about.

The temperature of the water when you're washing isn't that critical. Dishwashing liquid should emulsify EZ-Soy easily under warm water. And certainly your dishwasher should leave no trace whatsoever.

So the question is, what is that material that isn't coming off? The only things I can think of are polymerized soy wax, or some component of the fragrance oil you were using. Something connected to the FO would be my first guess I suppose, but soy wax is far from impervious to damage from repeated high heat, so your Presto could possibly be the culprit. Maybe even an odd combination of the two, where the FO is reacting with decomposed oil.