To Lye or Not to Lye -- That is the Question

[candlemama]

I am really wanting to give CP or HP a try but can't seem to get over the thought of having a caustic in the house around my kids. I've been doing a lot of reading and understand the safety precautions I need to take while soaping to keep myself safe. But I still have questions on how to keep my kids safe and am looking for suggestions. I have two boys: a three-year-old and four month old.

For example, where do I store the lye? Is it safe to keep in the garage (it gets over 100 degrees in the summer, mostly dry heat). Should I keep it under lock and key? Should I line my entire kitchen with wax paper or newspapers or something in case I spill a tiny amount of lye or lye water? I keep having visions of a tiny amount getting spilled without my knowledge, and my kids getting it on their skin! Also, I'm wondering if HP would be better than CP because the soap will be fully saponified after the cooking, rather than having raw soap that I need to hide from my kids while it cures. I don't have any place to make the soap other than the kitchen (no workspace or basement or anything).

For those of you with young children, what do you do to make sure they are safe, both when you're making the soap and when you have unused lye or raw soap in the house?

I know I have other very dangerous chemicals and items in the house, and I don't get too uptight about it because I make sure the kids can't get to it. But the lye makes me more nervous for some reason.

Thanks for any suggestions or shared experiences!

[Barbara AL]

I don't have kids but do you have a cabinet where you can place the containers up high?

I lay paper towels across my counter when pour the lye and making the soap. After I am finished with making the soap I use Vinegar on the counters to stop the lye reaction. I also use the vinegar in my pot and utensils when washing them so I won't get any sting from the active soap still in the pot.

Barb

[LuminousBoutique]

its really really not that big of a deal, I promise. I keep the bottles (1lb bottles) on a top shelf, that I know they cant reach. I mix my lye water in our back porch, and just be sure they dont go out there.

Its a bit staticky (sp?! lol) but not alot, I promise. Its all precautionary.. the warnings you will read... and sure its important to have respect for it, but its not that scary. I've never once that the lye pellets go anywhere but where they were intended to go.. right into the measuring container.

as for the raw soap.. I wouldnt worry about that. after 24 hours in the mold, and when it has been cut... the lye should be neutralized. Cure is really meant to help reduce water content.. and raw soap is rougher in the first few days but it shouldnt hurt you, if it has a lye excess it could but with proper calculation it shouldnt. I wash my hands with my raw soap all the time.

I would suggest taking one evening after the kids have gone to bed, or one day when someone (hubby or mom or someone!) can get the kids out of the house for the day or at least keep them out of the kitchen, and just do it. If it makes you feel more comfortable, mop the floor and wipe the counters afterwards but I swear if you are careful you shouldn’t have an issue at all. If you don’t like it, you will know.. but at least you gave it a shot and had a full day to work with it on your own.

[bayougirl]

I don't have small kids, but 2 dogs. The first time I made soap in my kitchen I went ahead and uses baby gates to keep them out of the kitchen and safe. Now, when I soap, they nap in another room and just leave me to it. I, also, go outside to mix my lye, then back inside after I have it thoroughly mixed and put it into an ice bath. good luck.

[LuminousBoutique]

yes on the vinegar.. forgot to mention that. Keep some vinegar in a bowl nearby just in case.. I dont do that anymore but if you get lye on your hand or body, pour or dip your hand in the vinegar. it will burn for a minute but it helps.

[TexasBrat]

I only pour my lye outside as those little beads are bouncy little buggers. I am usually careful and never spill them anyway but you never know. Don't worry to much and don't be so scared of it but of course be careful.

I have read if lye gets on your skin to rinse the area with cool water then apply vinegar to the area and rinse again. I have gotten liquid and dry lye on me before and it burns a tad but nothing to horrible.

[JacquiO]

Personally I would wait until your kids were older but ultimately it's up to you. I waited until my daughter was five years old and then I only did HP because you don't have the lye sitting around or in the fridge cooling off. I kept my lye in a cabinet above the stove and I only soaped at night after my daughter went to bed. Only recently now that my daughter is almost eight have I started CP soaping and I do it during the day sometimes but I make sure my daughter knows when I mixing the lye and I make sure she stays out of the kitchen.

Edited May 2, 2010 by JacquiO

[leisa2003]

I just started making HP myself. I only make HP because I have little one's in the home also. I keep my lye bottles on the top of my cabinets. I make soap when hubby is here and can watch them or when they are in bed. When cleaning up, I put some vinegar on an old wash cloth and wipe my area down. I only do HP so I also don't have to worry about touching active lye when washing utensils or crockpot.

It's really not that scary after you have made it a few times,..you'll get your own "system" down and then you'll be more "relaxed" about it.:smiley2:

[chuck_35550]

Why not make up your lye solution outside while the kids are napping? It only takes a few minutes until the fumes are gone and the lye is mixed. Keep it in a water pitcher with a top and mark it lye. Keep the solution in the garage or any place safe from the kids. Make your soap at night after everyone has gone to bed. You need undisturbed time to make soap. Wear goggles, gloves and take your soap pot and other utensils out to the garage after finishing. The next day you only have soap to clean up and no big deal. The major worry is getting stray beads of lye when weighing. Doing this outdoors in your garage takes care of that problem. It shouldn't take you more than an hour to make a nice batch of soap and your family will love the way it makes their skin feel. HTH.

Steve

[IwantItgreen]

I found that if you add your lye to ice cold water with added ice, then I didn't smell the fumes. I used warm water once and it was MUCH stronger.

[rebeccajo99]

I was planning on waiting until my kids were older (they are currently 2 and 3) or when I get a workshop where I can lock them out of the room.

[candlemama]

Thanks everyone for the replies. You've given me a lot to think about. I think I will give CP a shot this week, after I get my supplies and put together my plan. I will definitely either wait until the kids are asleep and guarded by my husband so the older one can't sneak downstairs, or have my husband take them to the park for a few hours. Just as long as they are away and can't interrupt me. I'll also mix the lye outside in case a stray pellet gets away from me.

I just know I need to use common sense and be very careful. I watched a lot of videos and see it's not as crazy as it sounds. For my own peace of mind, though, I think I am going to lock the lye in some kind of small safe and place it high in my kitchen cabinet! It's actually pretty funny to me that I'm being so paranoid because my full time job is in law enforcement, so of course I have loaded weapons in the house as part of my job -- and that's never made me nervous because I make sure they are always properly stored!

Anyway, I blame all this on LuminousBoutique -- I tried her CP soaps and am crazy about them. Probably would have been happy with my M&P if I hadn't tried her soaps out!!

[JacquiO]

I found that if you add your lye to ice cold water with added ice, then I didn't smell the fumes. I used warm water once and it was MUCH stronger.

I always use chilled water from the fridge and if I make tea soaps I brew them real strong and refrigerate before using. Although some people brew them right in the hot lye solution.

[LuminousBoutique]

Thanks everyone for the replies. You've given me a lot to think about. I think I will give CP a shot this week, after I get my supplies and put together my plan. I will definitely either wait until the kids are asleep and guarded by my husband so the older one can't sneak downstairs, or have my husband take them to the park for a few hours. Just as long as they are away and can't interrupt me. I'll also mix the lye outside in case a stray pellet gets away from me.

I just know I need to use common sense and be very careful. I watched a lot of videos and see it's not as crazy as it sounds. For my own peace of mind, though, I think I am going to lock the lye in some kind of small safe and place it high in my kitchen cabinet! It's actually pretty funny to me that I'm being so paranoid because my full time job is in law enforcement, so of course I have loaded weapons in the house as part of my job -- and that's never made me nervous because I make sure they are always properly stored!

Anyway, I blame all this on LuminousBoutique -- I tried her CP soaps and am crazy about them. Probably would have been happy with my M&P if I hadn't tried her soaps out!!

LOL ok ok I will take the blame.. and feel free to email me, or message me on here if you have any Questions, I'm so happy to help. Have fun!

[LuminousBoutique]

I always use chilled water from the fridge and if I make tea soaps I brew them real strong and refrigerate before using. Although some people brew them right in the hot lye solution.

me too I keep my distilled water in the fridge so its very cold all the time, seems to help!

[lkhwb]

Thanks everyone for the replies. You've given me a lot to think about. I think I will give CP a shot this week, after I get my supplies and put together my plan. I will definitely either wait until the kids are asleep and guarded by my husband so the older one can't sneak downstairs, or have my husband take them to the park for a few hours. Just as long as they are away and can't interrupt me. I'll also mix the lye outside in case a stray pellet gets away from me.

I think if you follow this type of routine that you'll have no problems Respecting the ingredients we work with is very important. Protecting our loved ones (furred and human) even more so!!

Good luck with the soaping!

Lisa

[Phyra02]

I have a 3 yr old and was afraid of the same thing. What I do now is I do all of my soaping when either 1) he is napping 2) there is someone else in the house to divert his attention or 3) wait until I put him to bed. I keep meaning to get up early in the morning to soap but that just hasn't happened yet.

I have one of those large popcorn cans that I use to keep my lye in. It is triple bagged and sits on the highest shelf in the house. This way I never have to worry about my ds' little grubby hands getting into it. My soaping gloves are a bright orange. Everytime I put them on, my ds knows that its soaping time and to leave Mommy alone. I soap on my enclosed front porch (door open though). Then all of my mixing is done in my kitchen sink. I was nervous the first batch and then kicked myself for waiting so long. It really isn't hard to do as long as you follow basic safety precautions.

I am currently planning on baby #2 and plan on bribing family and friends with more soap when I need a break. Hope this helps.

[tessv]

For my own peace of mind, though, I think I am going to lock the lye in some kind of small safe and place it high in my kitchen cabinet!

You can find lock-ready toolboxes that work quite well for that, and they're not especially expensive. I picked up a nice little Stanley tool box that accepts a small (luggage size) padlock at ACE Hardware for next to nothing. We used one for prescription meds when our son was very young since the house we lived in lacked a secure medicine cabinet.

[SoapDiva]

I keep mine high up in my work room. The girls (3 and 7) know to stay out of my workroom when they hear my stick blender going. They cannot reach my lye water pitchers which sit on a high workbench while cooling. My husband donated his old garage workbench to my soap room, so the table itself is quite high.

It's funny, cause I wear blue nitrate workgloves while soaping, and they will come into my soaproom, look at my hands and go right out. Then they will stand at the door and ask me for what they need.

They're well trained.