Wisconsin "Cheeseheads"

[tiki244]

Its a drain cleaner for one.

 

[Tatters]

Quote:
What is lye...the chemical term is sodium hydroxide. The common name is caustic soda aka potassium hydroxide. Many people do not want to attempt soap making because they are afraid of the lye, which is a corrosive and can cause blindness if it gets into the eyes (hence wear glasses) and it can eat away skin (hence wear gloves) and eat through clothing (hence wear an apron) in essence if you handle the stuff know how to protect yourself. Lye produces heat to help the oils blend and hold together better.

 

[tiki244]

I dont use it for that though. Hmmm maybe it is not the best thing to use. I remember in an old Foxfire book there was an article on soap making. I think wood ashes, animal fat and lye? Hm I dont know. I will have to research it. Tat whats you recipe?

 

[tiki244]

O we posted at the same time (pretty much).

I am thinking with my asthma I am not even going to attempt it then. Awe well at least my friend makes it. I will see if she has lemon grass scented soap. She has to do everything chemical free because she is allergic to most if not all artificial chemicals. Me too.

 

[Tatters]

Quote:
My lye making comes to you from the book of Carla Emery "The Encyclopedia of Country Living 10th Edition" and its far too detailed to put into words as its pretty in-depth. In short I use a leaching barrel made of wood, push ashes on a layer of straw which covers rocks and then I pour water over the ashes till its covered. Then I wait. There is a hole drilled for drainage in the barrel and a non-metal container to catch the drippings of lye water.

 

[tiki244]

Some people on this thread have that book. I have seen it, but really not a book you can digest by borrowing it from the library.

 

[Tatters]

It's pretty BIG but has a ton of wealth in it. Some of it is very time consuming, but its done the right way from the beginning. Online I am very weary of what to use as there is so much misinformation out there that I prefer to stick to books than to the net for a lot of my reading.

 

[tiki244]

ditto on the misinformation. ~ good info too~ but sometimes hard to filter~ I am a slow typer *on the keyboard.* ~ I gotta go for now~

Cheers!

 

[Tatters]

I have asthma and use lye just fine. What you do is while it cools to 100 degrees, I put it on the back porch with the window open, thus its well ventilated. I NEVER have it sitting where I am working as the fumes are too much.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Kris, is this it?
http://www.amazon.com/Country-Know-...=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1324482638&sr=1-2

Cind, when you are better able to type, I would be greatly interested in your green goop recipe, please.