Leaking Lye = Big Mess

January 8, 2010 by | 8 Comments

Potassium hydroxide leak - halfway thru clean-up
I’ve known for about a month – maybe more – that something had spilled or was leaking in my soap supply storage cabinet. There was a white, crystallized substance creeping along one of the shelves, but I wasn’t sure what it was, and I didn’t have time to clean it up.

Well, as I was taking care of inventory today, I decided to put on my rubber gloves and started pulling out containers and cleaning them off until I reached the source of the problem. Sure enough, it was a bag of potassium hydroxide – the kind of lye used to make liquid soap. I had bought it from another soapmaker about five years ago. It came double bagged in two gallon-size freezer bags, and I never bothered to put it in something else – like HDPE plastic. I hadn’t used this lye for probably two years! I’m surprised it held up as long as it did! I ended up tossing out some other supply items that had been stored in ziplock bags because they were covered in the white crystals, but most of it was salvageable since it was stored in HDPE plastic or amber glass.

The good news is that I was smart and had my rubber gloves on! Unfortunately, the paint on my cabinet has been eaten away. I really should have taken care of the problem when I first noticed it.

Paint stripped from the shelf

All this cleaning out and counting has also created a pretty good size stash of supplies that I am quite willing to part with. I’m planning to create a list of garage sale items for my soapmaking readers. You might find some real treasure! It’s all good quality stuff! (I threw away the old, expired stuff.) It will probably be another week before I can get that done, so be patient! I still have soap to make…

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  1. That sounds like a real pain! I’m sure it’s nice to have everything cleaned up and sorted through. We just went through my supplies. I was quite suprised at some of the stuff I had hidden away. 🙂
    .-= Holly´s last blog post ..Frosted Strawberry??? =-.

  2. I’m glad you didn’t get any lye burns in the clean up process. That is too bad about the paint 🙁
    .-= michelle´s last blog post ..PRESERVATIVES AND WHY THEY ARE NEEDED =-.

  3. Yep it does that, heavy plastic tray under it is the go.
    .-= Sharon´s last blog post ..Timberwolf in Soap – Random Picture =-.

  4. That right there is totally something like I would do and do do all the time…leave everything til the last minute…then learn!
    oh well!
    x

  6. I too have had to clean up a lye mess recently. I buy lye in 50 lb bags, but not all of one bag fit into the plastic bucket I use to store it in. The little bit left in the sack got moisture in it and made the biggest mess on my garage floor. Not only was it a difficult job to clean up, it was in an area behind some other soap making supplies. I had to move things around and then I hate to waste supplies as expensive as they can be.

    http://www.grandmaandmesoaps.com
    Herbal-Soaps

  7. So I had a box of four smaller plastic containers of lye sitting on my hardwood floor, I didn’t realize it would expire, it had been quite a long time when I went to use it I found a similar mess! Trying to figure out how to clean it up off the hardwood without water, should I use vinegar to dissolve the crystals that are fused to the wood floor??

  8. Yikes. If it’s dry, you shouldn’t have a problem using a damp rag or paper towel to wipe it up. Just wear your protective gloves!

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