Got My Feet Wet, and Hands Greasy - Soapmaking

[Steveca]

Western part, Alberta.

 

[Steveca]

Be careful with straining the lye. You probably strained off the extra lye. It can take a good bit of stirring to get it to completely dissolve.

I realized what the stuff was that I filtered off, from stirring in my stainless steel bowl, some lye crystals formed on the side of the bowl. In my second and third batches, I have just taken the spoon and ladle some liquid onto it to dissolve it into the mixture again before adding it to the oil. I don't think I will strain the lye mixture again unless there is obvious foreign matter in it. I calculated that batch for strictly laundry soap "grandma's soap" and used 0% superfat in a 20lb batch so maybe I ended up with 0.5% superfat with what I strained out.