Soap batch from hell :-( LONG!!

[Guest guest]

There are days and there are days.... Yesterday must have been the

worse in my life for a very long time and all due to my pure

stupidity.

 

Started to clean some beeswax on Thursday but it was far to jickey for

my new kitchen, so I descided I'b better get a small electrical cook

plate and do it all down in the laundry room. But there I was with

this wonderful fragrant strained leftover water and since I used some

like that last year in a small try-out batch of soap, I thought - hey

let's make some soap!

 

Measured my oils and fats and put them on the stove and started to add

lye to the cold bee-goo water. And in the middle of it the thing just

kind of exploded and welled out of the pitcher and into the sink. At

least I had the pitcher in the sink on a dishcloth, but the stench and

the mess - gahhhh. I was lucky to get only some minor burns on my

arms, but... there where part of the kitchen that wasn't all that

lucky. More on that later, cuase right then I was soooo worried that

some of all that orange lye mixture had spilled over my brand new

kitchen, but it seemed alright - at that moment.

With my heart pounding from that experience, I managed to clean it all

up and had first thought I'd better leave the soapmaking for another

day. Couldn't figure out right then why it happened.

 

But - I'm not the most patient person on this earth so I couldn't just

wait for tomorrow, but started a new lye mixture - clean and simple,

water and orange flower hydrosol. Heated the fats and oils, brought it

to trace with my stickblender and added the EOs. And then the even

more strange thing happened - the whole batch separated!! I mixed it

some more, but it looked like applesause and wouldn't stay mixed at

all. I poored it into molds anyway and carried them into my study and

insolated them. But - here is where the absolute horror occurs - I

found some redish stains on my brand new waxed oak floor!! Not

thinking clearly, I grabed a whet dishcloth and started to clean it

up. But the only grew worse and streaked the floor in a dark kind of

redish way. Heart started to pound and I got some other rag, used some

liquid dishdetergent and scrubed away - to even worse spotting/streak.

You knwo when you dream nightmares that you're kind of stuck in? Well,

this was like that only I was awake!!! My heart started to beat so

fast I thought I would keel over and I was in a state of absolute

panic. Stoped what I was doing, cause I had to go and pick up the

kids, but was in such a state that first I had to call my DH. As soon

as he aswered I started to bawl hysterical and told him what happened.

I knew he would get more that upset and angry with me, cause here he

had spent 7 week, creating this wonderful new kitchen for me and now I

had ruined the floor.

 

Got the kids, did some shopping and told them what happened and that

Dad would be so angry with me cause I was such a fool. Sam cried in

sympathy and John told me, that now will Dad get a new wife - one

younger, slimer and more smart than me ;-) But after thinking that

over, he came to the conclusion and if one had found somebody one

liked well enough to marry, one couldn't just diverse them...

When the kids heard Lars car on the driveway Sam said " Oh no, poor you

mom " and John told me to run and hide. Well, Lars looked over the

damage and told me that I had burned the floor and he spend an hour,

sanding down the floor - not being totaly happy with me. OK; I felt

like the most stupid person alive and was so unhappy about the whole

thing and was in such a state of anxiety... I think he managed to get

the stains out, but I had a severe difficult time to sleep at night,

imagined all that red stain appearing everywhere in my kitchen. But -

so far I have found no more stains, but my heart can't stop pounding.

 

The soap then? Well, it's the strangest batch CP I have ever made - it

have gone solid from the look of it, but have a top layer of a jellied

mass, like 1cm thick. It's oily, but not runny oily, more like

gellentine....and it doesn't burn. I just have to let it be for some

more days and then see what will happen to it. I have read all my

soaping books but could find anything about a gele layer forming, only

oil on top. So - if anyone have any ideas and suggestions, give them

to me, cause I don't know what to do.

 

Now I think I need to go and lie down and rest for a bit. Hope

everyones weekend started better than mine did.

 

Fragrant Blessings,

Ylva

[Guest guest]

Oh, Ylva, my heart goes out to you. Your experience is exactly the kind of

thing that would happen to me and I just ache in sympathy for you. I wish I was

a more experienced soap maker so I could help you figure out what went wrong,

but I am still too new at it to even try to figure out what went wrong. I have

spent a lot of time reading the posts and getting to know all of you and I find

you are all such super people. You are all so helpful and I have been learning

a lot from all of you and you especially have inspired me a lot. I feel bad

this happened to you today, and I can just see me doing something just like

it..except my hubby would be complaining the whole time he was resanding the

floor about his arthritis in his hands and how much it hurts and all. The man

can be a master at putting on a guilt treatment. Comes from all those years of

living with me. The only reason I keep him is that he makes such a good guinnea

pig for me to try my herbal experiments on (I am

hoping to get a smile out of you so you can feel better!). Well, I had better

end this before it gets too long.

 

Wishing you peace,

 

Cherry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

vote. - Register online to vote today!

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hey Ylva,

 

I am so sorry to hear that you had such a horrible day making soap and

it ended up killing your new floor. At least you or the wee one didn't

get badly hurt. I hope your chemical burn has healed and that your week

is going better now!

 

*Hugs*

Chris (list mom)

 

New and Improved - Shea Butter Bath Cookies

No Calories, No Tricks - Just Treats For The Bathing Body

http://www.alittleolfactory.com