Asked by: Rosia Agirrezabala
hobbies and interests candle and soap making

Does ash and water make lye?

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To make lye in the kitchen, boil the ashes from ahardwood fire (soft woods are too resinous to mix with fat) in alittle soft water, rain water is best, for about halfan hour. Allow the ashes to settle to the bottom of the pan andthen skim the liquid lye off the top.


Also to know is, does ash contain lye?

Collect the Ash To make this type of lye, you need the whiteashes from hardwood fires. Collect ash from firesthat burned wood such as ash, hickory, or beech. Softwoods,such as pine, spruce, or fir, do not contain enoughpotassium, which is necessary for makinglye.

Subsequently, question is, why do you need lye to make soap? The answer is "No." The chemical reaction of making soap, calledsaponification, is complete, the lye and oil moleculeshave combined and chemically changed into soap andglycerin. If the soap is made properly, the lye isused up in the saponification process to turn oil intosoap.

Additionally, what is lye water made of?

?, jian shui), also called lye water oralkaline salt, is an alkaline solution that regulates acidity inthe process of dough making. Chinese alkaline solution – Itcontains potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate (or bakingsoda).

Can SOAP be made without lye?

You Can't Make Soap WithoutLye Soap by definition is an alkali mixed with fats.When combined, a process called saponification happens, creatingsoap. In other words, without Lye, you just have abucket of chunky, fatty oils floating in water.

Related Question Answers

Lucica Taschinger

Professional

How do you extract lye from wood ash?

To make lye in the kitchen, boil the ashes from ahardwood fire (soft woods are too resinous to mix with fat) in alittle soft water, rain water is best, for about half an hour.Allow the ashes to settle to the bottom of the pan and then skimthe liquid lye off the top.

Goodluck Fanget

Professional

Why is lye dangerous?

When lye is mixed with water, heat is released,so the container used to mix lye in has to be able to takethat heat. Lye can burn the skin and damage the eyes in thedry or wet form. It also releases fumes, when mixed with water,that can harm the lungs. If swallowed, lye will burn theesophagus and can cause death.

Donaciana Samaranch

Professional

Can lye kill you?

You're always at a low-grade risk of burning yourfingers or arms on a hot oven or scalding baking sheet, but ifyou spill lye on yourself, you could get achemical burn. Lye can also actually kill you, ifyou accidentally ingest it straight.

Antima Rubira

Explainer

Is Potash the same as lye?

They are both a white, strong alkaline, corrosive solidor powder. Sodium Hydroxide is more commonly known as lye orcaustic soda where Potassium Hydroxide is known as potash.Both are used to change fats into soap in a process calledsaponification.

Teresita Tilgen

Explainer

What can I do with wood ash?

Unlike ashes, you can't use flames any place except in thefireplace.
  1. Use wood ashes to:
  2. De-skunk pets. A handful rubbed on Fido's coat neutralizes thelingering odor.
  3. Hide stains on paving.
  4. Enrich compost.
  5. Block garden pests.
  6. Melt ice.
  7. Control pond algae.
  8. Pump up tomatoes.

Andrzej Stumps

Explainer

Is Lye edible?

Lye water (sometimes called 'Lime Water') is astrong (caustic) liquid that is safe to use in very small amountsin cooking, but it can be dangerous if lye water isswallowed undiluted straight from the bottle. It can cause severecorrosive burns to the throat, oesophagus and stomach withpermanent damage if swallowed.

Aimane Eppstein

Pundit

How is lye produced?

A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtainedby leaching ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble inwater producing caustic basic solutions.

Harmony Dieckhoff

Pundit

What can you use instead of lye to make soap?

The secret to making soap without lye is calledmelt-and-pour soapmaking.

Soap Without Lye: Ingredients
  • Ground cinnamon and wild orange essential oil (pictured)
  • Oatmeal (powdered in blender) and honey.
  • Ground rosemary and lavender essential oil.
  • Peppermint essential oil and rosemary essential oil.

Abdelkamel Havers

Pundit

How long does lye water last?

It will keep a long time, not sure exactly howlong, but weeks at least. However, it must be stored in an airtight container. If left open the water will evaporate,leaving you with a solution with less than 50%water.

Aloha Corbillon

Pundit

Does lye water go bad?

It doesn't go bad. Many people, myself included,make large batches of 50/50 lye and water and use itin batches over time.

Senda Frassdorf

Pundit

What is the alternative of lye water?

Alternative to Lye Water
For my second batch, I used a substitute forlye water (baking soda solution) and they were firmer. Thesubstitute for lye water I used, was 1/4 teaspoon ofbaking soda dissolved in 1 cup of water then boiling themixture for 5 minutes, that's it! Lastly, you will need molds tosteam them in.

Fanta Isaba

Teacher

Is lye in soap bad for you?

When saponification occurred, some lye was leftin the soap, making it harsh on the skin. It is vitallyimportant to measure carefully so that the correct amount oflye is used. To answer the question, yes, soap madewith lye is completely safe and is not harsh when madeproperly, using every precaution.

Yongjun Shaldybin

Teacher

What is food grade lye used for?

Retail lye is used for household purposes,including baking pretzels and cleaning cookingutensils.

Restituta Roure

Teacher

Why is lye water used in cooking?

Food grade lye water is a potent liquid alkaline- a food grade potassium carbonate solution - used in homebrewing to reduce acidity and in baking to raise the pH ofdough. Lye water is also used to make traditionalramen noodles to give them their distinctive yellow colour, andspringy texture.

Nil Yrisarri

Teacher

What is lihia?

Lihia (lihiya) is food grade lye also labeled lyewater, it's colorless and odorless until it's mixed with glutinousrice, the color of the rice becomes light yellow and it'll have aslight chemical smell, I can't quite describe but it, it's howlihia smells like.

Myrtle Monerris

Reviewer

Can you buy lye?

Craft stores carry lye for soapmaking. You canpurchase it at Amazon as sodium hydroxide or lye.Pure lye drain opener, caustic soda, and pure or food-gradesodium hydroxide. Depending on your project, you maybe able to substitute potassium hydroxide (KOH), which has similarchemical properties and is easier to find.

Adnane Eikmann

Reviewer

Why is lye used in pretzels?

(Hence why Mary wears gloves and goggles when using it!)When a bagel or pretzel dipped in lye solution goesinto the oven, the lye reacts with the carbon dioxide givenoff by steam from the dough and forms a benign carbonate, whichmakes the bagel safe to eat.

Youssouph Escudie

Reviewer

What does Lye do to dead bodies?

Dissolving a Body in Lye
A mixture of sodium hydroxide (lye) with watercan be used to liquefy dead animals such as farmanimals or roadkill (this can obviously also includehomicide victims). If the lye mixture is heated to boiling,tissue can be dissolved in a matter ofhours.

Tatjana Saadaoui

Reviewer

Is Lye a natural product?

While lye may sound like a chemical you would notassociate with healthy, all-natural products, in fact, allsoap is made from this amazing ingredient. When used properly andwith other all-natural ingredients in homemade soaps,lye helps produce a natural product that is good foryour skin and body.

Co-Authored By:

EveryThingWhat Staff Editor

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2nd February, 2020

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