Then, you turn around and see the mess you’ve just left: A big pot with a bunch of raw soap in it. It’s time to safely clean it up.
Safely Cleaning Lye Containers
Your first cleaning concern should be to deal with the components that held lye. You will need to wash the pitcher and measuring cup that you used to mix the lye into the solution. There is likely to be several drops left behind, so be sure to rinse it out well with water. Rinse off the spoon that you used to stir in the lye, as well as anything that might have come in contact with the lye, such as your gloves and a thermometer. Look carefully around your soap-making station for lye drops or granules that might have fallen when making your soap mixture.
Cleaning Raw Soap Tools and Vessels
Once you have dealt with the pure undiluted lye, then you also have to deal with the raw soap. It’s really not quite soap just yet, as there is still a lot of lye and oils wrestling with each other. It may be starting to saponify, but it is still somewhat caustic. While it will not burn you as badly as pure lye, it will cause some irritation on your skin and can burn your eyes. First and foremost, scrape every last drop of the soap from the pot and into your molds with a rubber spatula. With less waste, there is less to clean up. Then, you can wipe the pot out with paper towels and throw them away. This will get the pot clean enough to wash out with water and put in the dishwasher. If you do not want to deal with paper towels and wiping, you can use a lot of hot water and soap and wash it down the drain. The slight risk there is that the oils and lye are not soap yet, so it is possible that some of it could stick in your drain.
Tips for Waiting to Clean Your Soap-Making Tools the Next Day
If you can tolerate leaving some mess until later, you can set aside the items with raw soap on them like your stick blender, your spoons, and your soap pot. Cover those items with a cotton towel or lid, and just leave it until the next day. By the next morning, the oils and lye will be soap, and you can clean it up in the sink easily with no risk to the drain or your skin.
