# To Other Newbies



## Rick (May 10, 2002)

Never brush your hands back and forth to remove a couple of grains of lye from your hands.

I had no more than 4 grains of lye stuck to a finger today. One of those grains flew right into my eye. No kidding.

I washed the eye for 15 minutes. It's starting to get back to normal.

The good news is the laundry soap looks nice.

Rick


----------



## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

I'm glad you're okay Rick! Very good advice indeed and not just for the newbies

It's one of the reasons I always wear a face shield when I get the lye out until the soap is all tucked in under blankets.

Another bit of advice - try to keep your hands and working area as dry as possible so the lye won't stick.


----------



## BeagleMommy (May 21, 2008)

The other thing I do is keep a spray bottle of vinegar nearby so if I get lye on me I can neutralize it quickly and painlessly.
Glad your eye's okay!


----------



## kidsngarden (Mar 24, 2006)

Sorry, but the vinegar thing is a falacy.
Water works much better.


----------



## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

BeagleMommy said:


> The other thing I do is keep a spray bottle of vinegar nearby so if I get lye on me I can neutralize it quickly and painlessly.


*DON'T TRY TO NEUTRALIZE LYE WITH VINEGAR!!*

Lye is a base

Vinegar is an acid

Yes, they cancel each other out but not without a violent reaction! 

Think about pouring vinegar into baking soda, another base. What happens? The acid reacts with the base causing the mixture to bubble and spew.

What happens when you combine lye with oils. It reacts and causes the mixture to heat up (gelling).

The reaction between vinegar and lye is no less reactive. The 'neutralization' will cause an exothermic (heat producing) reaction. A lye burn can be made worse by spraying with vinegar.

Always dilute with plenty of WATER!

[boy I wish that falsehood would disappear from soaping boards!]


----------



## Charleen (May 12, 2002)

Another safety feature that I follow is to wear closed-toes shoes. You don't want a grain of lye to fall between your tootsies. 

And keep your eye protection on until you're all done cleaning up. Washing your soap pot, stick blender, spatulas, etc, can splash a lot of water around and it's too easy to get a splash on your face and not know it until it starts to sting.


----------



## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

MullersLaneFarm said:


> *DON'T TRY TO NEUTRALIZE LYE WITH VINEGAR!!*
> 
> Lye is a base
> 
> ...



So should we rinse the lye off with cool water first and then follow with a vinegar/water solution and rinse off with that?


----------



## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

Dilute any lye with COPIOUS amounts of water, if you want to follow with a water/vinegar solution, feel free, but lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of water first!


----------

