# soap still soft after 24 hrs



## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

For the 1st time ever, my lye soap is not hard after 24 hrs. It's still quite soft, sort of like a blob of potter's clay. The only difference is that I have always made soap in the summer before, and this time the temp where I was making it was much cooler. Is the temp really that big a deal, or is it something else? The recipe is simply water, lye, lard.


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## linn (Jul 19, 2005)

It sounds like to me that you have either used too much lard or too much water by mistake. You can rebatch by melting you soft soap in an old crockpot and adding some old bars or scraps that have been grated. I don't think temperature would have anything to do with your soap being soft. If you had false trace your soap would have probably separeted in the mold.


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## MullersLaneFarm (Jul 23, 2004)

backwood, post the amounts that you used.

False trace with lard, doesn't separate out that much, but I agree with linn that your recipie may be off


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## backwoods (Sep 12, 2004)

After sitting for almost 48 hours, it has hardened. I've always used the same recipe, so it isn't that. It seems fine now, just took it longer.


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## lathermaker (May 7, 2010)

Actually, temperature has a lot to do with how your soap will turn out. If the temp is too low, you can get a false trace. Meaning, the soap thickens up and looks like it's tracing, but actually, the stearic in the hard oils is setting back up because it's below the melting point. You'll end up with soap eventually, if the batch is well combined, but it just might take quite a bit longer.

Invest in a thermometer, it can save a whole lot of headaches later.

forgot something. When using lard or tallow, where the fat comes from on the animal can change the texture of the soap. For rock hard soap use fat from around the kidneys. (leaf lard) Regular body fat can sometimes yield a softer soap.


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