How to Make Soap From Ashes
Soap, whether used for washing the body, house, or clothing, is used frequently. Craft stores carry all the ingredients needed to make homemade soap, complete with an array of choices for colored and scented soap. Yet, there is a way to make soap similar to the method colonists used that doesn't involve a trip to the craft store. After a good fire, ashes are collected and processed into lye. The lye starts as a caustic liquid capable of burning skin but eventually evaporates into the crystals needed in soap recipes.
Things You'll Need
- 2 large plastic buckets with handles
- 1/8-inch drill bit
- Drill
- 10-by-12-inch dishpan
- Nail
- Large pots
- Protective gloves
- Safety goggles
- 3 lbs. lard
- Salt
- 2-qt. glass or enamel saucepan
- Egg
Instructions
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1
Collect ashes from a fire made from hardwoods such as hickory, maple, ash, and beech. Soft woods make lye that doesn't mix well in soap recipes.
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2
Drill a 1/8-inch hole in the bottom of a large plastic laundry detergent bucket. Ideally, the plastic bucket should have a lip and a wire handle. Find a nail that if pushed in the hole, will fit snug enough to clog the hole completely.
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3
Clog the hole and shovel in the cooled white ash. Charcoal bits hinder the lye process, so strive for white ash. Smash down the ash so it's compacted in the bucket. The bucket should not be more than 1/4 full.
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4
Fill the duplicate empty bucket that has no hole halfway with water. Pour that amount of water into pots and boil it.
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5
Pour the hot water slowly over the ash, wearing gloves and protective eye gear. Let the mixture sit for an hour before coming back. Place the duplicate bucket underneath the full bucket with gloves and eye gear on. Slowly remove the nail and allow the lye water to drip into the bottom bucket. The process can take hours.
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6
Replace the nail in the top bucket while wearing gloves. Take the drained solution and pour it into pots. Heat the lye water until boiling, then repeat Step 5.
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7
Remove the top bucket with gloves. Place a fresh egg in the lye water. If the egg is submerged but floating, the concentration is perfect. Repeat Step 5 only if the egg sinks. Add small amounts of cold water if the egg floats on top of the lye without being submerged at all.
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8
Place the lye solution in a sunny location away from children or pets. Wait until the solution evaporates and lye crystals are remaining to make soap.
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9
Place 3 lbs. lard or 48 oz. olive oil into a 10-by-12-inch dishpan.
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10
Bring the lye inside the house while you wear gloves and eye gear. Pour 3 cups of water into a 2-qt. art glass or enamel saucepan and add 1½ tsp. salt. Turn the heat on high. Slowly add 12 oz. of lye crystals while stirring with a wooden spoon. Take care not to breathe any vapor while stirring the crystals until dissolved. Allow the mixture to cool one hour.
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11
Pour the solution into the dishpan filled with lard or oil. Stir the mixture until it is completely mixed. Mixing can take as long as 15 minutes. Let mixture rest for a day or two (a week for olive oil) until hardened. Cut into soap bars.
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References
- Photo Credit soap image by romman from Fotolia.com
