What pH should lye be?
Sodium hydroxide has a pH of 14, and lye has a pH of 13. Again, it is extremely alkaline. Thus, when testing the pH of soap, you will see a gradual move towards a more neutral pH of 7. If your soap is still too caustic to touch, the pH will be between 10 and 14.
Is lye an alkaline solution?
Lye refers to any strong alkali, but is generally used in reference to either sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide, and the toxicology of these two chemicals will be focused here.
Is lye an acid or alkaline?
Ammonia, lime. Sodium hydroxide (Na OH), also known as lye or caustic soda, is a caustic metallic base. An alkali, caustic soda is widely used in many industries, mostly as a strong chemical base in the manufacture of pulp and paper, textiles, drinking water, and detergents.
What pH is lye?
Sodium hydroxide lye has a pH of about 14, putting it at the very top of the pH scale. When too much lye is used in the soap, the pH level will rise from the normal level of 9-10, and can become closer to 11-14.
Is lye a basic solution?
Lye is a highly alkaline chemical solution. The most common is sodium hydroxide, NaOH, but lye can also refer to potassium hydroxide, KOH. As an alkali, lye solution is highly basic.
Why is lye basic?
Lye is simply sodium hydroxide, a chemical compound that is very basic (in the chemical sense because it’s an alkalai), and its ability to dissolve natural matter with ease is the most terrifying thing about it. But that’s also what makes lye such a powerful cooking and curing agent.
Is Lime and lye the same thing?
When lime and soda ash combine in a classic metathesis reaction, they produce lye, or sodium hydroxide. Lye combines the solubility of soda ash with the strong alkalinity of lime.
Does lye increase or decrease pH?
Cold process soap is naturally alkaline with a pH of around 9-10. This pH helps to gently clean the skin. Sodium hydroxide lye has a pH of about 14, putting it at the very top of the pH scale. When too much lye is used in the soap, the pH level will rise from the normal level of 9-10, and can become closer to 11-14.
Is lye toxic to the body?
Lye water (sometimes called ‘Lime Water’) is a strong (caustic) liquid that is safe to use in very small amounts in cooking, but it can be dangerous if lye water is swallowed undiluted straight from the bottle. It can cause severe corrosive burns to the throat, oesophagus and stomach with permanent damage if swallowed.
Is Lime water the same as lye water?
Lye water (sometimes called ‘Lime Water’) is a strong (caustic) liquid that is safe to use in very small amounts in cooking, but it can be dangerous if lye water is swallowed undiluted straight from the bottle.
Is lime the same as sodium hydroxide?
Lime products are not as hazardous as caustic soda (sodium hydroxide) and are the more economically favorable alkaline additives for industrial processes such as acid neutralization, pH adjustment and metals removal. Quicklime also has a stronger neutralizing capacity per dry ton; so less material needs to be used.
What is the best substitute for lye water?
It’s very easy, and inexpensive, to prepare a homemade version as a substitute. You only need two ingredients for homemade lye water: Baked baking soda and water. Mix them at a 1:4 ratio. Then you’re ready to use i.
What is a substitute for lye?
That is by taking baking soda, spreading it out on a baking pan and putting it into the oven at about 250-300 degrees Fahrenheit for about an hour. That changes the chemical properties in the baking soda to make it behave more similarly to lye.
Is alkaline water and lye water the same thing?
What is Lye Water? Lye water is a food-grade alkaline water used in some recipes to help with texture or colour. For example, lye water gives Pretzels their signature dark brown colour and taste.
What is the same as lye?
Caustic soda is sodium hydroxide which is lye – they are the exact same thing; just different names. The reason behind the different names is mainly to do with the chemical name being “sodium hydrate” and the chemical itself is “caustic or corrosive”, leading to being known as caustic soda.
What is commonly known as lye?
sodium hydroxide (NaOH), also called caustic soda or lye, a corrosive white crystalline solid that contains the Na+ (sodium) cation and the OH− (hydroxide) anion. It readily absorbs moisture until it dissolves. Sodium hydroxide is the most widely used industrial alkali and is often used in drain and oven cleaners.
What can I substitute for lye?
Many home recipes replace the lye with baking soda, but the results taste like breadsticks, not pretzels. Baked soda does a much better job of approximating true lye-dipped pretzels.
What is lye also known as?
Caustic soda (NaOH, more formally known as sodium hydroxide and less formally known as lye) is a white solid and is available in pellets, flakes, granules, and as prepared solutions at different concentrations.
Is lye the same thing as baking soda?
Originally Answered: Is baking soda same as lye? No. baking soda is sodium (hence the “soda” in the name) bicarbonate (NaHCO3), while lye (also known as “caustic soda”) is sodium hydroxide (NaOH.
How do you make homemade lye?
To make lye in the kitchen, boil the ashes from a hardwood fire (soft woods are too resinous to mix with fat) in a little soft water, rainwater is best, for about half an hour. Allow the ashes to settle to the bottom of the pan and then skim the liquid lye off the top.
What can be used as lye?
Lye can also be made from sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) and calcium oxide. However, these methods of making lye yielded inconsistent lye. Nowadays, lye is made using normal salt (sodium chloride [NaCl]).
Is there an alternative to lye in soap making?
The main way that you can make soap without handling lye is by using melt-and-pour soap. The part of it that’s real soap has already been through saponification (oils reacting with lye) and is safe to use and handle straight out of the packag.