Lye Crystals not dissolving

by Anonymous

The only lye I could find my area came as lye crystals not in the powder form, and I notice that they do not fully dissolve when mixed. Would it be hazardous if I blending them down first to a powder form? Not sure if blending them down would be bad for my health since lye can be such a dangerous substance to work with.

Answer:

I do not recommend blending or grinding sodium hydroxide at all. The dust created would be very harmful to inhale.

Sodium hydroxide should dissolve with gentle stirring regarless of the form it is in.

I've used potassium hydroxide flakes, which are huge...as in dime to nickle sized flakes, and they dissolved without any problem. I would be concerned about the purity of a batch of lye if it will not dissolve within minutes.

Once you pour the lye into the water, give it a stir for a minute or two. Leave it for a minute and give it another stir. Repeat until the lye has competely dissolved.

Sometimes, lye that has been exposed to moisture will have hard white flakes that are difficult to dissolve. These can be carefully broken down with the tip of a spoon on the bottom of your lye jug. Once they are smaller, they will dissolve fairly easily.

If this does not work, I would check with the manufacturer to make sure that the lye you are using is pure and does not contain anything else in it.

Cathy