1) Waiver: Print the
Hazmat Waiver Form and fax it to 305-500-9425. The
order will not be processed until we have the completed and signed
Waiver Form in our office. If you don’t have a fax, please
mail the form to Camden-Grey, Attn.: Lye Orders, 3579 NW 82 Ave.,
Doral, FL 33122. The form must be completed only once, we’ll
keep it on file. A new form should be submitted if your
information has changed, i.e., you moved, driver’s license
has expired, etc..
PLEASE NOTE THAT IT IS THE CUSTOMER’S RESPONSIBILITY TO
PROVIDE US WITH A PROPERLY COMPLETED AND SIGNED HAZMAT
WAIVER. WE DO NOT HAVE TIME TO CONTACT CUSTOMERS TO REMIND
THEM WE HAVE NOT RECEIVED THE FORM. IF THE FORM IS NOT
RECEIVED WHEN AN ORDER CONTAINING PRODUCTS OTHER THAN LYE OR POTASH IS
READY TO SHIP, WE WILL SHIP THAT PORTION OF THE ORDER AND CANCEL THE
LYE OR POTASH PORTION. IF THE FORM IS NOT RECEIVED WITHIN 3
BUSINESS DAYS FROM THE DAY AN ORDER WAS PLACED FOR AN ORDER WHICH ONLY
CONTAINS LYE OR POTASH, THE ORDER WILL BE CANCELLED AND OUR
STANDARD $10.00 CANCELLATION FEE WILL APPLY. PLEASE
MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND ALL OF THIS.
2) Placing An Order: All orders for sodium hydroxide or potassium
hydroxide must be placed on our website, we will not accept orders for
either product by phone or fax.
3) Shipping Guidelines: We will only ship these products via UPS ground
service within the continental U.S.. This means we cannot ship to
territories or possessions such as Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam,
Virgin Islands or APOs. Also, please do not select "air" shipping
options for these products. Either of these products will always ship
in a box by itself. Should S&H quoted by our cart be
slightly off, we will charge the balance due once we ship.
Please note that our cart is quite accurate when computing S&H
on all lye & potash orders.
4) How The Products Are Packed: We have chosen to pack these products
in individual 2 lb. sturdy containers which meet DOT shipping
guidelines and which will save you hazmat fees of $20+ per shipment on
containers larger than 2 lbs.. You may purchase up to thirty 2 lb.
containers to be shipped ground per box, no more than thirty 2 lb.
containers can be placed inside one shipping box. Lye and Potash may
ship together in one box.
5) 55# Size For Local Customers Only: The 55 lb. size is only available
to customers who pick up the products at our warehouse, we cannot ship
this size, please don’t purchase this size if we’re
to ship to you.
WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO REFUSE TO SELL SODIUM HYDROXIDE OR POTASSIUM
HYDROXIDE TO ANYONE AT ANY TIME.
Regarding sodium hydroxide, hereafter referred to as
lye:
If it’s soap, it has lye in it. Lye is what induces
saponification to create soap. While many new soapmakers may be
terrified of using lye for making soap, it’s the primary
ingredient in this wonderful product. Several precautions must be taken
when handling, storing and using lye along with lots of common sense.
The definition of an accident is "something going wrong unexpectedly"
and so many things can go wrong when someone’s not paying
attention.
STORAGE: Please store away from children, the mentally challenged, the
elderly and pets. Store in a properly marked container indicating that
a dangerous material is stored inside the container. Do not store lye,
either in its dry or liquid form, in a container where a person or a
pet might mistake it for food, i.e. storing a lye solution in a soda
bottle, storing lye flakes in a Tupperware-type container. Please keep
lye away from water, flammable liquids, water heaters and stoves. You
and you alone are going to be responsible for any accidents arising
from the improper storage of this dangerous
product.
HANDLING: Unless you have had many years of experience working with lye
and know what you’re doing, you should use a dust mask,
goggles with full eye coverage and chemical-proof gloves. Also
recommended are long pants, long sleeves, socks and shoes; try to have
as much skin covered up as possible. Announce to the rest of your
family that you will be handling a dangerous chemical for the next hour
or so and ask them to stay away from your work area. If pets or
children may pose a distraction to you, work on your soapmaking once
they’re out of the way.....outside, in school, sleeping, at
grandma’s. You and you alone are going to be responsible for
any accidents arising from the improper handling of this dangerous
product.
TRANSPORTING: It’s not recommended that you drive around with
a container of lye in your car. If you must transport lye, most of all
a large quantity such as a 55 lb. bag, it must be transported in an
enclosed vehicle....no open truck beds, no motorcycles or
bicycles.
USAGE: We’re pleased to post below text created by Ela Heyn,
a well known and respected soap and toiletry maker and teacher. Ela
runs our list, The Handmade Toiletries List. If you haven’t
yet subscribed, please do so by going to our Home page, clicking on the
Yahoo! Groups icon and subscribing to Digest. You will learn a lot
about making soap, toiletries and candles once you join our list and
will be able to exchange ideas with other toiletry and soapmakers. Our
list contains a library of recipes, information on labeling and
government regulations, and much more.
Here’s Ela’s post to our list regarding
lye:
Okay, now that you have a recipe, you are ready to actually make
soap!
Your first step will be to mix up your lye water, as it will need time
to cool down (from about 215 degrees to roughly 100 degrees) before you
can use it. As I mentioned before when I was talking about equipment
you will need, you will probably want to have a dedicated container for
your lye water. Although it does "smell" a bit, turn milky and heat up
a lot right after it is mixed, it resembles "normal" water a lot
(visually) after it has been cooled
down.
However, it is still very, very caustic at that point, and can cause
severe eye and/or skin injuries and be fatal if ingested! To cut down
on that possibility, you will want to mix it in a STURDY container
(preferably heat resistant glass, and preferably with a lid!), use that
container ONLY for lye water, and mark on it clearly that it contains
lye water and is dangerous. A few skull and crossbone symbols wouldn't
hurt, either.
If you live in an area with VERY hard or VERY soft water, you might
want to use distilled water in your lye water. Otherwise, tap water is
usually fine, and you can also "get fancy" and use rosewater, orange
flower water, or an herbal tea in your lye water. (Keep in mind that
these can result in tan soap, though!) Some people like to use milk in
their lye water. As milk "scorches" and browns easily, your best bet
when doing this is to chill it to a sluggish, barely pourable stage,
and then add your lye to it.
So, first fill your container with the amount of liquid your recipe
calls for and set it aside. Now is the time to mix your lye.
The way that I mix lye is that I put a "basket" type coffee filter on
my scale, set my scale back to zero, and VERY carefully and slowly pour
my lye into the coffee filter. Once I have the requisite amount, I
IMMEDIATELY seal the container of lye so it can't be accidentally
knocked over and spilled.
I then pull my container of water close, and very carefully pick up my
coffee filter of lye. I hold the filter so one corner forms a "pour
spout" and start to very slowly sprinkle the lye into my water,
stirring as I go. It is important that you add the lye SLOWLY as adding
a lot at once can result in a "mini volcano" of a reaction that will
shoot lye water out of the container! Likewise, adding water to lye
should NEVER occur, as this can also cause a lye explosion. LYE ALWAYS
SHOULD BE ADDED TO WATER. WATER SHOULD NEVER, EVER BE ADDED TO
LYE!!!
Once all of the lye has been added and stirred in, you will notice that
your container has gotten very, very warm .. about 215 degrees, which
is 5 degrees above the temperature of boiling water! If you want to
measure it with a candy thermometer at this moment, you can do so ...
but you will want to take care to make sure the bulb doesn't touch the
side of the container. (This will "throw off" your reading). It is best
to suspend the thermometer in the center of the bowl, with the bulb not
touching any sides, for a half minute or minute, and then read
it.
Now, set the water aside (but keep an eye on it, of course, so that
nothing touches it ..), and let it cool to about 100 degrees. It will
then be ready to be mixed with your oils
...
If you’d like to learn more about how to make soap and other
toiletries, please join The Handmade Toiletries List. Go to
our Home page (www.camdengrey.com), click on the Yahoo! Groups icon and
subscribe to Digest. Our list offers an extensive library of
recipes and information, as well as a large group of knowledgeable
members who’re always ready with answers to questions posed
by new members.
Lye Is Incompatible With: Acids, aluminum, flammable liquids, corrosive
to metal, tin, water, zinc. Use a Pyrex or high grade stainless steel
container to mix your lye solution when making soap. Cheap or low grade
stainless steel containers may not work very well with
lye.
Regarding Potassium Hydroxide also referred to as
Potash:
Most of the storage, handling and precautions which we’ve
outlined above for Sodium Hydroxide apply to Potassium
Hydroxide. We will soon post information to be provided to us
by Ela on how to use potash. Potash is used for making liquid
soap. Thanks for your
patience.
