# What The Heck Is Happening To My Soap????



## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Why oh why is suddenly EVERY unwrapped bar of soap in my house suddenly started sweating and some have pools of water on them? On my racks, the soap on their sides have dripped water down onto the soaps below. I opened boxes, both cardboard as well as plastic and even my 2 and 3 year old soaps are sweating! I need to wrap soap and cannot. Is it a barametric drop or something? I've never seen this happen before...I have all sorts of different recipes laying around, the salt bars are the worst. The shrink wrapped and soaps in plastic bags do not seem to be affected, and the new soap I did day before yesterday is not sweating yet. What could be going on? 

I live in Va. and have humidity all summer long and have never had this happen before...and I'm trying to get ready for an event.  I think I'm doomed.


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## nappint (Jun 26, 2008)

It might have something to do with the dew point in your area today.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I could see salt bars collecting moisture, for me they were a bear even in an airconditioned summer or dehumidified winter room, to get wrapped without smudging the wrapper. But even in our heat and humidity I haven't had bars sweat. Do you have anything but butters and oils that you add to all your bars? Glycerin, Sugar, etc...


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2011)

Get a fan going on them it will help dry up the moisture.. I also had soaps two yrs old sweat this year and that never happens here.. but they did not sweat that bad.... 
Barb


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I don't put any glycerine or anything extra in my soaps, just oils such as coconut, canola, olive, sunflower, etc. My bars are cured and hard and many have been stored upstairs without problem in the heat..no air conditioning up there, just a couple of open windows. 

This started a few days ago. We have been having a lot of rain lately but I still don't understand why water would seep OUT of the soap and drip. Could it be condensation? The condensation thing does not make sense to me, but neither does anything else. 

A few years ago before I started making my own soap I bought a couple of nice goats milk soaps in the heath food store. They were cigar-band wrapped and contained stuff like glycerine and sugar and whatnots and boy did those bars sweat. I kept them in my car because they smelled nice  (sound familiar) and they always sweated but the bars I make have never done that in three or four years of soaping. I'm at a loss.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I agree, condensation doesn't make a lot of sense, after cure the amount of water in soap is so small I don't think it can make a puddle  Now your soap attracting water from the air from the glycerin that is in all bars of soap we make....yes I can see that. I hope you figure this out! Vicki


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I went through more soaps tonight. I think it does have to be condensation. My shrink wrapped bars have an opening on one end and the soap that is exposed to air at that opening is covered with moisture, but under the plastic it is fine. Other bars covered with paper or half covered with paper are fine where the paper covers the surface. 

I unwrapped a bar from a plastic non-vented bag and set it beside the computer to see if it starts to attract water. Some of these bars have to be 4 years old, made with the walmart recipe. I agree there is no way they could contain that much water at this point. 

I wrapped a somewhat slimey bar with paper to see what happens. I've got a couple hundred I need to wrap and I'm so slow I really need to get started. Maybe I'll have to rethink keeping unwrapped bars around....and I really want to sell some naked soap...just don't see how it's possible.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

Keep your unwrapped bars in rubbermaid, at walmart they carry clear ones with clear or white lids for not much more than $1 each. I keep my wrapped bars in USPS.com boxes. Vicki


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

I live near Anita and mine are doing the same thing. Richmond VA Some bars have turned so wet the color changed. I had the dehumidifier off and turned it back on and now everything is ok again. I think it is the humidity from all of the rain.


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## Trysta (Apr 5, 2011)

:yeahthat I don't know anything about storing soap, but condensation can be a beast with suddenly cooler, rainy weather, so that would be my thought, too: turn on a de-humidifier.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Peggy, I really thought I might be going crazy! We do not have a dehumidifier and we took out our window air conditioner so I'm stuck for the moment. I've turned all the fans back on in the house, but we got another downpour last night so I don't think they are going to do much good. 

Thanks for the tip on the rubbermaid Vicki. I bought one to try at the dollar store for size. I have quite a few smaller ones all filled up with stuff...but if they had been in rubbermaid I probably would not be having this problem. A real learning that's for sure.


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## a4patch (Oct 7, 2009)

our dehydrator was full and my husband checked on the sap and it was all wet again. I think it has to do with the humidity and the rain. We have not had this problem before and have been making soap for several years.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Ahhh, relief at last! Yesterday them temps and humidity dropped and I was able to wrap up 75 bars of soap and all of the bars were dry except for some old salt bars I had sitting in a basket. Don't care about them anyway. Just glad my regular stock is dry and I'm able to wrap them and ready them for sale.  Happy soaper again


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## Lynn_Theesfeld (Feb 21, 2010)

Yay!!! That's good to hear!!


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## tlcnubians (Jan 21, 2011)

In humid areas (like ours is except for this year which has been unusually dry here) a dehumidifier is wonderful for speeding up the curing process and keeping soaps dry. During the summer we've often had to empty the water tray on ours every day. The water can be reused for making soap or watering the garden. Sustainability at work! Caroline


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