# My lye has hardened :(



## susie

I have a big bucket of lye that must've gotten some moisture in it. It's hard as a rock.
Can I dissolve it in water for a pre-mixed solution, or do I need to find a way to dispose of it?
thanks!


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## linuxboy

Yep, dissolving works well for lye that's absorbed water. It takes some time, and gets really hot, so be careful. Add a little ice at a time. And then when you get more dissolved, stir. 

Another option is to break it out of the bucket, crush, and dry up, but that's a PITA.


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## Kalne

I had this happen my first year of soaping. I still have that bucket of solid lye in my basement (4 years now). I just don't want to deal with it and keep missing the 'hazardous waste drop off' that the county puts on every year.


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## NubianSoaps.com

Do get it out of the bucket so you can weigh it, that way you know how much water to add to it to make a 50/50 lye to water solution. Plus if you get it out of the bucket and into a larger container, with goggles, outside in long sleeved shirt you may find out you can get it apart with an icepick. With our humidity there is no such thing as completely free flowing lye, some of the beads are going to come together even in an airconditioned room. Why I love opening my whole sack and making the 50/50 lye solution right then. Vicki


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## susie

Yes I plan on doing the 50/50 lye solution from here on out.
thanks!

susie


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## Faye Farms

So the lumpy/hard/absorbed water lye weighed and mixed with an equal amount of water is still close enough to a 50/50 lye solution that it won't mess with your recipe? Good to know! I figured that if it got to that point that it was trash.


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## NubianSoaps.com

If it was any amount of water, the lye would not be solid and stuck together, it would be liquid. Even if it did add an ounce of water it would only effect cure, maybe on the off chance you couldn't cut for a few hours longer, but not soaping. As seen in the vast number on the liquid scale you can use for any given batch of soap.


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