Has anyone ever used a pampered chef bread tube for a soap mold? I found a website that said they were made out of tinned steel. Would the lye react negatively with them? Does anyone have any idea? I just found a couple for $0.99 each at Goodwill and thought they would make fun shapes.

You don't want to use any metal except stainless steel for CP soaps.

They should work well for Melt & Pour soaps.

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Cyndi (and sometimes Paul)

9th Annual Homesteading Weekend

Our Lessons in Homesteading

NW Ill-Annoy USA

I used a alum. pan when I first started making soap (only pan I had) it lasted through two batches of soap.

Thanks for the replies...
When the lye reacts is it melting or fumes? What is it that occurs?
Would they work if I lined them with freezer paper or something like that?

Not sure what the Pampered Chef ones are like, but I got some at a craft store that were made for M&P. I lined them with freezer paper. It worked pretty good for the heart shaped one, but for the flower shaped one, soap got down behind the paper---I could NOT get it out of the mold. Waited several months, thinking it would shrink up, and I would be able to pull it out, but that still didn't work, & hubby had to cut the mold at the seam to get the soap out.

As far as what it does, it eats through the metal (well not completely with one use, but you can see discoloration, and feel a difference in the surface), and your soap will be discolored. All in all, not a pretty site, and not worth the bother of trying to trim it up, as you destroy the original pretty shape.

If you want to try making shapes with CP or HP, you can try the silicone cupcake/ice cube type molds--you can usually get them at the Dollars store. If you spray them, it is USUALLY pretty easy to just pop them out. This is not always true if the detail is pretty intricate. I have not had much luck with snowflakes, as the tips usually break off.

Aluminum, raw soap batter can most certainly eat through it in one use. I've lined metal pans when I was first starting out. Turned out it had aluminum in it and the lining leaked. It was the first and last time that mold was used, because it ate right through the mold and had toxic fumes in the kitchen. You should be able to find some nice plastic/silicone molds for dirt cheap at the dollar tree or thrift stores. I wouldn't even attempt any kind of metal for a mold anymore.

You can use PVC sewer pipe for round molds or just use cardboard lined with plastic.

This may not be what you want; but, a long time ago I read to use juice concentrate containers for molds. Just push soap thru when ready and cut. I'm not a soap maker; but thought it might be useful.

Do NOT use any metal mold other than Stainless Steel with cold process soap.. The raw soap will eat through the tin, releasing toxic fumes. The mold will be destroyed and the soap ruined. I would never use soap that has been in contact with this type of metal. It would be contaminated with whatever comes off that metal when in contact with the lye.

You can use those pans with Commercial Melt & Pour Soap. Spray the insides with cooking spray or cooking silicone to get the soap to release.

Don't believe everything you read. If the juice containers have metal bottoms, they will react with the lye. If the containers are plastic though, they would work just fine.

just an update...I did use the heart mold after lining it with parchment paper...what a job that was. Can't imagine lining the other molds...That will be a project for another day. I made the soap yesterday and cut it today...It looks pretty good...The CP soap only touched the metal in a places and they turned dark on the pan only. The soap all looks pretty good so far.

Here's a pic:

I've used 3" PVC pipe that I got for free.

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You can also use a Pringles can. I greased them up good with Vaseline and line them with freezer paper. Take the metal bottom off and tape the plastic lid on well. Use the end with the taped plastic lid as the bottom and pour from the other end.

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If you use the PVC pipe for the soap mold do you have to line that as well or grease it with something or does the soap come out easily when ready to push it through?

With PVC, it takes a bit of oomph to unmold the soap until it gets 'broke in'. Placing the soap in the freezer for a few hours before you plan to unmold does help. So does getting a disk the ID of the PVC and using a 'pusher'.

I've never lined my Pringles cans, then again, I only use them as a one-time mold.

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Cyndi (and sometimes Paul)

9th Annual Homesteading Weekend

Our Lessons in Homesteading

NW Ill-Annoy USA

Thanks Cyndi, I'll see what I can find for a pusher before I use the PVC pipe.

Years ago, I saw someone that made a contraption that used an old bike tire pump with a pusher. Not sure how it was constructed, but the inventor said the soap would sometimes rocket out of the mold.

__________________
Cyndi (and sometimes Paul)

9th Annual Homesteading Weekend

Our Lessons in Homesteading

NW Ill-Annoy USA

I used this the other day! Thanks for the idea. Rather than try to push it through when I was ready to unmold - I just started at the top and pulled the can apart - kind of like opening a can of biscuits. Worked wonderfully!

Glad to hear it worked for you. These cans make nice round soaps.

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