Guess what I won’t using anytime this decade?
Halloween in bearing down upon us and I thought I would have a great blog this morning of a cute pumpkin inspired soap done in my PVC mold. After having the plunger pounded on, pushed on and almost pulverized, I discovered something I wish I had known earlier. It generally isn’t a good idea to pour more that 10 – 12 inches of soap into PVC tubes. In molds, soap can act like an octopus. It can glom on so tight to the mold that you think it is never going to come out! Cylinder molds are the worst because there is so much surface area of the soap in contact with the mold.
I was told by our experts in technical support that I could be waiting so long for it dehydrate enough for it to release it might as well be 30 YEARS! Let’s just say I am a little distraught. I don’t want to wait 30 years. I don’t want to wait another week! I want my soap now! The unfortunate part is that the only thing I can do is wait. I will have to wait for the soap to dehydrate enough for me to be able to push the soap out. Grr. This really sucks!
So, today I learned two really important things. First, do not pour more than 10-12 inches of soap into a PVC tube mold. Particularly a cylindrical one. Second, do not put projects so close to the due date that if something goes wrong you are left without the finished product. Planning ahead is important. Soap is one item that can only be rushed so much. If you are this close to a holiday, choose a smaller project. There are scrubs, bath salts, bath fizzies, lip balms and lotions galore!
Darn. Talk about a rough morning. It has left me frustrated and disappointed. Tomorrow, I will be sharing the recipe for this fabulous soap but I think I will try it in a different mold. At least until I can reclaim my PVC one. I promise to announce when I finally get this soap out. Then we can determine if it really takes 30 years. đ
P.S. I will also be making a label to put on my mold so I don’t forget! If you have molds like this, make labels that remind you how much they should hold. Remember what your mold can hold and what it should hold are sometimes very different numbers.
Hi –
I use a tall pvc mold. I line it with butchers paper, which helps quite a bit…..but sometimes I still need to stick that sucker in the freezer before I can get the soap out. Have you tried freezing the whole tube? You might give it a try. If it’s still stubborn……take your blow dryer and try to heat up outsides of your mold a little (after freezing). Good luck!
Kathy,
Freezing is a great suggestion and how I got my soap out of my mold. Great minds think alike! In order to avoid contamination of our freezer (those pesky fragrances anyway), I left my soap outside overnight where it did freeze. In the morning, I brought it back in. After letting it warm up a little, I gave a little push with my plunger and my soap slide right out. I was so relieved. No 30 year wait!
I use these sewer pipe molds all the time, and I pour to about 2 inches from the top in a 10 inch tube. I use the caps that you can buy for these pipes to seal the bottom. Some soaps do not want to come out, so what I do is strike the top of the tube on my wooden work table a couple of times and then the soap slides out the bottom fairly easy. It seems that the soaps that need a lot of water (gardenia) are the hard ones. I found that if you pour too close to the top, your soap gets too hot and you get a sort of volcano effect.
How did you get such a messy pour? đ
Jennifer,
I think I had the soap gremlins helping me the other day. Between a stiff mold and too much soap in my mold, I think I was done for.
Have you tried freezing it? I have a 24 inch tall PVC pipe that I fill to the top. I wait until it has set up ( usually overnight) and the next day I put the whole thing into the freezer. Wait a few hours and remove it from the freezer. Then I run hot water over the sides and gently push on the top. I’ve never had one get stuck yet.
Carma,
I was extremely tempted to use the freezer method but I was told under no uncertain terms was I to contaminate the freezer here with my âstinky soapâ. I decided to use the free resource that Mother Nature was providing, our freezing weather. I left my soap outside overnight. The next morning I brought it in and let it warm up some. I used my plunger and my soap slide out just beautifully! I am so relieved!
Frustrating! How about lining it with freezer paper? (assuming you didn’t)
Karen,
I used Mineral Oil in this mold. In the past, I have had great success with using mineral oil. I also didn’t fill it as much in the past. Oh the learning lessons we have.
I have had the same issues as you are having with getting soap out of a pvc pipe mold. I found that lining the mold with a thin Chopping Mat (it comes as a set of two, size 11″x14″, from Walmart), that I cut to size to fit my mold, works like a charm. You can put the mold, with the soap, in the freezer and it makes peeling off the mat even cleaner and easier when it comes time to take the soap out of the mold.
Marion,
I have not tried lining my mold. I tend to prefer mold that don’t need to be lined and are easy to use. (This is probably I don’t use my PVC mold very often.) I may try that next time.
I was extremely tempted to use the freezer method but I was told under no uncertain terms was I to contaminate the freezer with the fragrance from my âstinky soapâ. I decided to use the free resource that Mother Nature was providing, the cold weather. I left my soap outside overnight. The next day I brought it in and let it warm up somewhat. I used my plunger and my soap slide out just beautifully! Whew! That was a close one!
Sometimes with the cylinder molds it helps to freeze them for an hour or two. Better still, if you use just a tiny bit of glycerin on the mold before you pour your soap, it will make life so much easier when it comes time to unmold.
Ana,
The frustrating part about all of this is that I greased my mold with some Mineral Oil prior to pouring in my soap. Argh! I was extremely tempted to use the freezer method but I was told under no uncertain terms was I to contaminate the freezer here at MMS with my âstinky soapâ. (Do they have no sympathy?) I decided to use the free resource that Mother Nature was providing. I left my soap outside overnight. The next day I brought it in and let it warm up just the tiniest bit. I used my plunger and my soap slide out just beautifully! What luck!
what about putting it in the freezer for an hour or two? It gets a little firm and then sweats when you take it out therefore slipping out nice and easy. Just take it out of the freezer and let sit for five to ten minutes and then push it out? Try that.
Cora,
I was extremely tempted to use the freezer method but I was told under no uncertain terms was I to contaminate the freezer here at work with my âstinky soapâ. I decided to use the free resource that Mother Nature was providing. I left my soap outside overnight. The next morning, I brought it in and let it warm up a little. I used my plunger and my soap slide out just beautifully! Whew! I feel lucky!
I use PVC molds almost exclusively and mine are 18 inches tall. I use them all the time and usually they are mostly full. The secret is that they need to be lined first. I believe some people use parchment or wax paper. However I have made more permanent liners out of those flexible plastic chopping mats. You just need to measure the length and the inside diameter of the pipe and cut accordingly.
In your case you might try freezing your mold overnight and then running it under very hot water to loosen it up. If you have a large spray can or some similar solid object you might have luck using that to push the soap out. Put the can on a solid surface then sit the PVC mold on top. Get a good grip (use rubber gloves?) and pull down on the tube pushing the soap up through the center.
Good luck!
– Mickey
Mickey,
Freezing my soap is an excellent idea. I left my soap outside overnight. The next day I brought it in and let it warm up just the tiniest bit. I used my plunger and my soap slide out just beautifully! Whew. I am so glad I don’t have to wait 30 years!
What about the freezer method? I would stick it in overnight, take it out early in the morning, let it sit for about and hour to sweat a little and then push. It’ll be out, I promise!
Christine,
I was extremely tempted to use the freezer method but I was told under no uncertain terms was I to contaminate the freezer with my “stinky soap”. I decided to use the free resource that Mother Nature was providing. I left my soap outside overnight. The next day I brought it in and let it warm up just the tiniest bit. I used my plunger and my soap slide out just beautifully! Whew! I love it when things work in my favor.