Comments on: Can you use the ash from your burned up Christmas tree (after the season) to make home-made soap? http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap What Ya Need to Know about soap making Mon, 18 Jan 2010 07:49:59 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 hourly 1 By: randyw36 http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap/comment-page-1#comment-1445 randyw36 Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:46:59 +0000 http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap#comment-1445 Hard woods like oak work better, but pine and fir trees will work. The only problem with using your Christmas tree is there will be very little ash and thus very little "lye water." My grandmother refused to join the 20th century and made liquid soap from animal fats during butchering season and ashes she saved all season from the fireplaces. It took a rain barrel full of ashes to make a couple of gallons of lye water after it was boiled down to be strong enough to saponify (turn into soap) the fats. Using ash produces potash or potassium hydroxide, which is used to make liquid soap. Grandma would then harden some by pitching in handfuls of table salt. Hard soap floated to the top and could be skimmed off and thrown into a mold for hardening.<br><b>References : </b><br> Hard woods like oak work better, but pine and fir trees will work. The only problem with using your Christmas tree is there will be very little ash and thus very little "lye water." My grandmother refused to join the 20th century and made liquid soap from animal fats during butchering season and ashes she saved all season from the fireplaces. It took a rain barrel full of ashes to make a couple of gallons of lye water after it was boiled down to be strong enough to saponify (turn into soap) the fats.

Using ash produces potash or potassium hydroxide, which is used to make liquid soap. Grandma would then harden some by pitching in handfuls of table salt. Hard soap floated to the top and could be skimmed off and thrown into a mold for hardening.
References :

]]> By: ed http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap/comment-page-1#comment-1444 ed Sun, 17 Jan 2010 17:09:59 +0000 http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap#comment-1444 i thought it only worked if you use oak ashes not pine<br><b>References : </b><br> i thought it only worked if you use oak ashes not pine
References :

]]> By: William B http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap/comment-page-1#comment-1443 William B Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:46:59 +0000 http://www.soapmakingessentials.com/soap-recipes/can-you-use-the-ash-from-your-burned-up-christmas-tree-after-the-season-to-make-home-made-soap#comment-1443 yep you put the ashes in a strainer pour hot water over them let them drip = lye water<br><b>References : </b><br>old timer yep
you put the ashes in a strainer
pour hot water over them let them drip
= lye water
References :
old timer

]]>