Lye is a dangerous, alkaline chemical used for various purposes, including cleaning, food preservation, and soap making. Modern lye is sodium hydroxide, produced by a chemical reaction between soda and lime. Lye products can be harmful to surfaces and people, and should be used with caution and kept out of reach of children. Before modern production, lye was made from raw materials such as white ash.
Lye is a caustic, alkaline chemical that is useful for many purposes but also dangerous. It can dissolve sticky substances such as grease and has a high degree of reactivity with other materials. Modern lye is typically the chemical sodium hydroxide, but potassium hydroxide was once the commonly used chemical compound. Whether in flaky, granular or liquid form, it is very dangerous and can cause damage to surfaces and people. Despite its hazardous nature, it is used in many common household products, such as laundry detergent and oven cleaner, and is even used to cure foods such as pretzels, green olives and tangerines.
Production
Sodium hydroxide is created using a chemical reaction between soda or soda ash and calcium hydroxide or lime. In raw form, it is processed into solid flakes, chips or grains. Chemical suppliers supply sodium hydroxide to manufacturers for use in making a wide variety of products, such as textiles, paper, hand soap, metal polishers, and drain cleaners.
History
Before modern lye production, people were able to make it from raw materials. For thousands of years, people have used types of lye to make soap and to tan leather. They burned some hardwoods at a very high temperature to make white ash. Water, mixed with a little baking soda, was then used to soak into the ashes and remove the lye they contained. When the ashes were filtered, the water would have held enough lye for purposes like dissolving the grease left on animal skins or mixing with other ingredients to make body soap.
dangers
This is one of many poisonous products that can be found in homes and should be kept out of the reach of children and used only as directed. For example, a person should carefully follow directions for cleaning sterling silver with a lye-based polish, because the fumes can also be dangerous. Lye products such as de-clogging and paint strippers should never be used without adequate air circulation.
Caustic lye products pose other hazards to surfaces. They can dissolve substances that are beneficial to the user, such as hair clogs in a shower drain, as well as detrimental to the user, such as an adjacent shower curtain. In fact, these products can damage and corrode paint, metal, fabrics, plastic and above all leather. It can be so reactive that, in its solid form, it should be kept away from metals, such as aluminum, and outdoors. It is usually not combustible when dry, but could ignite and cause a fire if mixed with water.
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