D-Lead Soap Substitute - What do you wash with?

[Hanzy4200]

I've recently run through my supply of D-Lead soap I use to wash up after smelting/casting. I noticed on a recent Lee product packaging that they suggest using a soap with EDTA or a high phosphate detergent. They also mention detergent used for electric dishwashers. Anyone have insight into this? Is there a brand that is best? I'm tired of paying big $ for D-Lead.

[bruce drake]

Here is the de-leading soap that I've used in the past.

https://www.buycleanall.com/clean-allsoapgallon.aspx

Price is a bit more reasonable.

[poppy42]

Try the laundry stain remover “Shout” . I use it on my hands, bore brushes, bore snakes, just about everything. Take it from me though. If the wife uses it on laundry, best to buy your own. Mine tends to get upset when she buys a new bottle only to find it empty cause I used it up and didn’t replace it.

[Kraschenbirn]

How 'bout a pair of throwaway nitrile gloves...50 pr. for $7.99 @ Harbor Freight (without coupon)? I keep a box of their 5 mil gloves on my workbench for anytime that I need to handle anything "yucky" and right beside the gloves is a bottle of 'Fast' orange hand cleaner w/pumice for final clean-up.

Bill

[Shiloh]

Lava or dish soap with a dedicated scrubby sponge.

Shiloh

[GhostHawk]

Homemade from scratch lye soap here, last batch has pine tar in it and does an awesome job, smells great, lathers up big. Coconut oil, Olive Oil, and Lard are the main oils although if I have extra corn oil around I may throw some of that in there also.

Great for the skin, does a great job of cleaning, rinses clean quick. No bite or tingle.

I started with a cold process recipe and run it through a hot process after trace to speed things up. (Crock pot) I hate waiting 2 months for soap to cure.

If your interested, PM or email me at billj69@gmail.com

[JimB..]

How 'bout a pair of throwaway nitrile gloves...50 pr. for $7.99 @ Harbor Freight (without coupon)? I keep a box of their 5 mil gloves on my workbench for anytime that I need to handle anything "yucky" and right beside the gloves is a bottle of 'Fast' orange hand cleaner w/pumice for final clean-up.

Bill

I use gloves for some dirty stuff, but I think nitrile gloves would be more dangerous than leather for casting.

[Mal Paso]

Gimmick? I have pump bottles of Dawn next to the sinks for hands, brass and dishes.

[mehavey]

https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/wcsstore/CVWEB/staticproductimage/N3252/large/10999867_goj_095712_pri_larg.jpg
A true no-brainer for us old guys....

[Idz]

The EPA used to use TriSodium Phosphate for lead clean-up, until the greenies banned it. Oddly enough, even though EPA greenies declare it toxic, TSP remains a FDA approved food additive. TSP reacts with lead to form insoluble compounds. I add a few tablespoons to the clothes washer to clean clothes used while cleaning out the bullet traps. It is very caustic so don't use it for hand washing or on painted surfaces you care about. Be sure to get true TriSodium Phosphate (Na3PO4) not the fake greenie label TSP.

[mdi]

Dawn. Don't overthink the process. You ain't gonna die of lead poisoning if you just wash your hands with Ivory...

[smithnframe]

I use dawn dish soap!

[John Guedry]

Whatever's next to the bathroom sink.

[Ed_Shot]

I use dawn dish soap!

+1 for Dawn

[Mk42gunner]

Homemade from scratch lye soap here, last batch has pine tar in it and does an awesome job, smells great, lathers up big. Coconut oil, Olive Oil, and Lard are the main oils although if I have extra corn oil around I may throw some of that in there also.

Great for the skin, does a great job of cleaning, rinses clean quick. No bite or tingle.

I started with a cold process recipe and run it through a hot process after trace to speed things up. (Crock pot) I hate waiting 2 months for soap to cure.

If your interested, PM or email me at billj69@gmail.com

My soap recipe is very similar, I got it from Mrs. Sundog years ago, and haven't bought bar soap since.

Mine doesn't seem to need the two month curing time. Maybe because the first time I made any my step dads brother was there and told me when they used to make soap when he was messcranking in the scullery they used it right then.

I do make the next batch when I get down to the last bar or two though.

Robert

[WRideout]

I just washed my play clothes in regular detergent with a tablespoon of TSP. Threw In my tennies too, since I had worn that outfit while crawling behind the target stands at our indoor range to salvage lead. For hands, any old soap will work.

Wayne

[oley55]

TSP is great for washing painted surfaces prior to painting, a bit too strong for bare skin. Dawn or whatever is handy works for my hands.

Truth be told on more than a few occasions I have forgotten to wash my hands before putting in a dip of tobacco, but I figure the cancer will get me before the lead poisoning does.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

lava.

[45workhorse]

TSP is great for washing painted surfaces prior to painting, a bit too strong for bare skin. Dawn or whatever is handy works for my hands.

Truth be told on more than a few occasions I have forgotten to wash my hands before putting in a dip of tobacco, but I figure the cancer will get me before the lead poisoning does.


Yep
Probably doing it has I am walking into the house to wash my hands!

[GregLaROCHE]

I always use dish soap as for most other hand washing. What’s the big deal about the special soaps? Why are they supposed to be better ?

[greenjoytj]

Any bar of mild soap will do. A glycerin base soap like “Pears” brand works well (even makes a great shaving soap). I believe that it is important to add some abrasive brushing too. Brush with and old tooth brush or mushroom brush. The abrasive action is also achieved by using a soap pumice grit in it. If your hand still shoe grey/silver colour repeat the washing brushing routine.

The trick is to use nitrile gloves before you handle lead so you don’t need to rely on aggressive hand washing to remove what shouldn’t have gotten on your hands to begin with.

[Buck Shot]

I use soap or dish detergent. Is lead different from every other soil on earth that somehow makes soap/dish detergent not work? If so, that's news to me.

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I use soap or dish detergent. Is lead different from every other soil on earth that somehow makes soap/dish detergent not work? If so, that's news to me.

the CDC says, " Washing skin with standard soap and water is not enough to remove lead residues"

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/safe.html

[sutherpride59]

Lee always said dish soap worked best so that's what I have used. Your biggest risk comes from inhalation. I was a small arms instructor for 12 years of witch I was casting for 4 of them. They checked my lead levels twice a year. They were a little high the first year I was casting so I added an exhaust fan and created negative ventilation above my pot. Since that addition they stayed in the normal range. All I ever washed with was dish soap.

[dannyd]

I have used Boraxo hand soap for 60 years; cleans about anything off your hands.

[rintinglen]

Just wash your hands thoroughly, like you were cleaning dirty grease from your hands, using just about any commercially available dish soap. (I use Palmolive--"It softens hands while you do dishes.") Use one of those green Scotch Brite pads and a nail brush. This is one of those things that is easy to over think.

Remember that you are primarily relying on the mechanical action of the scrubbing, not some arcane chemical reaction, to remove the lead.

[Bazoo]

I use dawn. I wash my clothes as normal but I wash them separate and with the second rinse feature.

My lead levels were 5 last time they were checked. I drink while doing whatever but I’m careful to not touch my lips or the rim of the bottle. Normally a water bottle. My levels were up to 8, from 4 several years ago. I was getting contamination from holding my flashlight in my mouth while I worked. Stopped that, and my levels dropped.

I’m not overly cautious but I strip and shower after shooting, reloading, or casting because of my youngin. His lead levels were at 12 and that change has brought them down to 3. I was just changing my shirt and washing my hands before, but that didn’t suffice. Drs said that folks that work in some factories will have kids levels much higher if they don’t shower after work.

[downzero]

Lee always said dish soap worked best so that's what I have used. Your biggest risk comes from inhalation. I was a small arms instructor for 12 years of witch I was casting for 4 of them. They checked my lead levels twice a year. They were a little high the first year I was casting so I added an exhaust fan and created negative ventilation above my pot. Since that addition they stayed in the normal range. All I ever washed with was dish soap.

Are you boiling your lead when casting?

[MT Gianni]

There is a simple way to check your soap and technique when washing.
Take a mid sized jalapeno pepper. Seed and devein it, I use the right hand only. Dice it and transfer to a pan. Wash your hand well with regular soap. Then rub your eyes. If it burns, your technique or soap failed. See what it takes with multiple washings or different soaps. If it gets off the pepper oils it will get lead out, if it doesn't don't trust it. This is cheap and beats any advertised product. For me, Dial hand soap works when repeated at least twice. Costco liquid dish soap once.

[Shuz]

I have used copious amounts of Lava soap and a brisk scrubbing with the bar.

[fredj338]

You dont need special soap for washing your hands, any soap will do.

[fredj338]

the CDC says, " Washing skin with standard soap and water is not enough to remove lead residues"

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/safe.html

I cant believe much of what the CDC says.

[W.R.Buchanan]

Boraxo.

Randy

[oley55]

I cant believe much of what the CDC says.

My thought exactly when I read Jon's post. Besides their recent antics didn't they go all anti-gun during the Obama administration?

[Tatume]

The physician who taught my blood borne pathogens class said what you wash with is not nearly as important as making certain you wash. He said plain water will remove most of the contaminants on your skin, and any kind of soap will remove almost all. If you can get your preferred soap, use it. If you can't, wash anyway.

[Ithaca Gunner]

Lava has been my go to soap for decades to scrub my filthy paws.

[Buck Shot]

the CDC says, " Washing skin with standard soap and water is not enough to remove lead residues"

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/safe.html

The CDC says a lot of things, many of them self-contradictory.

[charlie b]

If you read the CDC report it is ONLY about skin absorbing the lead over a 24hr period. It also tests only one soap, Ivory. The results were that washing with the recommeded product increased lead absorption less than the Ivory soap. Yes, INCREASED. Both products caused more lead to be absorbed in 24hrs than not washing.

What is not measured. Most lead contamination comes from consuming the lead. The lead gets on your hands and, if not washed off, is consumed as you eat or touch your fingers to your lips/mouth. But, did the CDC test how much lead was left on the hands after washing? No.

FWIW, the conclusion of the report was that you should PREVENT skin contact with lead in the workplace since washing did not prevent the absorption of the lead into the skin.

The CDC themselves then use that report to say that washing is not good enough, but, you need to use their 'recommended' product (which still is not that good).

[WinchesterM1]

I buy this…. I don’t think it’s a bad price

https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Soap-Honey-Almond-Bottle/dp/B00BQLI6HQ/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=d+lead+soap&qid=1633145971&sr=8-3

[TNsailorman]

Lava soap with pumice, been using it for years and it works great for me. james

[Froogal]

lava.

Times 2.

[Mal Paso]

the CDC says, " Washing skin with standard soap and water is not enough to remove lead residues"

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/lead/safe.html

I would need corroboration from a non political source before I believed that.

[GregLaROCHE]

For those who worry about lead, beware of spent primers.

[Old Caster]

I have never washed my hands because of reloading or casting and I have been reloading since 1958 and casting since 1964 when in the Army which was my primary job. If my hands look dirty I wash them but not just because I casted or handled lead. I would even eat a sandwich while casting and not worry about it. The only time in my life that I have had high lead levels is about 30 years ago when I went to an indoor range three times a week and was calling the line for about 2 hours each time plus I would sweep up brass after the match. Never felt any symptoms but had it checked out of curiosity. It was within standards at that time but according to today's standards it was way too high. I live in Missouri and we are expected to have higher levels because pure lead exists in our ground being the only place in the US where this happens. Typical levels in people in Missouri are now higher than acceptable to the CDC even though no ordinary person has a problem with it.

[Freischütz]

Another vote for Dawn.

[Alferd Packer]

I use Lava soap

Also lather up and wash my face with it too, but only after a lead casting session.

I don't recommend it for your face but it's what I do.
A wash and rinse with Juergens face soap follows.
A finger of lather up each nasal passage with the Juergens soft soap and then a rinse splashed up in there helps too.
You have been breathing lead fumes during casting.A good snort to blow out the nose afterward is good.
A hair shampoo in the shower or tub is next.
All done before eating or drinking anything to be safe.

[Mal Paso]

Lead Fumes? Boiling point of lead is 3,180F, you're running way too hot.

[AlaskaMike]

I think when people say "lead fumes" what they really mean is residual smoke.

I've never used anything for cleanup other than normal soap and water. I do have a blood lead test every year just for confirmation, but it always shows less than 5 dl/mcg which is nothing to worry about.

As mentioned before several times, I think a lot of folks are overthinking this. If you're worried about the effectiveness of your cleanup procedures, then get a blood lead test to confirm that things are okay, and then don't worry about it.

[Mal Paso]

We cast at the Very Bottom of the liquid temperature range of lead, the molecular activity is Very Low. Think Ice Water. For Practical Purposes there are No Lead Fumes at Normal Casting Temperatures.

[Old Caster]

We cast at the Very Bottom of the liquid range of lead, the molecular activity is Very Low. Think Ice Water. For Practical Purposes there are No Lead Fumes at Normal Casting Temperatures.



Exactly. Too many people doing this too long to not know what effects it has. When in the army (1965) a day of casting would have resulted in many thousands of bullets. About a thousand an hour depending on which mold they wanted me to use and about 9 hours of casting and here I am without any problems almost 80 years old.

[JSnover]

I've been using dish soap for years and my lead levels have been negligible. I also take 50 mg of zinc each day for improved chelation and as an immune system booster.

[LenH]

I use whatever is next to the sink. I have never worried about led poisoning.

[45-70 Chevroner]

As several have said on this subject, you are over thinking this. Any good soap will get rid of lead on your hands. If you hands are extra grimy use a little Ajax, Comet, or other cleanser with a hand brush and that will take care of a lot of grime.

[45-70 Chevroner]

Duplicate of previous post.