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Lye is commercially used, most commonly, in the manufacture of paper, textiles and detergents.
The lye, then mixed with fat, through a process known as saponification, creates soap.The added salt is what hardens the soap.
Lye can be traced back to use in soap as far back as the Babylonians in 2800 B.C. The Ruins of Pompeii revealed a soap factory together with finished bars of soap.
When the brown lye water stops coming out of the barrel, or ash container, then pour four to five pints (2-1/2 to three litre) of soft water through the ashes, collecting the lye which comes out in a separate "safe" container (as this lye may be weaker than the first lot).
The lyesolution was obtained by placing wood ashes in a bottomless barrel set on a stone slab with a groove and a lip carved in it.
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