On Mon, 17 Jan 2011 20:12:07 -0500, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

Rich Grise wrote:
...
... lye, ... you can use it on ring-around-the-collar in
the laundry)...

Just don't use it on cotton shirts. Or linen. Or silk.

Bob
Lye soap works GREAT on cotton shirts. Pretty good on linen too.

But then Lye soap is not straight lye - it is lye reacted with fats.

Lye itself has a very HIGH pH.