J-Lube Solubility Experiments

On Soap Bubble Fanciers, there has been a lot of discussion about how to best mix J-Lube with the other ingredients in a bubble juice recipe. There are a couple of issues:

• The powder clumps when you add it to water and even with a lot of shaking some clumps will remain.
• J-Lube is 75% sucrose and so a water/J-Lube solution will eventually ferment unless you sterilize it (which is easily done in the microwave). It is possible that the detergent in bubble juice will prevent fermentation – but it is often convenient to mix up a straight J-Lube/water mix that you can add to bubble juice.
• J-Lube in solution is very string and viscous and a bit of a hassle to work with.

A few people have mentioned that if you let it set for a couple of days and shake it periodically that it will hydrate and completely dissolve. I am putting this to a test (till now I have used Brian Lawrence’s recommended preparation which involves mixing the J-Lube and water in a microwavable container at least 6 times as large as the volume being mixed. You then microwave for a total of about 6 minutes. Stopping any time that the mixture threatens to boil over. This will automatically dissolve and sterilize the mix.
However, I am curious (because I am so lazy that even microwaving can seem like a hassle) so today I am doing a trial to see if the mix and wait solution works.

I added 1 gram of J-Lube powder to 1 ounce tap water, covered tightly and shook a lot. This has left a viscous solution with several clumps of undissolved J-Lube.

Fun fact, ¼ tsp of J-Lube powder is about .6 grams. So, one gram is a little less than ½ tsp.

DAY 2. I have shaken the jar a few times over the last 24 hours and the J-Lube is pretty much all dissolved. There might be a few tiny, tiny clumps. The mixture is very gooey/stringy and can be used like this – although since it was never pasteurized it might ferment unless something is added to keep things from growing in it.

DAY 3. J-Lube is completely dissolved and solution is uniform – no shaking done in the past 24 hours. So, much of the shaking might have been unneeded. Thorough hydration over time may be adequate. This hasn’t been pasteurized so it might not keep well. It might be worth adding Surgilube or KY which contains antiseptic to see if that works in preventing fermentation.

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