Good Manufacturing Practices: Calibrating Scales

We highly recommend Marie Gale’s excellent book “Good Manufacturing Practices for Soap & Cosmetic Handcrafters”

Do you calibrate your scale?

We depend completely on accurate weights, and if you don’t regularly calibrate your scale, it may not be correct. Incorrect weights can wreak havoc in your carefully crafted formulas – don’t take the chance!

That pound of butter is suspiciously heavy.

Every scale you use should be calibrated regularly. There is a simple way to check your scale: weigh a one-pound package of butter.

Turn on your scale and place it on a flat, stable surface. Place a one-pound package of butter on the scale and read the display. There may be a little variation based on packaging of the butter, but you’ll be able to tell if your scale is not weighing properly.

I experienced this myself early in my journey with The Sage. My soaps kept having weird problems, and finally Andee had me weigh a pound of butter. My scale said it weighed 3.138 pounds! That told me I needed to calibrate my scale, which I did right away using the weight that came with the scale for that very purpose.

If you discover your scale needs to be calibrated, try searching the internet for instructions on your particular scale. Many instruction manuals can be found online.

Calibration usually involves pressing a series of controls to enter a calibration mode on the scale then using a set amount of weight on the scale and zeroing it. This procedure may differ depending on your unique scale.

If you are unable to find a way to calibrate your scale, please consider replacing it! We have several models available here that we use regularly.