Sodalite can go in water.
But the truth is you really shouldn’t put sodalite in water for any significant length of time, and you definitely shouldn’t soak it in salt water.
In the article that follows, we’ll explain.
Why Can Sodalite Go In Water? (Or Not?)
As far as minerals go, sodalite isn’t one of the minerals where water should be religiously avoided.
Selenite, as an example, is pretty soluble in water, and if you put a selenite wand in water and leave it overnight, you might come back in the morning to a much smaller piece.
The same cannot be said for sodalite.
Sodalite is royal blue tectosilicate mineral. It is pretty hard, in the range of 5 to 6 on the Moh’s scale of hardness.
It is not particularly water soluble, though it will dissolve in hydrochloric acid.
You could run this mineral under the tap to rinse it off when cleaning it without worry.
The issue arises when you decide you want to soak it in water, or in salt water.
Water Baths Encourage Cracks
The thing about minerals (like sodalite) is that our eyes don’t often see the cracks and fissures that exist in the material, down at the molecular level.
When you put a mineral in the water for an extended period of time, molecules of water (and salt) have a chance to work their way into those cracks.
The water molecules widen those cracks.
While your sodalite could survive the first or maybe even many extended soaks, ultimately you risk the physical integrity of the piece.
You might not notice cracks in the material. You might not even realize that the piece is more vulnerable.
All you will see is that the stone cracks or breaks apart when it is dropped or knocked against other pieces.
Or perhaps the stone just falls apart one day while it is in the water.
You might not connect the damage to the water….but the likelihood is pretty high that the water was a player in the damage.
Water Damages The Finish
Soaking your beautiful, shiny, finished sodalite in water risks damaging all that you love about the beauty, shiny, and finish.
It is pretty common for people to pull their beautiful newly purchased stone from its first water bath, and discover that the stone is now a different color, or is dull.
Many stones are buffed and polished with products (like oil) that will eventually come off the stone if left in the water long enough.
Some of these polishes are applied with the purpose of changing the exterior color of the stone to make it more attractive for you to purchase it.
And sometimes, the water molecules get into those tiny fissures on the surface of the stone, changing the way that light bounces off the piece, such that even applying a new coat of polish cannot return the stone to its previous color or beauty.
If the material contains iron or other materials that react with water, the color of the stone can even change.
In extreme cases, the damaged portions must be cut off before it can be refinished to return it to its previous color or finish.
Most people do not possess the tools required to resurrect the stone, and find themselves left with a crystal that is less than what they wanted it to be.
In the end, it is just better overall not to soak sodalite in water for any extended period of time to avoid accidental (but permanent) damage to the stone.
If Water Baths Are Bad For Minerals and Crystals, Why Do Most Of The Crystals Practitioners Recommend Them?
Great question.
And it probably has multiple possible answers.
The first, and most obvious, is that they don’t realize how damaging water can be to their precious stones.
Confirmation Bias: You See What You Expect To See
We think that another potential answer is that the damage suffered by minerals and crystals due to water baths is often attributed to metaphysical causes, rather than physical ones.
For example, a stone that you carry everywhere with you suddenly breaks apart in your pocket when it gets tangled up with your keys.
The stone is far from the water bath in both time and space, and since the owner of the stone never observed any cracks in the material with their eyes, they wouldn’t be very likely to connect up the water soak with the damage.
And given a practitioner’s feelings and beliefs about crystals from the metaphysical side, it is more likely that the damage would be attributed to a metaphysical cause.
Inexperience: A Wider Variety Of Crystals and Gems
The world has opened up dramatically in our lifetime. Amazing and beautiful specimens can be obtained with the click of a few buttons off the internet.
In the past, crystals practitioner’s were such with the stones they could get access to. In most cases, these were stones that were available somewhat locally, and it was difficult to get anything “exotic.”
In most cases, the crystals and other precious minerals were pretty hardy (like quartz), and you could do a lot to them before they’d become damaged.
And, the sad truth is that there are a lot of fraudulent specimens out there being sold on the internet. They are heat treated, dyed, or otherwise manipulated to look like something they aren’t.
These “treatments” don’t always hold up to soaking in water.
Today’s practitioner’s are using advice that is years old, that was developed before accessing the current range of materials and specimens that are now available.
In The End…
Sodalite can get wet, and you could put it in water.
But due to the risk of damage to the stone if you soak it in water or salt water, we don’t recommend that you soak sodalite for any significant period of time.
This means that we recommend against putting it in the shower or bath with you, we recommend against putting it in your water glass before you drink the water, and we recommend against water soaks to ‘cleanse’ the material.
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