# what is the best foam booster



## babyanne168 (Mar 13, 2010)

hi. i am making laundry bars.. just wanna asked whats the best foaming agent


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## ChrissyB (Mar 14, 2010)

For laundry bars, I'd say coconut oil. Or PKO.
I wouldn't worry about castor, tho that is good for boosting bubbles.
And you can add some sugar to the water before you add the lye. Stir and let the sugar totally dissolve before you add the lye, otherwise you'll have bits of toffee in your lye solution.
Without using SLS or the like, the coconut oil is your best bet.
And you probably don't need to worry about the superfat if they are exclusively for laundry.


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## Laundry_ken (Mar 14, 2010)

*hi*

whats pko? and sls? and what are superfat?


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## babyanne168 (Mar 14, 2010)

ChrissyB said:
			
		

> For laundry bars, I'd say coconut oil. Or PKO.
> I wouldn't worry about castor, tho that is good for boosting bubbles.
> And you can add some sugar to the water before you add the lye. Stir and let the sugar totally dissolve before you add the lye, otherwise you'll have bits of toffee in your lye solution.
> Without using SLS or the like, the coconut oil is your best bet.
> And you probably don't need to worry about the superfat if they are exclusively for laundry.



hey thanks. 

how about if i use coconut oil plus SLS? would it make any difference if i use coconut oil alone?


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## carebear (Mar 14, 2010)

why do you need foam?


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## babyanne168 (Mar 14, 2010)

hi..

i will be selling laundry bars used to hand wash clothes/fabrics. people in our place is looking for a nice amount of lather..


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## ChrissyB (Mar 14, 2010)

Yep I'd go with the coconut or PKO. Try the sugar as well.
What Carebear is saying is that "Bubbles" doesn't mean that the soap cleans any better than a soap that doesn't have the bubbles.
But I understand where you're coming from, I'm a bubble ho too.


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## babyanne168 (Mar 15, 2010)

thanks a lot for taking time to reply to my post. i do appreciate it a lot. still experimenting with the sugar.. hope this one works best 

anne


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## kommon_sense (Mar 16, 2010)

*Re: hi*



			
				Laundry_ken said:
			
		

> whats pko? and sls? and what are superfat?



Someone please correct me if I'm wrong :

pko = palm kernel oil
sls = sodium lauryl sulphate
superfat = using additional fats/oil or reducing amount of lye to ensure all lye is reacted during the process.


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## ChrissyB (Mar 16, 2010)

Kommon, you've got it right, and superfatting is also leaving some free oils in the soap, so that it's mild and not drying to the skin.


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## babyanne168 (Apr 1, 2010)

in laundry soap, may i add a little castor oil as superfat?
thanks


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## carebear (Apr 1, 2010)

noooooooooooo

in laundry soap you want the oils to be saponified, as much as possible.  you don't want excess oils.  soap at a SF  of no more than 2% - 1% is better.  or if using in a machine 0%.


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## babyanne168 (Apr 1, 2010)

oh ok. thanks 
what's the best oil for laundry? coconut? lard?
is it true that colorants may be added at any stage? i want a well mixed blue color..

thanks carebear, great help


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## carebear (Apr 1, 2010)

the best oil for laundry is a cheap oil.  most use lard or coconut oil.  some use palm or palm kernel if it's economically feasable.  or a blend of these.

what kind of colorant are you using?


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## donniej (Apr 1, 2010)

Add borax.  It's cheap, will clean better and adds lather.  It will also make the soap harder.


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## ToniD (Apr 1, 2010)

I have been wondering about laundry bars in a HE machine--front loader.

I want to avoid bubbles!   Has anyone made laundry soap for a front loader?


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## donniej (Apr 1, 2010)

I don't know of any s0aps made for high efficiency machines.  If you use pure soy, canola or tallow, you may be OK (I don't know).  

I have a friend who's had one of these machines for a couple years and he never knew that you had to use certain detergents for it.  He's just been using whatever is on sale.  He hasn't had any issues...


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## ToniD (Apr 1, 2010)

One of my kids accidentally put regular laundry detergent in our HE washer once.    It is something I hope NEVER to repeat.    It wasn't that the foaming was such a problem--some bubbles on the floor--but the washer sent out all sorts of error messages and would not let me reset it.   Real pain.


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## babyanne168 (Apr 1, 2010)

carebear: im using an oil based colorant, powder in form. it's called "oil blue" here in my place. 

donniej: hmm,when do you add borax in cp and hp? and the quantity? thanks  does it make the soap less harsh?

thanks


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## carebear (Apr 1, 2010)

is it stable at a high pH or does the color change?

since it's oil soluble, I'd be tempted to add it directly to the oils (tho probably mix it with a little oil first until smooth before adding to the bulk of the oils)

but if it's for laundry, why use any colorant?


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## babyanne168 (Apr 6, 2010)

thanks.. it actually worked well for my soap.. added the colorant directly to the oils 
hmm.. another question, what does borax do to the soap? how is it added to the recipe?
also, what could happen if the mold in cp is left uncovered, meaning, not well insulated.. ?! 

thanks a lot


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