# Great Grandma's "Turpentine" Soap.....stain stick



## MikeInPdx

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## doolittle

Interesting recipe I'll have to give it a try.  I make a stain stick with a different recipe and it works great.  Can't wait to try this one.


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## MikeInPdx

doolittle said:
			
		

> Interesting recipe I'll have to give it a try.  I make a stain stick with a different recipe and it works great.  Can't wait to try this one.



I like it.....seems to really cut through stuff well. If you have something REALLY greasy, just treat and let set overnight.


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## digit

I also find this interesting. Thank you for the reformulation and sharing it!!   

Have you found this to be color safe and effective in cold water?

Digit


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## MikeInPdx

digit said:
			
		

> I also find this interesting. Thank you for the reformulation and sharing it!!
> 
> Have you found this to be color safe and effective in cold water?
> 
> Digit



I've used it on my dark colored clothes and haven't noticed any fading or spotting.

I've used it on stuff I put through a cold water wash and it worked fine, but I have temperature controlled cold on my machine....basically it has a sensor to keep the water temp at 70 degrees F or above. I haven't tried it with tap cold.


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## digit

MikeInPdx said:
			
		

> I've used it on my dark colored clothes and haven't noticed any fading or spotting.
> 
> I've used it on stuff I put through a cold water wash and it worked fine,



Thanks Mike. I think I will give this a try soon.   

Digit


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## happyday

Mike, my stain sticks are almost the same recipe, but with 1/2 cup Borax added to the recipe.  I'm a great believer in "the easier the better" so I don't wait till trace to add anything -- I just throw the lard, borax, lye water and turpenoid all together and SB to medium trace.  And I discount the water heavily -- just over 3-1/2 oz of H2O to the 1 lb of oils.


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## MikeInPdx

happyday said:
			
		

> Mike, my stain sticks are almost the same recipe, but with 1/2 cup Borax added to the recipe.  I'm a great believer in "the easier the better" so I don't wait till trace to add anything -- I just throw the lard, borax, lye water and turpenoid all together and SB to medium trace.  And I discount the water heavily -- just over 3-1/2 oz of H2O to the 1 lb of oils.



Good to know! Thanks for sharing!  I won't fuss over it as much next time.


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## AshleyR

I'm new here and am curious about these "stain sticks"....

Since there is turpentine in this one... first thing that came to mind is that this could be a good soap for a painter or a man who works in the garage a lot and gets dirty with grease, oil, etc. Wouldn't this be a good soap to clean their hands with? 

My Dad used to have this special soap he'd use after working out in the garage and getting all greasy.

Would this work?


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## Vintageliving

I have a new batch of these, freshly curing.  I used real turpentine.

Will report how they do on various stains.

Ashley,  I will be giving a couple of these bars to someone whose hands get quite dirty.  It'll take a while to get a report from him, but I'll post when I do.

Will also try a batch of these with the added borax.

Thank you for the recipe!


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## rupertspal42

This one is definetly on my to-do list


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## Vintageliving

Victoria, I'm delighted with the turpentine bars.  They are good stain removers and last a long time.


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## Hazel

I'm also interested in hearing if it would be good for a mechanic's soap.

Thanks for posting this recipe.


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## ilovedoxies

Can't wait to try this one


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## DragonQueenHHP

we made basically the same recipe with lard and turpentine using HP I have to say it ROCKS!


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## SoSoapy

I currently have an over-abundance of beef tallow right now. 

I wonder if I could substitute the lard for tallow? anyone ever try this with tallow?

thanks!


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## DragonQueenHHP

SoSoapy said:
			
		

> I currently have an over-abundance of beef tallow right now.
> 
> I wonder if I could substitute the lard for tallow? anyone ever try this with tallow?
> 
> thanks!



I don't think it would cause any kind of problems


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## new12soap

Just make sure you run it through a lye calculator, I believe the SAP's may be different.


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## SoSoapy

> Just make sure you run it through a lye calculator, I believe the SAP's may be different.



how should i put in turpentine into a lye calculator?


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## DragonQueenHHP

I ran it thou the lye is fine
as for the turpentine it is not added until trace and you do not need to run it thou


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## sudbubblez

Thank you for this.  My stepmother taught me how to remove stains with bar soap.  Really, all you have to do is rub the stain with the bar soap untill it gets really hot from the friction.  I have removed black shoe polish out of khaki pants this way, and that was just plain ol store bought bar soap.  Can't wait to make it with turpentine!  I bet it'll be a breeze and lots less elbow grease.


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## sudbubblez

Is turpenoid the same as odorless mineral spirits?


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## sudbubblez

I made this with turpentine and tested it on a dingy sock.  I rubbed the bar on the sock then rubbed the sock until it got hot.  WOW!!


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## Belinda02

This an old thread and sounds interesting. The recipe has been erased. Anyone make this soap?


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## silhouette

Hi.. All the comments are so very interesting. And am tempted to try it out but unable to find the recipe.  :-(


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## MzMolly65

Since the OP's recipe is no longer posted how about this one 

2.2 ounces (weight, not volume) sodium hydroxide (lye crystals)
6 ounces (weight, not volume) distilled or purified water 
1 lb lard 
1.6 oz turpentine  (can use turpentine substitute or kerosene)

Stir lye into cold water.  Let stand until just warm. Melt lard and cool to about 100 degrees. Pour lye water into lard and stir or stick blend to light trace. Add turpentine  and stir to full trace. Pour into molds and insulate or oven process as usual. A tube mold makes a great stain stick shape. Unmold and cut. Let cure as usual.


Directions for Use: 

Dampen stain with plain water. Rub stain soap into stain thoroughly. Let stand from 5 minutes to a couple of days. Wash as usual.   

I've never tried it but I'm curious.  This recipe is a direct copy and was originally posted on HomeStead Garden forum by Serena.  I'd like to give credit but not sure I'm allowed to post a link.


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## Belinda02

Thanks. I'm curious as to the type of stains it removes.


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## lenarenee

Wait a minute people. Turpentine for washing clothes?  

My washer/dryer comes with a warning about washing oil and solvent affected items due to problems like....fire.

My oil paint teacher also says it's a big no - no.

Anyone here that can speak to this safety issue?


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## MzMolly65

lenarenee said:


> Anyone here that can speak to this safety issue?



I'm curious as well and would be cautious before making this soap.  As a word of warning, my Mom caught the house on fire once washing an ink stain out of her nurse's uniform using *cough* gasoline *cough*.  I don't know what she was thinking but the fumes found their way to the pilot light on the furnace and BOOM!

Luckily she wasn't hurt and the boom was small but the fire department was needed and there was a LOT of smoke damage.

That was gas and not turpentine .. and it wasn't saponified either so I dunno how making soap with turpentine would change the chemical effects.


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## cmzaha

lenarenee said:


> Wait a minute people. Turpentine for washing clothes?
> 
> My washer/dryer comes with a warning about washing oil and solvent affected items due to problems like....fire.
> 
> My oil paint teacher also says it's a big no - no.
> 
> Anyone here that can speak to this safety issue?


 
I have washed many loads of work clothes with asphalt and solvent on them with no problems.


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## shunt2011

I too have washed a ton of laundry with solvent as well. No issues after 20+ years. I might have to give this a try though.


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## Obsidian

I would think that any flammable fumes from the turpentine would have long evaporated during the cure. I also have washed many loads of work clothes with diesel/gas/solvents and never had any issues.


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## DeeAnna

And keep in mind the amount of turpentine that would end up in the fabric is really very small. It's not remotely the same thing as what MzMolly's mom did! 

You could also probably substitute something like sweet orange essential oil, which is also very good at loosening up heavy grease, adhesive residue, and similar gunk, or mineral spirits (not mineral oil).

Lest one assume sweet orange EO is safer than turpentine, think again -- the flash point is roughly 115-130 deg F for sweet orange EO vs roughly 95 deg F for turpentine. Not a great difference as things like that go.

edit: Here are other threads in which Mike talks about using solvents in soap:

I have made petroleum soaps....ones with mineral oils, petroleum distillates, and hydrocarbons like kerosene. These products don't saponify but you can add between 10-20% of the total weight of your oils without harm. I mix them in at trace. I would imagine the petroleum jelly would make a very moisturizing bar. Source: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=7114

The kerosene smell dissipates quickly once you rinse your hands or the article of clothing in the case of the stain stick. No additional fuss is needed with the kerosene. Just pour it in to your melted oils. It's flammable, but not explosive like gasoline or turpentine, which I heartily do NOT recommend using. Just keep it out of the reach of children like you would with other chemicals. It's the same stuff they used to fill lamps with. For stain sticks, just make up a 100% lard or palm batch. Use soapcalc/soapmaker etc.... to determine lye for 0% superfat. Add 1.6 oz kerosene for each pound of melted oil, add your lye, and stick blend to a thick trace.....you want a heavy trace to minimize the chance of curdling. Then I pour it into a mold, I don't bother insulating. When it's set up, I cut the soap into butter sized sticks. These will remove soaping oils, and they're dirt cheap to make.... You can always label them with "petroleum distillates" and be perfectly correct. If you want something odor free that will sub for the kerosene.....go over to the art supply section and look for odorless turpentine substitue....."petroleum distillates" is still the correct label. Turpenoid is what I buy, and it doesn't compete with fragrance oils. Basically, these stain sticks are nothing more than a homemade version of Fels Naptha.....it uses the same products to cut oils.  Source: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=10966&page=3

and yet another edit: Here's a similar recipe by another SMF poster: 

"...a recipe from my great grandmother that dates back to the 1920's...."
1 can of lye
½ cup of kerosene
½ cup borax
½ cup sugar
5 pints washed, melted grease
2 pints water
Source: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=15719

And one more edit: The flash point of kerosene is roughly 100-150 deg F.


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## lenarenee

Aw geez. Never thought about turpentine/kerosene residue on clothes/skin.
I started making soap with the intent of having a healthy product. So, until a real live bona fide chemist tells me that lye neutralized turpentine, I'm going to skip this soaping project.  I gave up Shout and other products for the same reason.

(a little off topic, but now someone says Borax is a danger??? I haven't looked into that)

Anyway, I'm lucky to know the deputy fire marshall of our city, and he can't speak to whether or not a homemade soap with turpentine being used on clothes would be an issue. But (of course) he said wouldn't recommend it.

As for you lucky people who have washed tons of laundry with all sort of flammable stuff on it.....(myself included, I oil paint occasionally), he said to stop it!   He had 3 fires in 2 years due to chemicals in the wash....that chemicals  often take several washes to remove, if ever, and all of that contaminated lint gets clogged up in the vent pipe, and that is often how the fire starts.  That....and storing contaminated articles in unventilated areas, especially small laundry rooms, basements, where gases build up.

I'd forgotten about needing the dryer vent pipes cleaned out. Gotta put that on the list of things to do, along with the gutters. Drat.


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## AutumnBreezeSoaps

My mom always added turpentine to my dads work clothes for umpteen years. I have used it for stains but not in the house...took the article of clothing outside and poured it on out there and rinsed with the hose...just to be safe.


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