Bar soap graters

[DeeAnna]

With the increasing popularity of liquid soap cleansers for handwashing, bar soap is taking the back seat. If you're not into making liquid soap for hand washing but would like something different than a bar of soap in a dish, then packaging your bar soap in a shaker container might be an alternative.

Photo 1: http://rockfarmer.me/2012/04/29/plastic-free-personal-care-soap/
Photo 2: http://www.nathaliestaempfli.com/index.php?/graduation/soap-flakes/

And here's a grater dating to the early 1900s: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ba/e2/63/bae2635a74c70aca0325396de1afd484.jpg

 

[Luckyone80]

Cool ideas!

 

[boyago]

I've done this when re-purposing my scraps and experiments. I have found that whether I grate or grind (chopping blade in processor) the flakes or pills want to stick together. When left in a container they clump pretty severely. I am curious if anyone has played with any anti caking agents. Corn flower? Maybe baking soda? I think a light dusting of something might help. Anybody think pumice would work?

 

[DeeAnna]

I use washing soda and/or baking soda to keep the soap from clumping up in the food processor when I'm making a powdered laundry soap. Either one works fine, but baking soda will be easier on the skin.

A fine pumice might work really well too. I'm not sure if corn starch would be high on my list -- could possibly mold or clump up itself if the conditions were right. But those are just guesses on my part.

 

[cmzaha]

I meant to say I had one of those graters, the early 1900's one. Not sure what happened to it

 

[boyago]

What kind of rate do you use for your laundry soap?

 

[Obsidian]

I grind my salt bar scraps into powder and use it in a shaker jar, works great.

 

[Susie]

I have one of those graters, also, it was my parents'. I use it to grate soap, as it is rusty.

 

[boyago]

I don't think I want anything called "La Rape" anywhere near my bathing situations.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...What kind of rate do you use for your laundry soap? ..."

Oh, that's kind of an evolving deal. Most of the time I've been using a blend of equal weights of homemade soap (mostly CO, but sometimes I used some lard in there too), borax, baking soda, and washing soda. I did some reading about the matter not long ago and decided for my latest batch to try a mix of 1/2 soap (all CO) and 1/2 washing soda by weight.

The jury is still out on whether this works well or not. I think my whites are whiter, but I'm getting some "soap rocks" in the dispenser that I didn't see when I used the 4 part blend. Part of this problem might be because I grated and powdered this last batch of soap a couple of days after making. It's not as finely powdered as I want. Before that, I grated and powdered the soap as soon as possible after making -- when it was hard enough to cut but still as moist as possible. That gives the best results -- the soap breaks down into a really fine powder that dissolves fast.

I have always used an oxygen bleach (oxyclean clone) as needed in addition to the laundry mix.

Obsidian -- I was trying to remember who uses grated salt soap. Thanks for speaking up!

 

[Sislea]

I add the oxygen into my detergent mixture. I have not had a problem so far (started adding it to my mixture a month ago). We do about 4 loads a day around here. My colors come out looking better (never used oxygen previously) or anything other than the commercial detergents on my colors. I (cringing) used regular bleach for whites, which I never really found that it actually made them whiter, it really did leave a tent to our whites. So, with the oxygen in my powder, I don't use bleach anymore, my whites are finally starting to get white again.