Best laundry soap

[AmyW]

I found both washing soda and borax today so I want to go for it. I have several ideas for the grated soap part, but I wanted to get other's opinions on the best soap to use. 100% OO? CO? Lard? A mix? I have several batches of various recipes I can use, or I can HP a batch - I want whatever will wash clothes the best. I've got about a week of my ALL Free & Clear left then I want to try this out so I better get on it.

 

[carebear]

Go with cheap. Lard or coconut are both great. Not olive.
If you use an existing batch you may want to rebatch to lower the SF (cook with a bit of lye solution, but you'll have to do the math LOL).

I'd explor etsy - there are some sellers of very popular laundry soaps on there.

 

[dubnica]

make this: http://www.soapmakingforum.com/forum/vi ... php?t=5223

I just made it last week and it is easy and awesome. I used lard.

 

[kelleyaynn]

I found both washing soda and borax today so I want to go for it. I have several ideas for the grated soap part, but I wanted to get other's opinions on the best soap to use. 100% OO? CO? Lard? A mix? I have several batches of various recipes I can use, or I can HP a batch - I want whatever will wash clothes the best. I've got about a week of my ALL Free & Clear left then I want to try this out so I better get on it.

I use CO and Crisco, but you can pretty much use whatever you want. But cheap and easy is what I'd go for. I make my soap specifically for my laundry soap so I keep it cheap and simple.

 

[AmyW]

Thanks I'll make fresh, most of my batches are OO. What do you think of using palm instead of lard? I ask because since I started using lard for my base recipe, my palm isn't getting used for anything, I've got about 1.5 gallons to go through. If lard will make better soap, I will use that though.

 

[kelleyaynn]

Thanks I'll make fresh, most of my batches are OO. What do you think of using palm instead of lard? I ask because since I started using lard for my base recipe, my palm isn't getting used for anything, I've got about 1.5 gallons to go through. If lard will make better soap, I will use that though.

It's laundry soap. Use up your palm oil!

 

[AmyW]

Thanks again =)

I figured it didn't really matter what I used, just wanted to make sure.

I thought about using the recipe dubnica posted, but I saw it mentioned it needs to be added to hot water before using in cold water... all I use is cold (never ever run hot) and that's just an additional daily step I don't want to deal with (I do 2-3 loads a day). I'm lazy

ETA: Actually, I think I'll make it, and do a second batch the other way and compare

 

[ToniD]

Just a thought, Amy, I think Laundry soap is like any other soap--you will be happier if you let it cure before you use it. I say that cuz you said you had a week left.

 

[carebear]

I dunno about that. the cure period makes the soap more mellow plus allows water to evaporate. Neither will help w laundry soap, methinks.

 

[dcornett]

I agree that a full cure is probably not necessary for a soap intended to be used in the laundry. Also for the grated soap detergent I don't know if you're making powdered or liquid, but if your doing powdered it will help your detergent to melt up better in the wash if you not only grate but process your bar soap. Also, don't expect it to suds much at all, but it will clean.

 

[AmyW]

Once the soap doesn't zap, I'm calling it good

I agree that a full cure is probably not necessary for a soap intended to be used in the laundry. Also for the grated soap detergent I don't know if you're making powdered or liquid, but if your doing powdered it will help your detergent to melt up better in the wash if you not only grate but process your bar soap. Also, don't expect it to suds much at all, but it will clean.

I'm making liquid, I have bad luck with powders never fully dissolving no matter what I do, but I'm curious what you mean by not only grate but process the soap?

My crock pot was being used to render tallow today so I couldn't make the other batch, but I was able to make the batch linked above and it's setting up quite nicely. I can't wait to try it out in a couple days.

 

[dubnica]

I do not dissolve mine in hot water before adding to the washer. I have front loader and I just put 1/4 cup on top of my clothes and that is it. I use warm cycle, but the water is hardly lukewarm. I never had any problems.

 

[dcornett]

I'm making liquid, I have bad luck with powders never fully dissolving no matter what I do, but I'm curious what you mean by not only grate but process the soap?

Sorry, I was talking about using a food processor to chop the shreds into even finer pieces, then you can add the soda and borax and hit "pulse" a few tiimes to get a good distribution of all the ingredients. It'll be more the texture of store bought detergents.

 

[AmyW]

Ohhhh that makes sense! I tend to be a little slow sometimes I'll remember that if I give powdered soap a try

 

[AmyW]

Would anyone have an idea how long it will take to stop zapping the heck out of my tongue? Ok, it's only been 24ish hours but it's already staying mixed up, not separating at all and being the impatient 2 year old I am, I keep zap testing it. :roll: I did a 0% lye discount.

 

[GreenScene]

Speaking of laundry soap - I've only ever made it with uncolored, unscented soap I've made for that purpose (and I use Crisco and a little coconut, as a rule). But I have a 1 lb. loaf that I'm going to have to ditch because the ITP swirls just screwed up royally and I suspect it's still a very wee bit lye heavy. I wouldn't say it's zapping, but a couple of the bars are tingling just a *tiny* bit after over a week's cure. So two questions - will barely lye heavy soap work for laundry soap, and will using soap lightly colored with oxides turn my clothes colors?

 

[kelleyaynn]

Speaking of laundry soap - I've only ever made it with uncolored, unscented soap I've made for that purpose (and I use Crisco and a little coconut, as a rule). But I have a 1 lb. loaf that I'm going to have to ditch because the ITP swirls just screwed up royally and I suspect it's still a very wee bit lye heavy. I wouldn't say it's zapping, but a couple of the bars are tingling just a *tiny* bit after over a week's cure. So two questions - will barely lye heavy soap work for laundry soap, and will using soap lightly colored with oxides turn my clothes colors?

They slightly lye heavy shouldn't be a problem (the pH of washing soda and borax are pretty high - you'd never want to leave them on your skin), but I don't know about the colorant.

 

[Woodi]

I wouldn't put coconut oil in laundry soap, because of the excess lathery bubbles you'd get. My front-loader machine requires special laundry soap, which hardly lathers at all (I've hand-washed with it to test it). If I put a tad too much, I do find bubbles stuck to the door when done.

and as for color....I don't think you can ensure that it won't dye your clothing. Could you try it on a batch of rags or soap cloths or so?

 

[kelleyaynn]

I wouldn't put coconut oil in laundry soap, because of the excess lathery bubbles you'd get. My front-loader machine requires special laundry soap, which hardly lathers at all (I've hand-washed with it to test it). If I put a tad too much, I do find bubbles stuck to the door when done.

and as for color....I don't think you can ensure that it won't dye your clothing. Could you try it on a batch of rags or soap cloths or so?

I make mine with coconut oil and have an HE washer. I use only about 2 Tbsp of the concoction and never get much suds at all. There just isn't enough soap in that amount to do much (except clean!).

 

[GreenScene]

I wouldn't put coconut oil in laundry soap, because of the excess lathery bubbles you'd get. My front-loader machine requires special laundry soap, which hardly lathers at all (I've hand-washed with it to test it). If I put a tad too much, I do find bubbles stuck to the door when done.

and as for color....I don't think you can ensure that it won't dye your clothing. Could you try it on a batch of rags or soap cloths or so?

I have a top loader, so bubbles don't worry me too much. I think I might try it with kitchen towels and see what happens.