I always thought it was a bit of an oxymoron (in a general sense) to go through all the trouble of making a ‘natural’ soap and then use a ton of paper towels that go into the trash.
How do you clean after Soap making ?
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I always thought it was a bit of an oxymoron (in a general sense) to go through all the trouble of making a ‘natural’ soap and then use a ton of paper towels that go into the trash.
I only use paper towels (no rags available yet) to clean up splatters or wipe the stick blender. Probably two of the half sized ones.
I take newspapers out of my recycling bin and wipe out the pot, stick blender, etc. and then leave them for a day or 2 until it turns to soap.
I started using old washcloths and dish towels to wipe everything down. I throw them in a cardboard box and wash them once a week or whenever.
I get as much off my tools and bowls as possible, then let them sit until the next day. There is very little that isn't soap at that point. I break it off and keep it in a covered dish for when I will make confetti soap.
Even paper towels can be used more than once, which IMO decreases the concern of wasting resources. Here's how I do that:
If I use paper towels to clean up something wet with only water (not usually, but sometimes), I let the paper towel dry out and re-use it again after it is dry. If used thusly, I can get a few uses out of the same towel, and the final use would be when it is used to clean up something so dirty or greasy that it has to be thrown out. If I use a paper towel for a napkin (at meals), then I save it for re-use in the same sort of way - to be used again and again until it's last life is to clean the very dirty or greasy thing that causes it to be tossed in the trash. This way the paper towels I use to wipe out my cooking pans (the wok, for example) or the soapmaking utensils & pots, have already by re-cycled through a few uses before being wasted.
When I make soap, I spread out old towels on top of my work surface to catch any spills. If the towel does get some wet soap or micas, or what-have-you spilled on it, that goes to wiping down what's left in the soaping containers before being put in a bucket to dry out until laundering. But if the surface-covering towels remain fairly clean, they don't get washed right away, as they can often be re-used repeatedly before they really need to be changed out. In those cases, I generally do the re-use of my own method of re-cycling paper towels. Sometimes I use cleaning rags that were used minimally and dried between uses, before finishing up with the final dish-soap cleaning methods.
When I am at home in my regular house, I put the soap making dishes in a spare shower to dry a day or two before washing. But here in this tiny house, I have no spare bath/shower or even space under the kitchen sink. It all has to be cleaned up immediately. So I rely on my vigorous wiping down methods and go straight to dish soap cleaning in the sink.
What I do recall from when I used to use a higher SF, the clean-up was much worse. Using a low SF, I rarely have a lot of excess oils in my soaping bowls anymore, so I am less concerned about oils clogging up the plumbing anymore. Another reason I prefer a low SF.
I would use newspapers if we had them, but they have become such a rarity anymore, in these digital times...
If I use paper towels to clean up something wet with only water (not usually, but sometimes), I let the paper towel dry out and re-use it again after it is dry. If used thusly, I can get a few uses out of the same towel, and the final use would be when it is used to clean up something so dirty or greasy that it has to be thrown out. If I use a paper towel for a napkin (at meals), then I save it for re-use in the same sort of way - to be used again and again until it's last life is to clean the very dirty or greasy thing that causes it to be tossed in the trash. This way the paper towels I use to wipe out my cooking pans (the wok, for example) or the soapmaking utensils & pots, have already by re-cycled through a few uses before being wasted.
When I make soap, I spread out old towels on top of my work surface to catch any spills. If the towel does get some wet soap or micas, or what-have-you spilled on it, that goes to wiping down what's left in the soaping containers before being put in a bucket to dry out until laundering. But if the surface-covering towels remain fairly clean, they don't get washed right away, as they can often be re-used repeatedly before they really need to be changed out. In those cases, I generally do the re-use of my own method of re-cycling paper towels. Sometimes I use cleaning rags that were used minimally and dried between uses, before finishing up with the final dish-soap cleaning methods.
When I am at home in my regular house, I put the soap making dishes in a spare shower to dry a day or two before washing. But here in this tiny house, I have no spare bath/shower or even space under the kitchen sink. It all has to be cleaned up immediately. So I rely on my vigorous wiping down methods and go straight to dish soap cleaning in the sink.
What I do recall from when I used to use a higher SF, the clean-up was much worse. Using a low SF, I rarely have a lot of excess oils in my soaping bowls anymore, so I am less concerned about oils clogging up the plumbing anymore. Another reason I prefer a low SF.
I would use newspapers if we had them, but they have become such a rarity anymore, in these digital times...
Christine K
Member
I use paper towels as well, to clean out bowls, tools etc, then wash the next day. I do put the used paper towels in the compost bin (we have a city wide compost service where I live). Question: is the soap on the paper towels compostable???? I may be doing something wrong here.
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I use terry towels to wipe down everything and store them in a bag. The towels go in the next laundry and that soap leftover on them is a nice laundry booster.
I discovered that a 5 gallon bucket with a lid is a marvelous solution to storing soaping dishes overnight, and it takes up very little space. And if that bucket happens to be one that needs washing, then just add water to it, and clean everything at once.
When I say Tiny House, I mean TINY. No room for a 5 gallon bucket. But it's only temporary (another 6 months to go) and I don't mind immediate clean-up. In fact in a tiny house, immediate clean-up is really preferable.
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