Laundry Bar

[ca_soap]

I have been looking at different thoughts and ideas for laundry bars. I guess I should define what I mean by laundry bar, by the term I am talking about a bar that will be shredded then ground and blended with borax, washing soda, etc to make a laundry powder. So here is my question, I have come across different websites that sell what they call laundry bars and what they are selling is lye heavy bars. They are stating up front that they are intended for laundry only and that they are not safe for washing and bathing with. I also had a friend tell me about a local farmers market that sells what they described as "the best laundry bars". So I went to the market and bought one of the bars to check it out. The guy at the market tells me it is made by a local amish family the way they have always made it and that they make it in a kettle over open fire etc etc. So I picked up a bar, it is clearly a hot processed bar. Of course the first thing I do is zap test it and yes it has a definite zap to it. So my here are my questions.

1. Is a lye heavy bar safe for laundry?
2. If it is safe, is there a benefit to having a lye heavy bar vs a no superfat bar?

Thoughts??

 

[savonierre]

There is no benefit to a lye heavy bar, ( I hope no one uses one of theirs on their body). A lye heavy bar can be used for laundry soap.
I don't super fat laundry bars.

 

[ca_soap]

There is no benefit to a lye heavy bar, ( I hope no one uses one of theirs on their body). A lye heavy bar can be used for laundry soap.
I don't super fat laundry bars.

I agree and hope nobody uses them on their body as well. That was why I asked the question as it does't make any sense to sell a bar they know is lye heavy if the added lye has no benefit.

 

[jcatblum]

I use my crockpot soap scrapings for laundry soap. I keep an old Tupperware bowl close when soaping & it is used to hold a mixture of leftovers that were at one time stuck on the sidewalls of my crockpot after I finish my HP soap. No reason to make a special bar IMO any soap will work. End pieces are another option.

 

[new12soap]

1. Is a lye heavy bar safe for laundry?
2. If it is safe, is there a benefit to having a lye heavy bar vs a no superfat bar?

The answer is yes and no. A slightly lye-heavy bar can be safe for laundry, yes, and the benefit would be that it would boost the alkalinity and the cleaning, like adding boosters such as washing soda. The potential downside would be a soap that is too lye-heavy will leave holes in your clothes.

Some people make soap specifically for laundry with a 0% superfat because they don't want the excess oil residue on their clothes. I guess regular soap could be a 2-1 soap plus fabric softener?