Laundry powder

[PippiL]

So, is there a trick to pulverize the hard coconut soap, without making my blender smoke? I already broke my kitchen aid blender, the tiny ninja is on it's way out, going to invest in a big Ninja blender.
If I grind down the fresh soap, it's to gooey even when adding the powders, now I waited for the soap to dry out,stone hard.Any tricks or advise appreciated.

 

[DeeAnna]

Don't use cured soap -- you won't get anywhere, as you are finding out.

Use fresh soap. Chunk it up with a knife into pieces that will fit into your food processor chute. Grate it with the grating attachment of your food processor. I spread the grated shreds out on a cookie sheet so they can cool and dry slightly before processing them into powder. Just 10 minutes or so of cooling/drying is enough to help the process go smoothly.

Switch to the blade to break down the grated shreds into a coarse powder. When you use the blade, it is very important to add some of the other powders (baking soda, washing soda, borax, etc.) along with the grated soap. If you don't do this, you're right -- the soap clumps up into a mess rather than turning into a coarse powder. The powder helps the soap break down into small bits w/o heating up and clumping. Start with 2 handfuls of powder to 1 handful of grated soap (measured as loose shreds, not packed). See how that works for you. You should be able to process this mix continuously for as long as you want w/o clumping. I get good results at about 30 seconds per batch.

When you get the hang of it, you can try less powder per batch, but watch closely for the soap to start clumping. If it does, stop processing immediately and add more powder. Pulse the mixture a bit to mix well and cool the soap, then go back to full on.

Don't over fill the processor bowl when grating the chunked soap or when making the powder -- the bowl should be no more than 1/2 full per batch.

 

[Robert]

So, is there a trick to pulverize the hard coconut soap, without making my blender smoke? I already broke my kitchen aid blender, the tiny ninja is on it's way out, going to invest in a big Ninja blender.

If I grind down the fresh soap, it's too gooey even when adding the powders, now I waited for the soap to dry out,stone hard.Any tricks or advise appreciated.

You're going to need some process that boils off some of the water from the soap. It works with a microwave oven, but is tedious. You can cook chunks of soap, somehow flake them further (by scraping off the sides of the container or whatever), transfer to another container and microwave again. Or you can grate, microwave, hand chop, re-microwave. The trouble is that you can work only in small amounts at a time in a discontinuous process like that.

The original granulating, "bead"- making process was discovered by someone using a comb to scrap bits off a cake of soap onto a hot plate. Timing is everything because you don't want to melt or burn the bits of soap but make them pop like microscopic popcorn. If you could construct an apparatus for doing that continuously, where the hot plate fed by a rotating device and was slanted so the beads would fall off onto a conveyor belt, you'd have it.

What some people have done is sort of the opposite: Grate the soap moist, and agglomerate the dry powder--the alkaline "builder"--onto it.

 

[Moonblossom]

I use any soap I make for mine I've yet to have a problem and I've done it for over 5 years in a HE washer. I mix with Borax, Washing Soda and Oxyclean and use up to a tablespoon for each load, my clothes are always clean and fresh smelling but I also make fabric softener with Epsom salts and EO's, I just put 1/4 cup in each washer load. Works great for me...

 

[PippiL]

Thank you, I always appreciate your answers.

 

[PippiL]

What kind of blenders do you use, I'm about to get a new blender.

 

[PippiL]

How much FO are you using for laundry powder ?

 

[houseofwool]

I add the scent after I make the soap and I find that I only need a few drops. I just add until it is as scented as I like.

 

[PippiL]

How good does the oxi clean works in laundry powder?

 

[Pilar]

I've been using 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda, 1 finely ground bar of Fels Naptha and mixing it together. I use 2 Tbsp. per load in my HE washer. I really like a fragrance, so I added some in this last batch. I prefer the powder soap over making it into a liquid because it rinses out of the soap dispenser in my washer better.

One question, sorry.
You use very much Fels Naptha in the U.S. but How about you know the problems it has?
http://www.ewg.org/guides/cleaners/441-FelsNapthaHeavyDutyLaundryBarSoap

 

[Pilar]

How good does the oxi clean works in laundry powder?

Oxi clean today contains enzymes as proteases, lipases amilanases... and others ingredients as Sodium percarbonate (mineral-based), Sodium carbonate, Sodium silicate, Sodium sulfate (mineral) ... they enhance washing and It is a great alternative so we do not have to use optical brighteners (some oxys have these)