Solid dishsoap recipe

[Saponificarian]

I made a tiny batch last night. It's been about 12 hours. It smells like lard...will the smell go away?

I am sorry but I don’t use Lard. I use Tallow and my Tallow soap just smell like soap. I am guessing you didn’t use fragrance?

 

[Lye-h20-oil]

I am sorry but I don’t use Lard. I use Tallow and my Tallow soap just smell like soap. I am guessing you didn’t use fragrance?

I remembered you said you use tallow after I posted this question. I just cut it and the smell already seems to be less...maybe I'm becoming desensitized to it or it really is going to be ok. I'm definitely staying away from fragrance right now. The chemical preservatives that trigger my allergy could be in any random fragrance and I have not researched safe fragrances that I can use. It would have to be 100% preservative free. Hopefully staying away from the preservatives will reboot my system and I will not be so sensitive to it....I hope.

 

[earlene]

How each of us responds to the lard odor is really hard to determine. Some of us can smell it no matter how old or new the soap. So the answer to your question really depends on your nose. Some folks don't smell it ever. Some smell it no matter what. And variables in between. With or without added fragrance.

Sorry, that may not be what you were looking for, but only time will tell how your nose responds.

 

[SaltedFig]

For dishes, we used a soap shaker like this one.
It's just a simple wire cage that flipped open to put soap ends in, and is used to swish vigorously in the dish water to make it soapy.
The dishes are rinsed after washing.

There's a lady in NZ who sells a locally made modern variety of the soap shaker.

 

[DeeAnna]

I think I've seen a few (a very few) of these soap swishers here in the midwestern US. Didn't know what they were for, though.

 

[KiwiMoose]

I've been feeling puzzled as I read this thread -- I've been wondering how people use a solid bar for washing dishes. I wouldn't think it would be practical to add soap to the dishwater itself -- I remember my grandmother paring curls off a bar of her 100% lard soap and dropping them into the hot water
.

DeeAnna, when we were kids we only had solid soap for dishes. Mum had a metal ‘cage’ with a long handle and we would pop the soap inside, latch the lid, and shake it under the running hot water until the water was all bubbly.

Whoops! I should read all the other replies before posting, huh?

 

[Relle]

For dishes, we used a soap shaker like this one.
It's just a simple wire cage that flipped open to put soap ends in, and is used to swish vigorously in the dish water to make it soapy.
The dishes are rinsed after washing.

There's a lady in NZ who sells a locally made modern variety of the soap shaker.

View attachment 33436

The price for that soap cage is a little scary . I remember the yellow sunlight soap hardening on the window sills before they put it in the soap cage.

 

[lsg]

Many people in the United States used to have cisterns, which caught rain water from house guttering. So, they had soft water which worked well with bar soap.

 

[SaltedFig]

The price for that soap cage is a little scary . I remember the yellow sunlight soap hardening on the window sills before they put it in the soap cage.

Very! (That's why I haven't purchased one )

I'd forgotten the obligatory sunlight soap! ... it used to get the most impressive cracks too

 

[Relle]

Very! (That's why I haven't purchased one )

I'd forgotten the obligatory sunlight soap! ... it used to get the most impressive cracks too

There was one in Nundle for $37.95, even that's too expensive, but it came with a bar of soap.

 

[winusuren]

I use beef Tallow @ 60% and coconut @ 40% with a negative super fat of -5 for dish soap. I use Tallow because it doesn't get 'mushy'. I have a 6 year old who likes to spend 5-10minutes washing her plate and a 2 year old who likes to make bubbles with soap, uses every opportunity to wash her hands and I hate mushy soap so Tallow it is. Palm would work as well but it won't be as hard as Tallow. I don't use Lard so can't help with that. Why not try a 1lb batch and see if it works. Experimenting is half the fun with soaping, Playing with fragrance and colors, that's the other half

@Saponificarian
What is negative superfat?? Won't the soap be lye heavy?? Incase you use palmolein, at what percentage do you recommend for a dish soap??

 

[Saponificarian]

@Saponificarian
What is negative superfat?? Won't the soap be lye heavy?? Incase you use palmolein, at what percentage do you recommend for a dish soap??

Yes, it will be lye heavy but that is deliberate. I want it as hard and as cleansing as possible, but still safe for handling for my kids.

Palmolein would work as well, just won't be as hard as tallow and will wear away faster.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

Honestly? You can use any soap you have on hand to wash dishes using the soap-on-a-sponge method. I would not add Washing Soda to the wash water cuz it is too caustic for my hands. However, any water softener like Borax or Calgon (I use the liquid) in the wash water would help with increasing suds and reducing scum. It is also milder to the hands if you don't want to wear gloves. BTW, I wear a glove on one hand that does the washing; the other hand holds the dish or glass better so it doesn't slip out and break.

 

[winusuren]

Yes, it will be lye heavy but that is deliberate. I want it as hard and as cleansing as possible, but still safe for handling for my kids.

Palmolein would work as well, just won't be as hard as tallow and will wear away faster.

Yes but in India we don't use any animal fats. I'm planning to make a dish soap with 50% coconut oil, 40% palmolein and the rest a combination of castor and neem oil for its antibacterial properties, soapnut lye solution with citric acid(gonna use for the 1st time) & 0% superfat. Will this workout??

 

[Saponificarian]

Yes but in India we don't use any animal fats. I'm planning to make a dish soap with 50% coconut oil, 40% palmolein and the rest a combination of castor and neem oil for its antibacterial properties, soapnut lye solution with citric acid(gonna use for the 1st time) & 0% superfat. Will this workout??

I would suggest 40% Coconut oil and 60% Palmolein. Leave the castor and neem, they won’t be needed here. Try a small batch and tweak from there. Yes, the citric acid is a good idea to help with hard water. Account for the fact that the citric acid will consume some lye to form sodium citrate.

 

[winusuren]

I would suggest 40% Coconut oil and 60% Palmolein. Leave the castor and neem, they won’t be needed here. Try a small batch and tweak from there. Yes, the citric acid is a good idea to help with hard water. Account for the fact that the citric acid will consume some lye to form sodium citrate.

Thank you so much for your suggestion.I'll make a batch and let you know how it came out. How about the cure time? Can we use it in 2 days or we've to cure them for 4 to 6 weeks to know the results?

Actually I've already tried making a 100% palmolein soap with 0% super fat for laundry few months back. It's rock hard and cleans very well but it doesn't lather and leaves an oily feeling in hands but not in clothes.

 

[Saponificarian]

Thank you so much for your suggestion.I'll make a batch and let you know how it came out. How about the cure time? Can we use it in 2 days or we've to cure them for 4 to 6 weeks to know the results?

Actually I've already tried making a 100% palmolein soap with 0% super fat for laundry few months back. It's rock hard and cleans very well but it doesn't lather and leaves an oily feeling in hands but not in clothes.

Awesome, let us know what you think with your test batch! Yes 100% Palmolein won’t be a great soap for laundry. I love Palmolein!

 

[The_Phoenix]

Honestly, I use any available bar of soap to use for washing dishes. They all work! Got an ugly batch of soap that just didn't come out as you had planned? Use it for washing dishes! I wet a Scotch Brite pad and roll a bar of soap around the pad then wash. I sf at 3% so an oily residue is never an issue.

 

[The_Phoenix]

Honestly? You can use any soap you have on hand...

What she said.

 

[winusuren]

Awesome, let us know what you think with your test batch! Yes 100% Palmolein won’t be a great soap for laundry. I love Palmolein!
[

let us know what you think with your test batch

Sure..