Washing Soda per pound of soap

[Gryfonmoon]

Hi all, I've Googled the heck outta this and can't seem to find much info so was hoping someone here would know. I would like to add some washing soda to a Castile recipe of mine but I want to be sure of the amount per pound that would work. Does anyone have any experience with this?

 

[melstan775]

I don't have experience with this, but I would think a couple tablespoons per pound. I make my own laundry detergent, so if a couple ounces if good per pound of that, then it should in theory be good in castille soap too, I would think. Catille soap is cheap and easy to make. Try one small batch and see how it works out?

 

[Gryfonmoon]

Okay great! I just needed to know where to start.

Do you add the soda to the lye water or the oils?

 

[chicklet]

I've never heard of adding washing soda to CP soap. Sounds interesting, but I can't figure out the purpose. Boosts cleaning?

 

[Gryfonmoon]

Yeah,that's what my guess is. I want to try, at least.

 

[Soapa]

Wouldn't it be terribly alkaline if you add the washing soda to the lye?

 

[Gryfonmoon]

Wouldn't it be terribly alkaline if you add the washing soda to the lye?

That thought crossed my mind too. However, some popular soaps have washing soda in them so I wanted to try it to see if it has some cleansing benefit. Also, my superfat would be higher to try and offset it a bit. Also I wouldn't add too much Also, since lye has a higher pH (13 vs 11 for the washing soda) I'm not as concerned that the soda is going to be as much of a factor.

 

[CaliChan]

Okay great! I just needed to know where to start.

Do you add the soda to the lye water or the oils?

I would (theoretically) add one tbsp per pound, adding it at trace (like with coffee grounds) Good luck with your experiment! let us all know how it goes!

 

[Gryfonmoon]

I will! I hope it's gonna turn out well!

 

[Genny]

I used to make my laundry soap with castile, but found that we ended up with soap build up after a couple months. 100% coconut with a 0 superfat is much better.

 

[Gryfonmoon]

No worries, I don't plan on using this for the laundry

 

[sweethavenarts]

I used to make my laundry soap with castile, but found that we ended up with soap build up after a couple months. 100% coconut with a 0 superfat is much better.

What is your experience with 100% lard soap? I had read some about that and was planning on making some for laundry.

 

[Genny]

What is your experience with 100% lard soap? I had read some about that and was planning on making some for laundry.

I haven't used it. But there is another soaper on here (lsg or maybe judymoody) who use it and said that it works very good.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

Gryfonmoon, are you trying to make laundry soap or just add washing soda to your Castile? I make laundry soap using 8 oz washing soda, 8 oz borax and 4-5 ounces grated soap (100% lard or tallow 0% SF) and 4-5 qrts water to make a liquid/gel soap. I use vinegar in my rinse to stop the soap scum from building up in my cloths. I don't know if you could add the washing soda to the Castile then use that for your laundry and not have to add the soda when you make the laundry soap.

I did try making CP soap once with baking soda, dissolved in some of the water and added after I added my lye water. I hoped it would help remove odors from my hands but found it was somewhat drying to my hands. I don't know if washing soda would have the same affect or not.

 

[Gryfonmoon]

Gryfonmoon, are you trying to make laundry soap or just add washing soda to your Castile? I make laundry soap using 8 oz washing soda, 8 oz borax and 4-5 ounces grated soap (100% lard or tallow 0% SF) and 4-5 qrts water to make a liquid/gel soap. I use vinegar in my rinse to stop the soap scum from building up in my cloths. I don't know if you could add the washing soda to the Castile then use that for your laundry and not have to add the soda when you make the laundry soap.

I did try making CP soap once with baking soda, dissolved in some of the water and added after I added my lye water. I hoped it would help remove odors from my hands but found it was somewhat drying to my hands. I don't know if washing soda would have the same affect or not.

Hi Kansas Farm Girl,

I would like to add a small amount to a 100% OO Castille bath soap. I have hard-ish water where I live and want to avoid too much scum build up. I know some Castille brands (like Savon de Marseille) contain sodium carbonate and I'm really sure this could work, I just don't know how/when to add it during the soaping process.

I also think it would help in cleaning, but that's part of the experiment.

 

[Maythorn]

Is washing soda borax?

 

[melstan775]

Is washing soda borax?

No washing soda is sodium carbonate. It's literally called Washing Soda, and can be found next to Borax on the laundry row. It's made by Arm & Hammer.

 

[Kansas Farm Girl]

I found this site
http://home.howstuffworks.com/question99.htm
that says
"You can combat hard water in various ways, including filtering it by distillation or reverse osmosis, adding a packaged chemical softener such as powdered borax or washing soda (sodium carbonate), or running it through a water softener." My water is so hard that I need it softened everywhere, not just in my shower so have a softener that we add salt to.

 

[Paintguru]

No washing soda is sodium carbonate. It's literally called Washing Soda, and can be found next to Borax on the laundry row. It's made by Arm & Hammer.

You can also make it by heating up baking soda in the oven (400F for 30 min or so).

 

[CaliChan]

You can also make it by heating up baking soda in the oven (400F for 30 min or so).

A good way to test if it has fully transitioned into Washing Soda is to add it to some lemon juice. If it fizzes up put it back in the oven