Water Amount in 100% Coconut Oil Laundry Soap

[Frijoles]

Hi everyone, I'm going to make 100% coconut oil laundry soap with 3% kaolin clay added and -0.5% SF. What would be a good water amount to use for this recipe? I'll also be adding 3% citric acid and adjusting the lye amount accordingly. Thanks.

(Last time I made it with 70% coconut, 25% olive and 5% castor, also with 3% clay and 3% citric acid, and used 1.8:1 water to lye. It worked ok, but it did heave and crack. I cut that one at 3.5 hours and it was a good time. I imagine I'll have to cut this one sooner. Thanks again.)

 

[AliOop]

Love the 0% SF and skipping the olive and castor, since those don't add much cleaning power.

I would use 40% lye concentration and plan to cut it at around 2 hours, depending on your batch size and mold type.

I'm curious as to why you plan to add kaolin clay. I'd be concerned that it would add unnecessary residue or clog pipes, without any positive benefits for the laundry.

 

[Frijoles]

Love the 0% SF and skipping the olive and castor, since those don't add much cleaning power.

I would use 40% lye concentration and plan to cut it at around 2 hours, depending on your batch size and mold type.

I'm curious as to why you plan to add kaolin clay. I'd be concerned that it would add unnecessary residue or clog pipes, without any positive benefits for the laundry.

Thanks for your reply. I'm using a couple of log molds - one 3"x3"x13" and the other 3"x3"x7" - using up my coconut oil before it goes bad.

I knew someone would ask about the kaolin clay. I don't really have a reason for adding it, other than a couple of professional soapers I follow on YouTube add it to their laundry soap, as well as all their other soaps. Didn't think about it leaving residue or clogging pipes...

 

[AliOop]

Honestly, don't worry about your CO going bad. As a tropical oil, it has a super long shelf life. If it doesn't smell bad, or isn't discolored, or doesn't have stuff growing on it, it's fine for soaping.

My sense is that a lot of soapers on YT don't stop to think about the differences between a body soap and a laundry soap (or dish soap, for that matter). As a result, they use oils and additives that don't make sense for washing clothes, vs. washing skin, vs. washing dishes. These same folks often bring up the argument that "my great grandma used lard soap to wash her clothes." But they are ignoring the fact that GGMA was simply using what she had, not necessarily what made the best soap for washing clothes. So, while one can absolutely make laundry soap out of lard, tallow, or OO, those saponified oils just don't clean fabric as well as CO or PKO.

So, back to the clay, I'd personally leave it out. My 0%SF 100%CO laundry soap cleans just fine without it. That being said, I'm completely open to being educated as to what beneficial properties kaolin clay might bring to laundry soap. I'm just not currently aware of any, and at the same time, am concerned about potential drawbacks.

 

[Frijoles]

Thanks AliOop. I'll leave the clay out this time.

 

[lsg]

You can always refrigerate or freeze your coconut oil. If you order in bulk as I used to, then you can divide the coconut oil into smaller containers and freeze it. I have done this for years and it works for me.

 

[Frijoles]

You can always refrigerate or freeze your coconut oil. If you order in bulk as I used to, then you can divide the coconut oil into smaller containers and freeze it. I have done this for years and it works for me.

That's a good idea, thanks. I'm a hobby soaper and don't use a lot of coconut oil in my body soap so this is a good way to keep it fresh.