Working on Stain Removal soap bar

[Sonya is soaping]

So first I wanted to make a laundry washing soap, but ive read too many horror stories about rings of fat and grime left in the washing machine and then there's a whole blog about people soaking their clothes after years of using handmade laundry soap and the tub being filled with grotty water.
So I decided to just settle for a nice stain removal soap recipe to apply to clothes stains before washing with my normal cheap store bought washing powder. Stain removal products are one of those things I always seem to avoid buying at the supermarket, but regret it when hubby comes home from work!
So, I was looking up things and I came across what seems to be an American old time favourite called,
'Fels-Naptha'.
I wrote down the ingredients and most of it seems pretty straight forward.
Not sure on the quantities yet.

Fels-Naptha has Coconut oil, Palm Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Tallow and Glycerin. Then a whole bunch of scientific names.
When I researched, seems like they amount to: Salt, Citric Acid, Citrus Oil, and Linalool, which is an alcohol found in some flowers and plants and found naturally in Tangerine, Rose, Spearmint, lemon and Ylang Ylang essential oils.
So Im thinking of trying to keep this as cheap as possible using just Coconut oil and Tallow with Castor oil instead of Glycerin because that's all I have on hand. Is Castor oil okay to substitute for the Glycerin?

I shall be adding Citric Acid from the supermarket and Spearmint essential Oil.
Which leaves the Citrus oil, in which I was thinking of using orange peel.
The only ingredient in Fels-Naptha I don't really know what it is, is Peg-6 Methylether and Peg-8?
Apparently it is a polyethylene glycol, which is also used as a laxative? hmmm not sure to do about this one???
Anyway, any thoughts on recipe, or what Im missing? Feedback? Cheers

 

[Anne121x]

Hi Sonya, Yes I have heard that about laundry washing soap too which make me stay clear. I love the way you are formulating your own stain removal soap. I think it may not be necessary to add Glycerine as it is a by-product of the soap making process? Perhaps I am wrong?

 

[Sonya is soaping]

I have to admit I'm still tempted with the laundry washing soap. I guess I won't know if it works until I actually try it. I read an old post, can't remember who wrote it, but they said they make laundry butter, and as long as you have soft water, the laundry soap works fine.
So, I'm indecisive on that one at the moment, so I thought I would try a stain remover soap until I make up my mind.

 

[Anne121x]

We have hard water in London Uk which is a pain esp when it comes to using shampoo bars..

 

[BattleGnome]

Loads of people here make their own soap, check the search for past threads and recipes.

I just wanted to note most of the sites I saw swearing off home made laundry soaps turned around to sell young living laundry soaps or other mlm based products. The ingredlists are all the nasty things supposedly left behind in those super soaps, like potassium olivate. I’d take it with a grain of salt, especially when some of our more experienced members start chiming in. Superfat and washing soaps ratios seem important (I still use commercial detergent and can’t say much else)

 

[shunt2011]

I make a laundry stain stick with 100% CO and a -1 SF. Seems to work on most things. I'm considering trying to make just a paste with KOH instead of NAOH hard bar. I also make laundry soap with the same CO (shredded then powdered) and mix it with washing soda and add some oxyclean to the load. I only use that for everyday laundry nothing heave duty. I sent it with some 1ox orange EO just to smell good when made. It doesn't carry over into anything though.

 

[msunnerstood]

I make my own laundry soap with 75% coconut oil and 25% lard but its liquid. We have hard water so I put in one tablespoon of borax when I put the laundry detergent in and that keeps the soap scum out of the washing machine. I have been using it exclusively for the last 6 months and I will never go back to commercial laundry soap.
I use so much less of the homemade laundry soap then I had to use of the commercial type so it is saving me a ton of money as well

 

[Obsidian]

I make 100% coconut oil paste with KOH. I dilute as needed and use it in a spray or squirt bottle as its a very thin liquid soap. I tried regular coconut bars but they were so hard, it was difficult to get enough soap on the stain. Maybe a mix of KOH and NaOH would make a soft bar that ws easier to use.
I wouldn't bother trying to duplicate fels-naptha, its nothing special.

 

[Sonya is soaping]

Interesting! I was interested in fels-Naptha because of all the orange and citrus in it. I know people who own a dry cleaner and they say they use an orange shower cleaner on stains and works wonders, but it has to be orange. I've never actually used fels-Naptha. I don't think they have it over here In Australia.

I make my own laundry soap with 75% coconut oil and 25% lard but its liquid. We have hard water so I put in one tablespoon of borax when I put the laundry detergent in and that keeps the soap scum out of the washing machine. I have been using it exclusively for the last 6 months and I will never go back to commercial laundry soap.
I use so much less of the homemade laundry soap then I had to use of the commercial type so it is saving me a ton of money as well

Just wondering if you added anything else apart from your homemade soap and the borax? How much of your liquid do you think you use per wash?

 

[lenarenee]

You do not need glycerin for laundry soap.

I loved making laundry soap, using 100 percent coconut oil, grated, with washing soda and borax added to it....pretty much the standard recipe on the Internet. Realized the ratio of additives to actual soap was way off....too little soap to clean anything. Upped the soap, but found it didn't dissolve well even after soaking in hot water.

After a few months of tweaking and experimenting, I had to admit the clothes did not get as clean as using plain commercial detergent. Even with vinegar rinses. My plumber also showed me the scum that lined the back of the washing drum......common with soap and detergent, but worse with true soap. (We have soft water and frontloader)

 

[OldHippie]

Don't lose sight of the fact that when you make soap, you are making glycerol (glycerin, glycerine) as well.
oil + NaOH = Gly(OH)3 + 3 soap
For every three molecules of soap that you make, you are making one molecule of glycerin (propane-1,2,3-triol). You only have to add glycerin if you need more for some reason.

 

[msunnerstood]

Just wondering if you added anything else apart from your homemade soap and the borax? How much of your liquid do you think you use per wash?

I use about a quarter of a standard cupful. Id say maybe an ounce. for a standard load. I did add one ounce per gallon of gain scent.

 

[SaltedFig]

A stain stick was one of the first soaps I ever made (a while ago ... back when white spirits or dry cleaning spirits (naptha) could still be purchased in small hardware shops and Fels Naptha soap still contained the spirits, which have been replaced by the limonene now, due to health concerns over the "Naptha" ).

Further trivia - you can still buy the spirits in really tiny quantities from guitar shops and your dry cleaning friends would probably be familiar with it (it's illegal to transport it in even in relatively small quantities unless you have a license and meet some transport requirements), and I absolutely do NOT recommend you ever try it.

Interesting! I was interested in fels-Naptha because of all the orange and citrus in it. I know people who own a dry cleaner and they say they use an orange shower cleaner on stains and works wonders, but it has to be orange. I've never actually used fels-Naptha. I don't think they have it over here In Australia.

The pure orange oil is a by-product of the juicing industry, and it makes an amazing (but somewhat strong) cleaner. If you are going to use it, watch out because the oil itself can be a bit staining.

I still use simple stain sticks as a pre-wash treatment when needed, but with a softer soap recipe (it's easier to drag over the stain). I wouldn't bother adding anything like glycerin or castor, simple is good. A slight negative superfat and a basic (white) soap recipe works quite well.

 

[Obsidian]

Interesting! I was interested in fels-Naptha because of all the orange and citrus in it. I know people who own a dry cleaner and they say they use an orange shower cleaner on stains and works wonders, but it has to be orange. I've never actually used fels-Naptha. I don't think they have it over here In Australia.

The citrus oil is a tiny, tiny amount, not enough for cleaning. Its just for scent and even then, its barely there. Its not a bad cleaner but not that great on laundry.

 

[Sonya is soaping]

A stain stick was one of the first soaps I ever made (a while ago ... back when white spirits or dry cleaning spirits (naptha) could still be purchased in small hardware shops and Fels Naptha soap still contained the spirits, which have been replaced by the limonene now, due to health concerns over the "Naptha" ).

Further trivia - you can still buy the spirits in really tiny quantities from guitar shops and your dry cleaning friends would probably be familiar with it (it's illegal to transport it in even in relatively small quantities unless you have a license and meet some transport requirements), and I absolutely do NOT recommend you ever try it.



The pure orange oil is a by-product of the juicing industry, and it makes an amazing (but somewhat strong) cleaner. If you are going to use it, watch out because the oil itself can be a bit staining.

I still use simple stain sticks as a pre-wash treatment when needed, but with a softer soap recipe (it's easier to drag over the stain). I wouldn't bother adding anything like glycerin or castor, simple is good. A slight negative superfat and a basic (white) soap recipe works quite well.

I think I might go your way with the simple softer soap reciepe just add in a few bits of citrus peel and my essential oil and that's it then!
thanks everyone!
Just want to ask how soft on the scale should I go. I'm use to trying to make harder bars for myself for the shower.

 

[artemis]

... just add in a few bits of citrus peel and my essential oil and that's it then!

I don't understand the purpose of the citrus peel? You would end up rubbing citrus peel right on the stain. Does that help stains? Or are you infusing ine of the soaping oils with the peel?

 

[earlene]

I've used FelsNaptha most of my long life. It was considered a laundry staple for a very long time and still is by some.

IMO, however, it does fade colors when a lot of it is used. At least that has been my experience. Still I do really like the smell of FelsNaptha as well as its cleaning power. I just found that it's not the best choice for bright colors that I want to stay bright.

 

[Sonya is soaping]

I don't understand the purpose of the citrus peel? You would end up rubbing citrus peel right on the stain. Does that help stains? Or are you infusing ine of the soaping oils with the peel?

I'm thinking of infusing the oil with it beforehand.,just because I feel like it.

 

[JustGoJohnny1]

And what is the problem with using stain removers? I've never understood why some people don't do that

 

[earlene]

And what is the problem with using stain removers? I've never understood why some people don't do that

I think some folks do not like the awful smell (or other attributes) of some stain removers. I know I have used some in the past that were so horrible smelling and that even after washing the stain away the odor remained in the fabric for multiple washings, so much so that I could not tolerate keeping the item and tossed it out. It was that bad.

What I find is that a plain bar of white soap (or uncolored soap) gets most things out of most fabrics I wear. I rarely wear linen, silk or cashmere anymore, an almost never wear polyester, so cannot confirm that it would work with every fabric of course. It does not even have to be a 'special' formula. It seems to work with any lye soap I have used.