dudeitsashley
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I'm just curious does anyone use their CP to clean in their homes? Or is it strictly used for bath and body purposes.
CP in the home
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I make a 100% coconut oil liquid soap paste @13% superfat. It is a fantastic cleaner and, nope, it does not zap
dudeitsashley
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Does that produce a clear soap or cloudy? I know that in liquid soap people usually avoid a high superfat for clarity.
Seven that is a great idea!
I use my soap for anything. I don't even bother to make it a paste or powder for most things, just swipe a damp cleaning cloth over a bar and go. Mostly I make CO soap with 5% superfat, but have also done some with a bit of castor oil that works very well. Great for kitchen cleaning as it seems to lift the type of oily things that kitchens are full of, but also works great for washing walls etc. It's just soap....good for anything that needs soap and water.
Dahila
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CanaDawn I use it CO soap for laundry but maybe it is worth to try , what you do.
Cmzaha how do make that paste?
Cmzaha how do make that paste?
HoneyLady
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Good question!
It's a new idea to have and use multiple soaps for multiple purposes. As recently as WW II, it was common to use one or maybe two soaps for everything.
I'm going to offer a second-hand observation here. My DH is older than I. By quite a bit. In fact, my step-son is 18 months older than I. It all works out for the best, but it does give me insight to things I would otherwise not know anything about.
DH was born in 1938, just before WWII. His Dad ran the machine shop at the Corpus Christi NAS.
DH remembers that his Mom, the eldest daughter of a large farm family, preferred "store-bought" soaps, although she could and did make soap at home from time to time. There were always 2 different soaps at home, DH says. A *bar* (now impossible to find, though the brand still exists) of green Palmolive, and a bar of a pumice soap like Lava, for his Dad.
The Palmolive bar was a bath bar, shampoo, dish soap, cleaning soap, etc. The Lava was for scouring. Sometimes Mom used Bon Ami, as well. He does not remember what was used for laundry -- Palmolive, Fels-Naptha, or something else, although he's pretty sure she didn't "waste" money on a "fancy" wash powder. In Corpus, on the Bay, with *high* amounts of hard minerals in the water, I'm sure she used something . . . effective.
As long as your soap doesn't tan your hide the same way it strips grease and grime off floors and laundry, there's no reason you *cannot* use them for multiple purposes. In fact, it could be seen as a footprint-reducing, green, simplifying, retro thing to do.
~HoneyLady~
It's a new idea to have and use multiple soaps for multiple purposes. As recently as WW II, it was common to use one or maybe two soaps for everything.
I'm going to offer a second-hand observation here. My DH is older than I. By quite a bit. In fact, my step-son is 18 months older than I. It all works out for the best, but it does give me insight to things I would otherwise not know anything about.
DH was born in 1938, just before WWII. His Dad ran the machine shop at the Corpus Christi NAS.
DH remembers that his Mom, the eldest daughter of a large farm family, preferred "store-bought" soaps, although she could and did make soap at home from time to time. There were always 2 different soaps at home, DH says. A *bar* (now impossible to find, though the brand still exists) of green Palmolive, and a bar of a pumice soap like Lava, for his Dad.
The Palmolive bar was a bath bar, shampoo, dish soap, cleaning soap, etc. The Lava was for scouring. Sometimes Mom used Bon Ami, as well. He does not remember what was used for laundry -- Palmolive, Fels-Naptha, or something else, although he's pretty sure she didn't "waste" money on a "fancy" wash powder.
In Corpus, on the Bay, with *high* amounts of hard minerals in the water, I'm sure she used something . . . effective.As long as your soap doesn't tan your hide the same way it strips grease and grime off floors and laundry, there's no reason you *cannot* use them for multiple purposes. In fact, it could be seen as a footprint-reducing, green, simplifying, retro thing to do.
~HoneyLady~
Liquid soap recipe and I use the paste before dilution. I always keep a 2 gallon bucket full of paste so I can either just use the paste or dilute it into liquid soap. Even with a minus 13 using soapcalc this soap paste has never been zappy. All my liquid soaps are made at -13 with no problems and I do not have to worry to much about cloudy LS
The soap paste does a wonderful job of cleaning my miserable white glass stove-top. I just pinch of a piece of paste, squish it up and spread it on the stove top with a scrubby
LunaSkye
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I am loving this gold mine of a thread! I always had it in my mind that I couldn't use soap for any other reason than bathing because I usually SF at 5%. All this time I was just wasting the bits of soap that I could not make a ball out of and now I know I can clean with it... dollars will be saved! :smile:
There's lots you can do with little bits of soap, either at pour, or after the bar is nearly used up.
Soap bags made of bits of terry cloth (thus using up other scraps or worn items!) can be filled with shreds of leftover bars. You can use the bag as a soapy washcloth for dishes or body (or whatever is dirty...it's soap!) or pitch it into hot water like a teabag to make hot soapy water for cleaning.
Bits of soap at pour can be used to saturate small "petals" either actual artifical fabric flower petals, or bits of thin cloth, to make soap cloths. I read about making a thin layer of soap by pouring on a smooth surface, pouring off or spreading the soap by tipping the surface, then when set cutting into soap leaves as single use soaps.
You could collect them and then blast them in the processor to make soap powder for laundry, or for quick dissolve soap for cleaning, or for quicker rebatching.
(I don't know that the 5% superfat would matter too much, would it? I know people make 0% SF for laundry soap, but I haven't had problem with 5% SF...YMMV)
Ok need clarification, you said in the first post a superfat of 13, I think, but now a fat discount of 13% if I understand this properly. I'm guessing you mean a 13% increase in lye to make a stronger soap, since you mention zappiness, which wouldn't be an issue with 13% SF? Am I getting it right, and the superfat just a typo?
Dahila
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It seems that I need to learn how to make liquid soap :sad:
dudeitsashley
Well-Known Member
Thanks for all the great input everyone! I think I'll end up using my 100% coconut oil soap for cleaning as I had made it for laundry. Oh and all of my scraps which there are a lot of.
Hmmm, I suppose one or two types of soap was the norm for single family homes, like my grandmother's household. She used Palmolive in the bathroom and her homemade lard soap in the laundry.
The industrial soap making books from the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s, however, contain a wide range of recipes for general household cleaning soaps, abrasive scouring soaps, laundry soaps, and toilet (bath) soaps. M'lady would have used expensive toilet soap compounded by perfumers, but her household staff would probably have been more familiar with the other, more common soaps.
There were also specific recipes to make special soaps for the weaving mills to prepare different types of wool, linen, and cotton cloth for sale. And there were specialized medical soaps used for treating skin disorders -- soaps laced with additives such as mercury compounds, sulfur, phenol (carbolic acid), antimony, tar, and turpentine.
The industrial soap making books from the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s, however, contain a wide range of recipes for general household cleaning soaps, abrasive scouring soaps, laundry soaps, and toilet (bath) soaps. M'lady would have used expensive toilet soap compounded by perfumers, but her household staff would probably have been more familiar with the other, more common soaps.
There were also specific recipes to make special soaps for the weaving mills to prepare different types of wool, linen, and cotton cloth for sale. And there were specialized medical soaps used for treating skin disorders -- soaps laced with additives such as mercury compounds, sulfur, phenol (carbolic acid), antimony, tar, and turpentine.
Not if you don't want to. I mentioned I just use a bar of soap and a wet cloth, just like if I were washing my face with a washcloth and soap. Then a wet non-soapy cloth to rinse (or whatever method works), perhaps with some vinegar in the rinse to neutralise the pH of the soap. Done.
I sometimes grate a relatively new bar to have some soap flakes to use in laundry or to dissolve quickly for floor washing, etc.
Hmmm, I suppose one or two types of soap was the norm for single family homes, like my grandmother's household. She used Palmolive in the bathroom and her homemade lard soap in the laundry.
The industrial soap making books from the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s, however, contain a wide range of recipes for general household cleaning soaps, abrasive scouring soaps, laundry soaps, and toilet (bath) soaps. M'lady would have used expensive toilet soap compounded by perfumers, but her household staff would probably have been more familiar with the other, more common soaps.
There were also specific recipes to make special soaps for the weaving mills to prepare different types of wool, linen, and cotton cloth for sale. And there were specialized medical soaps used for treating skin disorders -- soaps laced with additives such as mercury compounds, sulfur, phenol (carbolic acid), antimony, tar, and turpentine.
It's like anything though. There's what you really NEED, and then there's all the nuances and shades and little luxuries and options and alternatives....but what you really NEED is still just one or two kinds of soap to clean pretty much everything to an acceptable standard!
The rest is on top of that, and is a lot of fun and of course can be adapted for particular outcomes or applications if one desired
HoneyLady
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Circumstances and Place in history have a great deal to do with that, too. Remember, my DH and his parents are/were products of, or members of the generation that had endured the Great Depression. The WWII years were tough, as fats of all kinds were rationed, and cooking "drippings" saved and cleaned for recycling into glycerin -- a vital part of explosives and the War Effort. This is, in fact, *why* and *when* so many syn dets were made available to the public.
I'd be *really* interested to hear from forum members who lived in Europe during the War, and after, before 1965, to find out what soaps, detergents and cleansers they remember having around, and access to. :?:
The Carbolic Acid soap was kind of a big deal. Diluted Carbolic acid was used as a disinfectant in hospitals by docs and nurses. Kind of the same way you might rinse your hands or, say, tweezers, with rubbing alcohol before using.
Lifebuoy soap was famous for it's red color, distinctive scent, and carbolic acid content. That company actually coined the phrase "B. O." or body odor, to advertise its soap. (Disinfect yourself, and you won't have body odor, I guess, is the thought.) A modern version of Lifebuoy is out there, but is not at all like the original, I'm told. I've looked into trying to create something similar, but to no avail. I've had a half dozen requests in a year for it -- that's a lot in my area. (Dee Anna -- ? :wave
Soaps made with metals were indeed common in textile manufacture and machining. When DH's dad passed away, he still had some metal soap in the shop. But they were not for the home maker.
I would *guess* that * " industrial soap making books from the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s " * were not widely used by home makers either. The more the manufacturers could "specialize" the soaps, the more cash they could remove from the consumer!
However, many (many, many!) old "receipt" books and index card collections contain recipes for various soaps, cosmetics, remedies, medicines, dyes, etc. that were made and used at home.
There's a history dissertation to be written here. Only a few soapy nerds like Dee Anna and I are interested in reading it, tho.
~HoneyLady~
I'd be *really* interested to hear from forum members who lived in Europe during the War, and after, before 1965, to find out what soaps, detergents and cleansers they remember having around, and access to. :?:
The Carbolic Acid soap was kind of a big deal. Diluted Carbolic acid was used as a disinfectant in hospitals by docs and nurses. Kind of the same way you might rinse your hands or, say, tweezers, with rubbing alcohol before using.
Lifebuoy soap was famous for it's red color, distinctive scent, and carbolic acid content. That company actually coined the phrase "B. O." or body odor, to advertise its soap. (Disinfect yourself, and you won't have body odor, I guess, is the thought.) A modern version of Lifebuoy is out there, but is not at all like the original, I'm told. I've looked into trying to create something similar, but to no avail. I've had a half dozen requests in a year for it -- that's a lot in my area. (Dee Anna -- ? :wave
Soaps made with metals were indeed common in textile manufacture and machining. When DH's dad passed away, he still had some metal soap in the shop. But they were not for the home maker.
I would *guess* that * " industrial soap making books from the mid-late 1800s and early 1900s " * were not widely used by home makers either. The more the manufacturers could "specialize" the soaps, the more cash they could remove from the consumer!
However, many (many, many!) old "receipt" books and index card collections contain recipes for various soaps, cosmetics, remedies, medicines, dyes, etc. that were made and used at home.
There's a history dissertation to be written here. Only a few soapy nerds like Dee Anna and I are interested in reading it, tho.
~HoneyLady~
Sorry I meant -13% superfat
"... I've looked into trying to create something similar [to the old Lifebuoy], but to no avail...."
Ummmm. Look into the toxicity and the skin irritation potential of phenol (carbolic acid). Pretty rough stuff.
Yes, carbolic acid was used as a general disinfectant in hospitals and homes in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but my understanding is it quickly went out of favor in hospitals when less irritating and less toxic disinfectants became available. I suspect carbolic acid was a cure that could easily be worse than the disease if not used carefully. I can't put my memory's finger on the reference that explained this, but I do remember an "aha" moment about it.
Some over the counter products as late as the 80s and 90s included phenol. I'm pretty sure it was in a product (Chigger Rid?) for treating chigger bites -- I think it was a mix of alcohol, collodion, and phenol. The alcohol stung and made you think something was happening, the collodion sealed off the bite like a coating of varnish, and the phenol supposedly killed the mite just under the skin. Not sure when phenol disappeared from OTC remedies and B&B products -- probably about the time it disappeared from Lifebuoy. I'd guess well over 20 years ago.
"...There's a history dissertation to be written here. Only a few soapy nerds like Dee Anna and I are interested in reading it, tho...."
:shifty: Dang, you've found me out! Yes ... I confess ... it's true ... I'm a nerd! Where's my pocket protector -- I need my pocket protector....
Ummmm. Look into the toxicity and the skin irritation potential of phenol (carbolic acid). Pretty rough stuff.
Yes, carbolic acid was used as a general disinfectant in hospitals and homes in the late 1800s and early 1900s, but my understanding is it quickly went out of favor in hospitals when less irritating and less toxic disinfectants became available. I suspect carbolic acid was a cure that could easily be worse than the disease if not used carefully. I can't put my memory's finger on the reference that explained this, but I do remember an "aha" moment about it.
Some over the counter products as late as the 80s and 90s included phenol. I'm pretty sure it was in a product (Chigger Rid?) for treating chigger bites -- I think it was a mix of alcohol, collodion, and phenol. The alcohol stung and made you think something was happening, the collodion sealed off the bite like a coating of varnish, and the phenol supposedly killed the mite just under the skin. Not sure when phenol disappeared from OTC remedies and B&B products -- probably about the time it disappeared from Lifebuoy. I'd guess well over 20 years ago.
"...There's a history dissertation to be written here. Only a few soapy nerds like Dee Anna and I are interested in reading it, tho...."
:shifty: Dang, you've found me out! Yes ... I confess ... it's true ... I'm a nerd! Where's my pocket protector -- I need my pocket protector....
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