Laundry Soap Recipe!

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Tanks for the links. Whats the best filler for laundry soap? Kaolin or Talc and at what percentage it should be added?
 
Some use Borateem (washing soda) mixed with the powdered laundry soap. Because of temperamental plumbing in my house I do not use Soap for laundry or dishes. I stick to detergent based and I find my clothes get cleaner with good old Tide
 
I think so fillers are common in major brands also, just to reduce the cost.
 
I think so fillers are common in major brands also, just to reduce the cost.

Actually, I think it’s more of a function to look like you are getting a lot of product. I talked to our septic guy about using, or not using, powdered detergent and he said the fillers added, and especially bentonite clay, is what causes the problems. It doesn’t dissolve and hardens in the septic system. I use both my own laundry detergent with soap, borax, washing powder and oxyclean, and a commercial liquid detergent. I just use a lot less of my handmade powdered detergent than I would using a commercial one.
 
I suppose if one has to make an inexpensive product to compete in the marketplace, then fillers are inevitable to cut the cost. But they are not necessary for the function of the soap, and I think fillers have little or no place in well-made handcrafted soap. My opinion here -- YMMV.

Anything intentionally added to soap that reduces cost but doesn't add much or anything to the function of the soap. It can be too much of a normal ingredient. For example, an excessive amount of water can be thought of as a filler. An overabundance of washing soda or borax can be filler. Other things that are obvious fillers include starches, wood fiber, clays and other mined minerals like talc, sodium silicate (water glass), etc. Some of these are/were used because they allowed extra water to be added to the soap without greatly affecting the appearance. In the day when rosin (colophony) was cheap, a modest amount was often used to add detergency to a household or laundry soap, but when used in larger amounts it was essentially a filler.
 
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Tide's formula is different from region to region due to the differing water conditions. Point being - knowing how hard or soft your water is is important to determining what additives to use. We have soft water so don't need additives for that - it would just be a waste.
 
Wellness Mama's tutorial may be popular, but she could do better.

Use washing soda OR borax but not both, because these chemicals basically do the same job of softening water and buffering the pH. If you use both, you're wasting money and you are diluting the soap content so low that the soap can't efficiently emulsify greasy dirt.

Use washing soda in dry mixes because it's the more effective choice of the two as long as it stays dry in storage.

Use borax in liquid mixes because it stays effective when mixed with water. Washing soda degrades in water over time.

Never use percarbonate (oxygen bleach) in liquid mixes, only in dry mixes, because it quickly degrades when mixed with water. If you use a wet mix, add the oxygen bleach separately to each wash load.
 
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The "Be" is shorthand for Baume. Say "bah-may". Baume is a measure of the density of a liquid. The density can be correlated to the concentration of a dissolved chemical.

I'm curious why you are asking this question -- we haven't been talking about this here. ???
 
DeeAnna i found this word "Baume" on a site probably Russian who's link given above. It was mention in some soap recipes. That's why i asked for my understanding. :)
 

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