Fels Naphtha soap

[jarvan]

Hi. I am wondering if there is a way to simulate a soap of days gone by...Fels Naphtha. I love that stuff and removes every stain I attempt to get rid of, even if it has been dried into the clothes. I can't find the stuff anymore, except to order it online. Is anyone experienced with this?

 

[Tabitha]

Can you post the ingredients list?

 

[Pug Mom]

I can get it for 99 cents a bar if you want me to send you some...

 

[Jola]

I'm in California and can find it at Target, Safeway, just about everywhere. It's been my Mom's favorite laundry secret for forever.


Where do you get it for 99 cents?

 

[Pug Mom]

I get it at al ocal super market chain in my area.

 

[ChrissyB]

I think MikeinPDX had a recipe that was very similar to fels naptha. Hopefully he will come by and offer his help, but I think it was a laundry soap that he made and I think he put kerosene in it?

 

[jarvan]

I should be able to get a couple bars

But, I can't find the ingredients, very obscure. The package doesn't say and it sounds very petro-related as to what is in it. Benzene? Well, all I know is that it gets stains out lickity split! I can get my dad to bring some up from Tennessee when he comes up in May. I just wanted to send some to my cousin. The bar I have will last me for years at the rate I am using it.

Thanks for the replies. This doesn't appear to be anything duplicate-able without a hazmat team on hand.

 

[Jola]

I bought a bar today as an ingredient to make "homemade" laundry detergent.


The ingredient list made me laugh!

INGREDIENTS: Cleaners, soil & stain removers, chelating agents, colorants, perfume. CONTAINS NO NAPHTHALENE

 

[bakmthiscl]

Fels Naptha

I don't have an ingredients list for Fels Naphtha.

One way to find such a list is from an MSDS. Just Google "Fels Naphtha" and "MSDS" and see what you get. (I do this a lot, but haven't for this.)
Do NOT use benzene in soap. Benzene is a potent carcinogen (causes cancer).

"Naphtha" is an old term for mineral spirits of one sort or another. Paint thinner, "white spirits", or Stoddard solvent, for example. Such things can have some sking toxicity, but in a soap they're probably not a a problem as the whole point is that it is to be washed away.

Do keep in mind that in use this naphtha will go down the drain, so you want something that won't damage the environment, your septic system, etc. Again, probably not a big deal, just something to keep in mind.

I do not have a procedure, but from some analogous experiments I've done, I suspect you could mix grated soap with water to form thick, heavy suds, then add the naphtha directly to that, probably anywhere from 50:50 to 90:10 naphtha to soap.

 

[LJA]

I know this is a response to an older post, but if you're still looking, I found the soap at Meijer (if you live where they have those chains) and the washing soda and borax all there today.

 

[jarvan]

Thanks for the info on Meijers. My cousin lives in Clare and I will tell her to try the one in Midland (I think that was where we were!). I have had a bar for 2 years and don't always use it, but when I do, it never lets me down.

Thanks again!

 

[LJA]

My mom lives in Harrison. Small world.

 

[jarvan]

I think my cousin's babysitter lives in Harrison. Either that or her boyfriend's family lives there. She goes there and to Gladwin frequently. You're right...small world.

 

[MikeInPdx]

Jarvan.....sorry I didn't see this the first time around.

If you want to make something similar to fels naptha, you need tallow, coconut, and petroleum distillates.

Make a standard 70% tallow, 30% coconut oil soap (zero superfat), and then add about 1.6 oz ppo of Turpenoid (turpentine substitute) at trace, and mix well. You can also use kerosene, but it stinks.

This stuff blows Fels Naptha out of the water.