My hard water!

[redhead1226]

I have read some posts here and I know it has been exhausted as a topic but I have a few questions. Ive had ppl tell me "what a lather"! And I thought to myself - that one didnt have that kind of lather - So I think its the water from my house compared to theirs.

1) My water is hard. How does this effect my soap's lather when used by someone that has softer water?
2) If I add a chelating agent to my soap then does it matter who uses it - Hard water or soft water at their house?
3) Can I add Sodium citrate as an added ingredient in all my soaprecipes? Or should I? And if so how much?
1 to 3% ppo?

Any assistance on this subject would be appreciated.

 

[DeeAnna]

...1) My water is hard. How does this effect my soap's lather when used by someone that has softer water?...

You can find out for yourself -- If you'd like to check the difference, get a jug of distilled water from the grocery store. Pour out a cup or two and use the distilled water and your soap to wash your hands. Keep track of how the soap lathers. Dry your hands on a towel and then let them air dry. Feel how your skin feels. Then turn on your faucet, rinse your hands well, and lather up again with your tap water. Check the lather and skin feel from using your soap with tap water. Is there a noticeable difference? If there is, you'd probably benefit from using a chelator in your soap.

2) If I add a chelating agent to my soap then does it matter who uses it - Hard water or soft water at their house?

IMO, there's no downside to using a chelator in soap. There are hard water minerals even in softened water, so a chelator will still have a job to do.

Just remember that a chelator can only do so much -- it works pretty good in a bathing soap, but it won't work nearly as well in a dish washing soap or laundry soap. The reason why is the amount of water present. When bathing, your soap and the chelator only have to deal with the hard water minerals in the water on your washcloth and on your skin. In the washing machine or sink full of dishwater, the soap and chelator have to deal with the minerals in the whole amount of water.

3) Can I add Sodium citrate as an added ingredient in all my soaprecipes? Or should I? And if so how much?

Here are my suggestions for citrate: https://classicbells.com/soap/citrate.html
Many people use citric acid rather than citrate. Here are my suggestions for citric acid: https://classicbells.com/soap/citricAcid.html

Other people may have other suggestions about the amount of citrate that works best, so see what they say before you try this for yourself.

 

[redhead1226]

You can find out for yourself -- If you'd like to check the difference, get a jug of distilled water from the grocery store. Pour out a cup or two and use the distilled water and your soap to wash your hands. Keep track of how the soap lathers. Dry your hands on a towel and then let them air dry. Feel how your skin feels. Then turn on your faucet, rinse your hands well, and lather up again with your tap water. Check the lather and skin feel from using your soap with tap water. Is there a noticeable difference? If there is, you'd probably benefit from using a chelator in your soap.

2) If I add a chelating agent to my soap then does it matter who uses it - Hard water or soft water at their house?

IMO, there's no downside to using a chelator in soap. There are hard water minerals even in softened water, so a chelator will still have a job to do.

Just remember that a chelator can only do so much -- it works pretty good in a bathing soap, but it won't work nearly as well in a dish washing soap or laundry soap. The reason why is the amount of water present. When bathing, your soap and the chelator only have to deal with the hard water minerals in the water on your washcloth and on your skin. In the washing machine or sink full of dishwater, the soap and chelator have to deal with the minerals in the whole amount of water.

3) Can I add Sodium citrate as an added ingredient in all my soaprecipes? Or should I? And if so how much?

Here are my suggestions for citrate: https://classicbells.com/soap/citrate.html
Many people use citric acid rather than citrate. Here are my suggestions for citric acid: https://classicbells.com/soap/citricAcid.html

Other people may have other suggestions about the amount of citrate that works best, so see what they say before you try this for yourself.

Thank you DeeAnna - I have noticed the hard water in my house and I use things in the laundry to soften it a little to get my whites cleaner, but frankly it never dawned on me about my soap. Recipes that I formulated that I thought should lather better didn't. At least not to my satisfaction. Then when I finally realized it does effect my soap now I know I should try something and see if there is a difference - hence the Sodium Citrate. Ill use at 2% and see what I think and go from there since based on your article its midline. I guess experimentation is what I need to do. Ill buy a little to try it and if it seems better then Ill make my own from GalaxyMLP's recipe. Thank you again for your input as always.

 

[DeeAnna]

Forgot to add that adding a chelator will also protect your soap from getting DOS (rancidity) and that's another good reason enough to use a chelator.

And just so's you know, sodium citrate also makes a yummy smooth cheese sauce. The good Brewer George shared this tip with us awhile back. Here are a couple recipes -- https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/06/nacho-cheese-sodium-citrate_n_6108794.html
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2016/11/sodium-citrate-baked-mac-and-cheese.html

 

[redhead1226]

I would use distilled water to be safe. Hard water contents metals is micro portions. They should not, but they do. .

Better be safe that sorry. You can buy a gallon of distilled water at Walmart for 85 cents.

I use reverse osmosis water ( the purest water ) that I make here at home as I also use it for my salt water fish tank. The issue is not the water Im making the soap with as I use RO but the water people are washing in be it hard water.