Soap buildup on wash cloths

[Celestial1124]

Hi all, I'm pretty new to soap making, I've made two batches so far with pretty similar ingredients. Cold process, goat milk, coconut oil, olive oil/sunflower oil, castor oil, lye. I've noticed the soap is building up on our wash cloths and not coming out in the wash, making the wash cloth heavy and have a smell. Is sodium citrate the chelator that will remedy this issue? I'd like to continue my soap making adventure but don't want to keep ruining wash cloths. Thanks!

 

[Fortheloveofsoap!]

I'm no expert, but have you tried washing them in hot water with vinegar in the rinse water?

 

[lsg]

At what temperature are you washing the items? For towels etc., I use hot water and a good detergent.

 

[TheGecko]

Hi all, I'm pretty new to soap making, I've made two batches so far with pretty similar ingredients. Cold process, goat milk, coconut oil, olive oil/sunflower oil, castor oil, lye. I've noticed the soap is building up on our wash cloths and not coming out in the wash, making the wash cloth heavy and have a smell. Is sodium citrate the chelator that will remedy this issue? I'd like to continue my soap making adventure but don't want to keep ruining wash cloths. Thanks!

What is your Super Fat?

 

[amd]

Have you tried adding borax in addition to using laundry detergent? I use cut up old sheets for cleaning up after making soap, and I had this same problem getting them clean until I started adding 1 TBSP borax in with laundry detergent. [side note: when I wash my cloths I usually have 3/4 full load, so I do add about half the normal usage of laundry detergent to help pull oils and gunk out of the cloths. They weren't coming clean at all relying on the soap on the cloths alone.] I have extremely hard water at my house, so the borax helps soften the water during washing so that the detergent can be more effective.

 

[Celestial1124]

I'm no expert, but have you tried washing them in hot water with vinegar in the rinse water?

I've done that before, but was hoping I could tweak something in the recipe to make it rinse off easier.

At what temperature are you washing the items? For towels etc., I use hot water and a good detergent.

Usually on warm I believe. I use the All free and clear.

What is your Super Fat?

The recipe says 5%..

Have you tried adding borax in addition to using laundry detergent? I use cut up old sheets for cleaning up after making soap, and I had this same problem getting them clean until I started adding 1 TBSP borax in with laundry detergent. [side note: when I wash my cloths I usually have 3/4 full load, so I do add about half the normal usage of laundry detergent to help pull oils and gunk out of the cloths. They weren't coming clean at all relying on the soap on the cloths alone.] I have extremely hard water at my house, so the borax helps soften the water during washing so that the detergent can be more effective.

I have borax! I can give that a try, thank you

 

[lenarenee]

Washing soda also softens water, just fyi.

I would also try adding citric acid or sodium citrate to your soap recipe. And make sure your towels aren't crowded in the washer.

Also, maybe wash the washcloths without using detergent since there's so much soap build up on them. Just add the borax, run a couple of cycles, and a vinegar rinse.

 

[lsg]

Usually on warm I believe. I use the All free and clear.

That is the detergent that I use, but I wash my towels and wash clothes in hot water. If you have hard water, the residue may not be rinsing out clean.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

I've noticed the soap is building up on our wash cloths and not coming out in the wash, making the wash cloth heavy and have a smell.

The smell is a clear indication that you are not getting all the soap residue out. When washing towels/ washcloths use less detergent than you normally would. Rinse in cold water with 1/4-1/2 cup vinegar to help reduce soap scum. Continue to rinse as many times as necessary to get all the soap residue out.

You may also want to consider using a bath pouf -- it takes less soap to get a good lather that easily rinses clean in the shower or tub. Hang to drip dry.

ETA: One other tip... run the washcloths through a quick cold water rinse before washing.

 

[Arimara]

All free and clear's a good detergent so I'd follow the advice stated above. Maybe soak the washrags in some oil soap if you find a bottle (do they still make that?) Additionally, you can also look into using sodium gluconate, which is also a chelator. It might add to the bubbles though.

 

[earlene]

With towels and wash cloths, soap build-up can be an issue over time, and so can detergent build-up over time, especially without sufficiently rinsing to get all the soap/detergent out of the fabric. This makes for stiff and UNsoft towels/wash cloths. I learned long ago from a professional laundry manager that in order to get the build-up out of towels, using less detergent and adding extra rinses was necessary to remove that build-up. Towels (and wash cloths) get stiff with the build-up. Also the minerals in untreated hard water will also add to this problem.

Besides having a water softener in our home, which removes most minerals prior to traveling through our plumbing system, with towels I always use a pre-rinse, plus two rinses after the wash cycle to get them clean and soft. I never have to use a fabric softener to make my towels soft. The limited use of detergents & extra rinsing does the trick.

I also agree that using a chelator in your soap will help a lot. Even though we have a water softener, I do add a chelator to my soap formulas to prevent soap scum accumulation. Not all soap I make is used by people who have water softeners anyway.

 

[Celestial1124]

With towels and wash cloths, soap build-up can be an issue over time, and so can detergent build-up over time, especially without sufficiently rinsing to get all the soap/detergent out of the fabric. This makes for stiff and UNsoft towels/wash cloths. I learned long ago from a professional laundry manager that in order to get the build-up out of towels, using less detergent and adding extra rinses was necessary to remove that build-up. Towels (and wash cloths) get stiff with the build-up. Also the minerals in untreated hard water will also add to this problem.

Besides having a water softener in our home, which removes most minerals prior to traveling through our plumbing system, with towels I always use a pre-rinse, plus two rinses after the wash cycle to get them clean and soft. I never have to use a fabric softener to make my towels soft. The limited use of detergents & extra rinsing does the trick.

I also agree that using a chelator in your soap will help a lot. Even though we have a water softener, I do add a chelator to my soap formulas to prevent soap scum accumulation. Not all soap I make is used by people who have water softeners anyway.

Thank you! How much less laundry soap do you use? Would you say about half of the amount that you would use on a load of say, clothing? Do you wash the towels on hot as someone recommended above? I have started with the extra rinses (really I just run it through another cycle with no soap so it has more time), I don't know if it'll help these old stiff towels but hopefully it'll prevent any new ones from becoming the same. Which chelator would you recommend?

 

[Bubble Agent]

Thank you! How much less laundry soap do you use? Would you say about half of the amount that you would use on a load of say, clothing? Do you wash the towels on hot as someone recommended above? I have started with the extra rinses (really I just run it through another cycle with no soap so it has more time), I don't know if it'll help these old stiff towels but hopefully it'll prevent any new ones from becoming the same. Which chelator would you recommend?

Not earlene, and I am a bit late to the party, and others have given you great advice. But just wanted to chime in and say that I actually experienced exactly the same issues as you, when I started with making soap. This was a very long time ago, and did not know anyone that made soap, I didn`t have a computer, and I was at a loss. I got my recipes from library books, and they never mentioned these issues. So I just thought it was what soap did. (This was year 2000 and onwards.)

However, as some years passed, gaining more experience I started to notice the issues faded a lot, and I found out what probably contributed to my issues back then.

1) Where we lived we had harder water. 2) When I washed towels and washcloths I washed at medium temps (60°). 3) I used a higher lye discount back then because I used higher % of coconut oil, so 7 or 8. (those books did not give out very good recipes. 40% coconut anyone? )

Then we moved to an area with a bit softer water from another source. I also lowered my lye discount to 5 (I use 4 now) as I gained more experience and started to develop more skills and making better soap. Also, I was adviced from someone to wash towels and washclothes at much higher temps, because that was beneficial for the washing machine since so many clothing must be washed with lower temps. The higher temps cleans the machine, eliminating sour smells. So I went with 95° (that is the standard highest setting here in Norway). I have done that for the past 15 years, and have never ever gotten the sour smell in the washer since doing that when I wash my towels (even when living in places of very hard water.)

That eliminated most of my problems. The remaining issues became completely gone when I first found EDTA, but I didn`t use that very long because of the environmental issues. About 6`ish years ago I discovered sodium gluconate from jungbunzlauer, and now I don`t even get any soapscum in the sink or shower. As in barely none at all. I was really sick not long ago, and did not have enough strengt to clean the shower for a whole month. It was in daily use, but still no soapscum.

So several factors can come into play. I can reccommend Sodium Gluconate. I use 10-13 grams per 1000 grams of oils. (I use a high ammount of lard in my soaps as well, so it also contributes to preventing rancidity along with ROE)

 

[earlene]

Thank you! How much less laundry soap do you use? Would you say about half of the amount that you would use on a load of say, clothing? Do you wash the towels on hot as someone recommended above? I have started with the extra rinses (really I just run it through another cycle with no soap so it has more time), I don't know if it'll help these old stiff towels but hopefully it'll prevent any new ones from becoming the same. Which chelator would you recommend?

I don't use hot water, but I do use the warmest setting available on my washing machine.
The amount of laundry detergent is about half of what the manufacturer recommends (for all my loads, unless they are super super super dirty, like if Hubby was working on the cars). Normally none of our laundry is filthy dirty and grimy in the first place.
Any chelator should do the trick. I use EDTA now and plan to switch when I run out. But others use Citric Acid and others use Sodium Gluconate (that's the one I bought to start using when the EDTA I have is gone.)

As @Bubble Agent does, I use both RosemaryOleoresin and the chelator as they work together to ward off rancidity. The chelator does double duty in the case of soap. AND I also use a lower superfat, generally about 2-3% (although I do go as low as 0% on occasion) for all bars except salt bars. A lower superfat also helps prevent excess fats getting into the bath linens and soap-making towels & rags, thus protecting my plumbing.

 

[Zany_in_CO]

with towels I always use a pre-rinse, plus two rinses after the wash cycle to get them clean and soft. I never have to use a fabric softener to make my towels soft. The limited use of detergents & extra rinsing does the trick.

Two thumbs up!
I use cold water and add 1/4-1/2 cup white vinegar to the final rinse. No water softener or Downey needed. These days, I actually linger over folding towels fresh out of the dryer because I enjoy it so much. So soft and clean smelling!!!

 

[Celestial1124]

Not earlene, and I am a bit late to the party, and others have given you great advice. But just wanted to chime in and say that I actually experienced exactly the same issues as you, when I started with making soap. This was a very long time ago, and did not know anyone that made soap, I didn`t have a computer, and I was at a loss. I got my recipes from library books, and they never mentioned these issues. So I just thought it was what soap did. (This was year 2000 and onwards.)

However, as some years passed, gaining more experience I started to notice the issues faded a lot, and I found out what probably contributed to my issues back then.

1) Where we lived we had harder water. 2) When I washed towels and washcloths I washed at medium temps (60°). 3) I used a higher lye discount back then because I used higher % of coconut oil, so 7 or 8. (those books did not give out very good recipes. 40% coconut anyone? )

Then we moved to an area with a bit softer water from another source. I also lowered my lye discount to 5 (I use 4 now) as I gained more experience and started to develop more skills and making better soap. Also, I was adviced from someone to wash towels and washclothes at much higher temps, because that was beneficial for the washing machine since so many clothing must be washed with lower temps. The higher temps cleans the machine, eliminating sour smells. So I went with 95° (that is the standard highest setting here in Norway). I have done that for the past 15 years, and have never ever gotten the sour smell in the washer since doing that when I wash my towels (even when living in places of very hard water.)

That eliminated most of my problems. The remaining issues became completely gone when I first found EDTA, but I didn`t use that very long because of the environmental issues. About 6`ish years ago I discovered sodium gluconate from jungbunzlauer, and now I don`t even get any soapscum in the sink or shower. As in barely none at all. I was really sick not long ago, and did not have enough strengt to clean the shower for a whole month. It was in daily use, but still no soapscum.

So several factors can come into play. I can reccommend Sodium Gluconate. I use 10-13 grams per 1000 grams of oils. (I use a high ammount of lard in my soaps as well, so it also contributes to preventing rancidity along with ROE)

A lot of great information, thank you! I don't use 40% coconut, only 20%.....but do use 40% lard...hmm. I think I will give it a go with the chelator and possibly lower the lye discount to 4% (currently at 5).

 

[Celestial1124]

Two thumbs up!
I use cold water and add 1/4-1/2 cup white vinegar to the final rinse. No water softener or Downey needed. These days, I actually linger over folding towels fresh out of the dryer because I enjoy it so much. So soft and clean smelling!!!

Oh how I miss soft towels (and my poor husband as well, lol!) I told him we can't use the new ones I bought until I get this figured out, lol.

 

[Celestial1124]

I don't use hot water, but I do use the warmest setting available on my washing machine.
The amount of laundry detergent is about half of what the manufacturer recommends (for all my loads, unless they are super super super dirty, like if Hubby was working on the cars). Normally none of our laundry is filthy dirty and grimy in the first place.
Any chelator should do the trick. I use EDTA now and plan to switch when I run out. But others use Citric Acid and others use Sodium Gluconate (that's the one I bought to start using when the EDTA I have is gone.)

As @Bubble Agent does, I use both RosemaryOleoresin and the chelator as they work together to ward off rancidity. The chelator does double duty in the case of soap. AND I also use a lower superfat, generally about 2-3% (although I do go as low as 0% on occasion) for all bars except salt bars. A lower superfat also helps prevent excess fats getting into the bath linens and soap-making towels & rags, thus protecting my plumbing.

Great info to try, thanks! I feel ready to move on and try again once I get my chelators. I've heard of people using half the laundry soap, but I can never bring myself to. My husband does work in construction, so maybe not for his laundry

 

[Zany_in_CO]

The higher temps cleans the machine, eliminating sour smells.

I can reccommend Sodium Gluconate. I use 10-13 grams per 1000 grams of oils.

Great story! Fantastic tips! Thanks for sharing! It was a joy to read.

I'm going to try washing in hot water and, because I also avoid EDTA, I think I'll try adding Sodium Gluconate to my 100% Coconut Oil LS Laundry soap to see if it makes a difference.

 

[Bubble Agent]

Great story! Fantastic tips! Thanks for sharing! It was a joy to read.
View attachment 60690
I'm going to try washing in hot water and, because I also avoid EDTA, I think I'll try adding Sodium Gluconate to my 100% Coconut Oil LS Laundry soap to see if it makes a difference.

Thank you Zany, happy you found something useful in my ramble

Hope you will be as happy with SG as I have, I can`t do without it now! I have made soaps without SG after I found it, and although I still don`t get a lot of soapscum here we live, it still does make a noticable difference, and even more so for family and friends that have way harder water than we have here.