Pure olive oil bar soap ok to make laundry soap?

[carmen358]

I'd like to make my own laundry soap to try and help with DD's mild eczema. However, I'm not keen on using Ivory or some of the other bar soaps I've seen listed on recipes. Does anyone know if I can use pure olive oil bar soap? Ingredients for the bar soap are Saponified Olive Oil, Water, Sodium Chloride.

[ZombieMama]

Yes, you can make laundry soap with that. Soap does tend to build up in fabrics, though, so you may want to put vinegar in the rinse cycle once in a while to break up the soap residue.

[Caitlin0919]

I don't see any reason why you couldn't use olive oil soap for laundry detergent. I use castile soap in mine because DD and I are both allergic to a lot of other soaps, especially the Fels Naptha laundry soap. Castile soap is made entirely of oils so I'm sure olive oil soap would work just fine.

[carmen358]

Thanks for the responses :) I'm looking forward to making it!

[bobcat]

Personally, I wouldn't. I know that the oily residue is how mold grows inside washing machines......it provides a haven for the mold, kind of like a film that protects the mold from bleach, vinegar, etc. That is one reason people with the new-fangled washing machines need to use HE detergent, in the proper amounts, because the soap, in too high of a quantity, will create that residue that's then a pain in the butt to get out.

I dunno what to tell you, but I'd be careful using any oils, esp. too much of them. Regular laundry soaps do use oils, but it's formulated so that if you use the proper amounts (like at the proper line on the cap)....not too much, you won't get the build-up. And this buildup can accumulate in the inner workings of the machine, so it's hard to clean. It may be possible to use olive oil, but I just don't know, and I wouldn't know in what amount, so I'd think you're taking a big risk if you keep using it over and over.....unless you are okay with some film and thus, mold/mildew buildup and smells.

[mamadiamond]

pp - olive oil soap doesn't mean that any oil is going into her washer.

olive oil castile soap is what i use in my laundry soap. i love it. my clothes are cleaner with homemade recipe than i ever got them with detergent. though i found that if i use the recomended amount of homemade (at least what was recommended with the recipe i use) i get buildup. i only need a tablespoon to get my clothes clean, maybe two if it's a super large load. i do use vinegar in the rinse, and about once every two months i strip diapers, so the dawn used in stripping gets rid of any buildup in the fabric and in the machine.

[amcal]

You'll want to make your soap with a very low superfat - even a zero superfat so there is no residual oil left in the soap.  If you're not opposed to it, lard makes an excellent washing machine soap.  And is so much less expensive than olive oil.