A friend just gave me a piece of lye soap. She said she just moistens it & rubs it into stains to get them out. Does anyone know what the difference is between lye soap & other laundry soap? She says it's super effective, has anyone else tried it?
Lye Soap
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I think all soap is lye soap, except for glycerin soaps (which are clear). I don't know what detergents are, though....?
She's probably saying it's extra strong soap, too strong for use on the body. I dabbled in soap making and some of my first batches were really strong, so we use them on laundry and for cleaning. It does work very, very well.
She's probably saying it's extra strong soap, too strong for use on the body. I dabbled in soap making and some of my first batches were really strong, so we use them on laundry and for cleaning. It does work very, very well.
All soap (including glycerine) is made with lye - no lye - no soap
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Detergents are different - they are made with chemical solvents and cleansers, surfactants, phosphates, fragrances etc....
I'm guessing she's made a laundry stick which is usually primarily lard and coconut oil that has not been superfatted (meaning that you adjust the lye so that none of the oil is left unsaponified) You want a superfatted soap for skin use otherwise it will be VERY drying. But, for clothing, you don't want excess oils, therefore, no superfatting.
Laundry sticks are great! And, it should last a VERY long time
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Detergents are different - they are made with chemical solvents and cleansers, surfactants, phosphates, fragrances etc....
I'm guessing she's made a laundry stick which is usually primarily lard and coconut oil that has not been superfatted (meaning that you adjust the lye so that none of the oil is left unsaponified) You want a superfatted soap for skin use otherwise it will be VERY drying. But, for clothing, you don't want excess oils, therefore, no superfatting.
Laundry sticks are great! And, it should last a VERY long time
Most commercial soap that you buy, like Dove, Irish Spring, Dial, etc, are NOT soap, they're detergent bars. I think Ivory is the only commercial "soap" that is real soap. Ovory is good at removing stains. I used to use it just for stains before I started making my own lye soap.
She told me it was lye soap. But she didn't make it herself, someone with a booth at the craft mall where she also has a booth gave it to her, so it could very well be lard soap I guess. What she gave me just looks like a chunk broken off of a larger cake. It's really hard - a lot harder than Ivory which is what I usually use.
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