Laundry soap, manufacturing method, composition, types
Soap with a pH value of 11-12, which contains alkalis, fatty acids of plant and animal origin, is called household soap.
Methods for making laundry soap
The French from the province of Provence were the first to produce a healthy natural product based on olive oil in the second half of the 17th century.
In Russia, in the production of hygiene products, the use of animal fats is allowed. Laundry soap is made in two ways.
A simpler one is to obtain soap glue from fat and alkali, after which hardens, bars of low fat content are formed.
In the second option, the glue is treated with a solution of table salt, producing core soap with a high content of fatty acids and soap lye. To make category I laundry soap, the procedure is repeated 2-3 times.
The use of environmentally friendly laundry soap in everyday life - washing, bleaching, washing floors, surfaces, dishes. But this antibacterial product is also included in traditional medicine recipes and eliminates cosmetic flaws.
Ingredients in laundry soap
Laundry soap contains the following ingredients:
- saturated fats – stearic, lauric, palmitic acids;
- unsaturated fatty acids - linoleic, linolenic, oleic;
- vegetable lard;
- rosin;
- petroleum products treated with alkali (asidol, mylonafte);
- caustic and soda ash;
- zinc, titanium white.
Composition of laundry soap
Palmitic and stearic acids in natural laundry soap make the product hard and latherable only in hot water. Unsaturated fats oxidize quickly and create a liquid consistency, but they can be used in cold water.
The composition of household soap includes technical pork, lamb, beef lard, fish oil, and hydrogenated vegetable oils. Salomas, which reduces the cost of production, is an undesirable component, due to which the bars become non-plastic, difficult to lather, and quickly deteriorate.
Rosin is added to extend the shelf life of the product and enhance foaming in cold water. But this component has a significant drawback. Soap with rosin sticks to the skin. Caustic and sodium carbonate are needed for saponification of acids. To give the product a marketable appearance, white is used.
So, the composition of the bar is environmentally friendly, hypoallergenic, fatty acids and sodium salt, nothing extra, no dyes or flavors.
Laundry soap categories
Depending on the percentage of triglycides contained, numbers are squeezed out on the bars, by which the category is determined:
- first - 72;
- second - 70;
- third - 65;
In a product of the first category, the amount of acids is from 70.5%, in the second - 69-70%, in the third - 61-65%. If the detergent contains less fat than the category III standard, numbers are not marked on the bars.
Types of laundry soap production
Laundry soap is produced in the form of:
- liquid solution;
- pieces;
- ointments;
- powder.
Properties and composition of laundry soap
Laundry soap (or, as it was called before, laundry soap) does not contain any fragrances, acids, or chemical compounds harmful to health. Its amazing properties are based on entirely natural ingredients.
For production, residues from the processing of agricultural products are used, to which sodium hydroxide is added. Once upon a time, a long time ago, the French invented the manufacturing principle, but the composition of the soap at that time included salt and olive oil.
At today's prices for olive oil in Russia, such a product would be very expensive. But the principle of making laundry soap, from the point of view of a professional chemist, has not changed.
To remove dirt or wash dishes, fats and sodium, which are part of table salt, are used. This compound works the more actively, the greater the percentage of fats added to it.
Hence the numbers that have been written on pieces sold even without packaging for many decades. 72%, or other indicators squeezed onto the surface, indicate the amount of fat added during manufacturing.
The higher the percentage indicated on the soap, the better it fulfills its duties, for which thrifty and experienced housewives still purchase it. So the question of what laundry soap is made from can be considered closed.
Interesting. The presence of natural fats is the key to its successful action. In addition, this is economically beneficial for the manufacturer: the residues of the industrial process are cheap, and are not thrown away, but are put to good use.
Thanks to its remarkable ability to disinfect, eliminate bacteria, sterilize and remove dirt, laundry soap benefits in various areas of everyday life.
The benefits of laundry soap
What cures
The beneficial properties of laundry soap are hypoallergenic, natural composition, and safe for humans. Thanks to its antiseptic, anti-inflammatory effect, the product:
- treats dandruff, seborrhea;
- heals wounds, burns;
- relieves irritation after insect bites;
- relieves skin diseases, acne, greasy shine;
- disinfects personal hygiene items - combs, toothbrushes;
- soothes the skin after depilation, razor;
- deeply cleanses the skin in a steam room with a broom;
- relieves inflammation.
Where is it applied and used
Almost everywhere, both for skin care, hair care, and for cleaning the apartment. Traditional medicine also did not miss its moment in the use of laundry soap.
It is used for foot fungus, to get rid of cracked heels and corns in baths.
The product reduces the symptoms of varicose veins; it is used for tired leg syndrome, calf cramps, and knee pain.
To get the result, flat pieces (you can also grate them) are placed in socks or applied to a sore spot.
What does it get rid of?
Soap relieves swelling, bruises at the site of bruises, rhinitis during colds, and stops hair loss. Soap foam helps neutralize the effects of sunburn and prevents blisters.
Cosmetologists advise occasionally taking a steam bath with a broom soaked in soap suds. This procedure cleanses the skin well, which begins to glow.
Prevention of fungi
Many garden and vegetable crops, such as strawberries, cabbage, peppers, onions, and fruit trees, are susceptible to gray rot. It appears in the form of a fluffy gray coating that grows and destroys the fruit.
To prevent fungal infection, prepare a soap solution at the rate of 100 g per 10 liters of water. To enhance the effect, add 30-50 g of grated garlic.
The resulting solution is sprayed onto the plants at intervals of 2 weeks. The number of treatments is no more than three in a row.
Laundry soap in folk medicine
Treatment with laundry soap has long been used by people.
Bites, scratches, burns
If you are bitten by a dog, scratched by a cat, or have a mild burn, immediately wash the injured area with soap.
If you have a burn , then apply a thin layer of soap to the redness and you will not get a blister and the sore spot will heal faster. There is nothing unusual about this, because this soap is a bactericidal agent.
Hemorrhoids or thrush
If you suffer from hemorrhoids or thrush, then use only laundry soap when washing. If you feel a cold or runny nose approaching, then immediately wash your nose with soap or lubricate the wings of the nose from the inside with soapy water.
Runny nose
I can say from personal example that even the most severe runny nose will go away almost the next day, perhaps thanks to the interferons that are present in the composition. The antiviral properties of such a remedy have been proven; there will be no side effects or unpleasant sensations.
Sinusitis
Instead of a puncture, you can get rid of accumulated fluid in the maxillary sinuses using a healing composition.
To prepare it, combine grated soap, onion juice, milk, honey, and any vegetable oil in equal parts (1 tablespoon each).
Place the mixture in a water bath and stir until thickened. Cotton swabs are moistened with the composition and inserted into the nostrils while lying down. wait for the mucus to drain out through the mouth.
The procedure is repeated every other day.
Bedsores
The grated bar of soap is mixed with triple cologne until a creamy consistency is obtained.
The ointment is used to lubricate areas of the skin that experience greater pressure.
Boils, abscesses
To open the ulcers, prepare a composition of grated onions, laundry soap, and granulated sugar.
All ingredients are combined in equal proportions.
The soap-onion mixture is applied to the sore spot overnight and secured with a bandage.
Foot fungus
Every morning and evening for a week, wash your feet with a hygienic product with cool water using a brush.
After drying with a towel, the affected areas are lubricated with iodine.
If you go to a public shower, sauna or swimming pool, wash your feet with laundry soap first.
Varicose veins
For varicose veins, to eliminate swelling, pain, and to relax blood vessels, make a tincture of 10 aspirin tablets and 200 ml of vodka.
After two days, add a large spoonful of grated soap to the liquid. A gauze napkin is moistened with the composition and placed on the leg.
The compress is kept for a couple of hours.
An ointment prepared from 100 g of lard twisted in a meat grinder, a similar amount of ground millet, and crushed laundry soap is effective for varicose veins.
If the mass turns out to be thick, it is diluted with vegetable oil.
The veins are lubricated with a medicinal agent and the legs are bandaged.
Methods of using laundry soap
There are a lot of them. We will tell you about those that can bring the most benefit in the most unexpected situations.
Fabric and knitwear
The quality of some fabrics significantly improves if you wash them with laundry soap. For example, for wool products - including hand-knitted ones - laundry soap is a good choice. After such washing they acquire splendor and softness.
Hair
Washing your hair with laundry soap, even in cold water, stimulates hair growth. The hair becomes thick and strong, the curls gain shine and smoothness.
Dandruff
Laundry soap copes well with this problem. It is enough to replace regular shampoo with laundry soap when washing your hair twice a week - and you can forget about the misfortune.
Skin inflammation
Even quite serious inflammatory processes that sometimes occur on the skin can be stopped with laundry soap. In some cases, simple washing of the affected area with soap is sufficient; in others, lotions and compresses with thick soap suds or grated soap are effective.
In this way, even quite serious diseases can be treated - boils, abscesses and cuts.
Protection against infections
Laundry soap is used in gynecology and surgery: it disinfects surfaces so well that surgeons sometimes use it instead of gloves during medical procedures. Mechanics and auto technicians sometimes resort to a similar technique: in the absence of gloves, hands are thickly soaped with laundry soap and allowed to dry completely. Hands are protected from infection in case of cuts.
Skin on the face
It is very useful to wash your face with laundry soap; for healing and rejuvenation, twice a week is enough. After washing, you should lubricate your face with regular baby cream.
Broom in the steam room
The standard steaming procedure in a sauna or steam bath using a broom is useful in itself. The effect will be doubly noticeable if you first soak a coniferous or deciduous broom in a solution of laundry soap. The skin will be perfectly cleansed, and toxins will be better removed from the body through sweat.
Runny nose
An incipient runny nose can be treated very well with laundry soap. The sinuses should be treated with a cotton swab dipped in a soap solution. The procedure is not pleasant - it may tingle the nasal mucous membranes a little, but after two treatments the runny nose will subside.
Fungal diseases of the feet
The affected areas of the feet should be thoroughly washed with laundry soap and a brush. After the procedure, the skin should be wiped dry and treated with iodine.
Depilation and shaving
After such manipulations, the skin on the face or body often becomes red and even inflamed. To avoid such unpleasant sensations, you just need to lather yourself with laundry soap and rinse with water - and the irritation will immediately go away.
Dental care
If you have problems in the oral cavity, it is enough to leave the toothbrush with a foam of laundry soap applied to the bristles. This will completely disinfect it. Before each use, the brush should be rinsed with running water. Laundry soap should be used every evening for disinfection.
Laundry soap for washing hair
You can also wash your hair with this product; it will make your hair thicker and get rid of dandruff and other hair problems.
I can say from personal experience that it really works, the first time you wash your hair with shampoo, preferably baby shampoo, and the second time with soap. You do not need to rub with the bar itself, but only with the foam that you applied to your hands.
You don’t need a lot of foam, otherwise you won’t be able to rinse your hair completely. Massage your scalp and rinse, then wash with shampoo again and rinse with water with vinegar or citric acid.
Don't worry, vinegar won't cause any harm as long as it is added to water within reasonable limits. On the contrary, after such a “rinse”, your hair will shine.
Features of laundry soap
First, let's figure out what kind of numbers are indicated on it. We can see 65%, 70%, 72%. This number represents the presence of fatty acids in the bar. The higher it is, the more effectively the soap copes with infection and dirt. Almost everyone knows that this is the best detergent for washing children's clothes. Soapy water does not even harm plants; you can easily water flowers with it.
Laundry soap for use in vegetable gardens and gardens
Laundry soap is an excellent disinfectant that can be used to wash any container before sowing seeds and planting plants in pots or containers.
Laundry soap has long been used by our gardeners to combat pests and fungal plant diseases, for example, gray mold (Botrytis cinerea).
This disease is typical for strawberries, onions, cabbage, grapes, peppers, cherries, plums and many other crops. First, a light fluffy grayish coating appears on the plant, then it grows, leaves, flowers and fruits lose their elasticity, rot and die.
To save your plantings from this scourge, prepare a solution of laundry soap at the rate of 10 g per 1 liter of water, and to enhance the effect, add garlic or tansy extract to it. Spray the plants with it once every 10-14 days, no more than 3 times in a row.
A solution of laundry soap has an alkaline reaction, forms a film on the surface and successfully copes with insects that do not have chitinous cover - aphids, Colorado potato beetle larvae, spider mites.
Grate 150g of laundry soap 75% into 5 liters of hot water on a coarse grater, mix well, let stand until the soap disperses, stirring the resulting solution from time to time to create a stiff foam.
Then spray the plants or trees. When spraying, a soap solution with foam covers the infected surface, so that there is not enough air for the insects and they die. After three or four days, see if there are any insects left; if there are, then try to spray again. After a week, you can wash all the plants yourself or wait for rain!
All natural laundry soap
This is its obvious, main and rather enviable advantage for other detergents: laundry soap is completely and exclusively natural. It was and continues to be produced only from natural and environmentally friendly ingredients: vegetable oils and animal fats. Laundry soap is hypoallergenic and is recognized as absolutely harmless to humans: it does not contain any synthetic chemicals.
For this reason, laundry soap can be safely recommended for washing clothes and bedding for newborns and small children. Household and garden plants are sprayed with soapy water - laundry soap will not harm them at all, but it is very good at destroying harmful insects and some infections.
What harm does laundry soap cause to human skin?
Despite the antimicrobial, cleansing properties of the hygiene product, regularly .
Frequently washing your body with laundry soap leads to sad consequences. Laundry soap dries the skin, weakens the barrier properties of the protective layer, corroding it with alkaline components, disrupting the acid-base balance.
The epidermis becomes thinner and becomes vulnerable to mechanical damage due to temperature changes and burns when exposed to ultraviolet radiation.
If you wash a child with laundry soap, his or her incompletely formed local immunity will be weakened. Infection can penetrate through the delicate baby skin.
Women who use this product for a long time look older than their age due to the formation of early wrinkles, redness, irritation, and dehydration of the skin. A feeling of tightness and microcracks appears.
Scientific research has proven that, contrary to the belief that soap cures thrush, the product is not suitable for washing. The detergent temporarily suppresses the symptoms, but will not cure the disease.
Pharmacy products effectively combat candidiasis. Hygienic procedures for the intimate area are performed using specially designed products.
Laundry soap dries out the mucous membrane, disrupts the microflora, and kills lactic acid bacteria.
Relieving itching from mosquito bites with a soap compress
Not a single summer in the country is complete without mosquito bites. And if they themselves are not so painful, then the itching that appears the next day and continues for several more days can literally drive you crazy. If you don’t have special creams to relieve discomfort on hand, you can prepare a soap compress.
Grate laundry soap on a fine grater, moisten the shavings, apply to the bitten area, and wrap cling film or a damp bandage on top. After 5-7 minutes, remove the compress and rinse the treated area with cool water.
What cosmetologists do not recommend
In order not to cause harm to the body, cosmetologists do not advise :
- frequently use laundry soap on the body to remove the fatty protective layer along with the dirt;
- leave foam on mucous membranes;
- wash your face more than twice a week;
- use the product for household purposes without gloves to protect the skin of your hands from peeling and loss of elasticity.
Attention! For problem skin, wash only oily areas with a solution of laundry soap, since in addition to dryness, you can get chemical burns that turn into dermatitis.
After completing hygiene procedures, apply a moisturizer. If foam gets into the eyes, rinse the mucous membrane thoroughly. Soap is contraindicated in case of individual intolerance, thin, sensitive and dry skin.
Laundry soap, like other products, has both benefits and harm. You just need to follow the rules of use and everything will be fine!
Soap making in Russia
In pre-Petrine times, soap making was made from potash and animal fats. Trees were cut down and burned in cauldrons right in the forest. The ash was brewed into lye, and thus potash was obtained. Entire villages were fed by this trade - the export of potash was then a very profitable business. Officially, the “potash business” developed and grew into the soap industry only in the 30s of the 18th century: soap makers were given special privileges by a special imperial decree.
Today you can also buy laundry soap; Here is an impressive list of ways to use this soap, which is useful in all respects. Surely many of them will be useful to you.
For dish washing
Laundry soap is truly a universal remedy. It can be used not only for washing clothes and cleaning the apartment, but also for washing dishes. This is an environmentally friendly product. The ingestion of minor soap residues from dishes is not as dangerous as the ingestion of surfactants from detergents. The latter are carcinogenic and increase the risk of developing cancer. In addition, laundry soap washes off better. There are two ways to use it for washing dishes.
Liquid soap
To prepare dishwashing detergent, you need to mix one cup of boiling water, a quarter of a pack of soda and half a cup of grated soap. Next, the mass should be put on low heat and heated for half an hour, constantly skimming off the foam.
Soap in pocket
For convenient use, a utility bar can be placed in a pocket made from a washcloth. It will easily soap and wash dishes. Laundry soap can leave streaks on glass. Therefore, after washing, it is recommended to thoroughly rub sets, glasses and other glass items with paper.
Grated soap. Photo luxury-house.org
Using remnants
The main disadvantage of any solid soap is the remnants. Over time, the block becomes smaller and becomes inconvenient to use. Many people throw away leftovers, but it is unwise to do so. After all, remnants of laundry soap can be used in everyday life with the same success as a whole bar.
Universal remedy
Remnants can be broken or grated, then pour boiling water in a ratio of 1:3 and after 3-4 hours beat with a blender. The resulting product is good for washing things, washing the floor, toilet and other plumbing fixtures. You can use it to wash dishes, jewelry, toothbrushes.
Blank
Household soaps can wait in the wings in a grated form. This makes storing and using them much more convenient. I sprinkled a pinch of shavings on the stain, rubbed it - and now the clothes are clean!
For cleaning
Laundry soap is the No. 1 assistant in restoring order and cleanliness. One bar can clean almost the entire apartment.
Disinfection in the patient's room
It’s not for nothing that laundry soap was previously used for general cleaning of kindergartens. After this treatment, viruses and bacteria die. So, if there is an infection in the house, you can safely wash the floor with this proven product.
Washing laminate
It is known that the laminated coating is quite whimsical. It often leaves stains on it; it should not be overly wet or washed with aggressive chemicals. Laundry soap is ideal for cleaning laminate flooring. It is enough to dissolve 5 tbsp in 3 liters of warm water. spoons of shavings and wipe the floor first with soapy water and then with clean water. To avoid streaks, it is recommended to use a microfiber cloth.
Budget-friendly floor cleaner
Compared to laundry soap, special floor cleaners are expensive. Soap allows you to significantly save on household chemicals. To make the block last a long time, grate it, dissolve it in 1 liter of boiling water, add 3 tablespoons of vinegar and 7 tablespoons of baking soda. You can store the product for two weeks in the dark and cool.
Cleaning the hood and filters
Old stubborn fat is quite difficult to remove.
And here laundry soap will come to the rescue again. You need to place the grates in a tray from the oven, pour boiling water there and plan a quarter of the block. For better results, you can add five tablespoons of baking soda. After an hour, all the fat will fall away and can be removed with a light movement of a cloth. Modern detergents are increasingly replete with the names “laundry soap”. In particular, this applies to all kinds of gels with a dispenser. However, they have nothing in common with real soap made according to Soviet recipes. If you look carefully at the composition, you will find aggressive surfactants (surfactants), phosphates and other harmful additives.
