Soap Scraps

[vberkesch]

I remember reading somewhere here that I could use my soap scraps for laundry soap. Can anyone tell me how well this works and how to do this and how much to use per load??

Thanks much,

Vanessa

[LuminousBoutique]

Hi Vanessa, I do this.. I just toss in all my scraps (I think I started with about 2lbs but who knows how much is in it now) and covered it with boiling distilled water. Every time I add more scraps, I add more boiling water. This particular bucket I have is pretty darn old... months old I'd say! It smells funny.... its a mix of a bunch of different FO's, of course, but it works fabulously. I use it on heavily soiled things (like towels we took to the beach), dirty work clothes, towels, and the dog bed. For our clothes I use my liquid laundry detergent made with KOH.

Theres no real guide... but basically just make sure you have enough water to submerge all the pieces/scraps.. if you want it to dissolve quicker, shred it.. I dont bother though. You can add more water later to get the consistency you like.

As for amounts for the machine, that totally depends on your machine.. I've only used it in a top load machine.

[vberkesch]

Wow,

Luminous Boutique....thanks for the reply, I will try it!!

Vanessa

[adillenal]

I tried that and it seemed so great for awhile. But we have really hard water and I ended up with a mess so it is back to commercial detergent for my laundry. I guess it was soap scum buildup in the machine as well as the things that were washed frequently like towels and DH's coaching T-shirts. Not good here.

[LuminousBoutique]

I tried that and it seemed so great for awhile. But we have really hard water and I ended up with a mess so it is back to commercial detergent for my laundry. I guess it was soap scum buildup in the machine as well as the things that were washed frequently like towels and DH's coaching T-shirts. Not good here.

weird, we have REALLY hard water and have never had soap scum buildup... but machines vary greatly!

[adillenal]

I think it has to do with which minerals your water is high in. The clothes started to get stiff and would not absorb water and turned gray. We have a LOT of iron for one thing. Our water will dissolve pipes and fitting in about a 5 year time span. Not too good.

[Reg]

I tried that and it seemed so great for awhile. But we have really hard water and I ended up with a mess so it is back to commercial detergent for my laundry. I guess it was soap scum buildup in the machine as well as the things that were washed frequently like towels and DH's coaching T-shirts. Not good here.

Have you tried using vinegar in the rince cycle? I add about half a cup to a medium load during a rince cycle, and no scum here. We have hard water, but we do have a water softener, which doesn't make our water totally perfect (it still has a bit of iron, and a funky smell).

I think it has to do with which minerals your water is high in. The clothes started to get stiff and would not absorb water and turned gray. We have a LOT of iron for one thing. Our water will dissolve pipes and fitting in about a 5 year time span. Not too good.

Dissolve pipes and fittings? That's not good. Do you have a water softener? Maybe you also need an iron filter?