Ivory snow

[stan]

Decided to try some Ivory Snow yesterday to wash some whites. Seemed to do a nice job? Checked out the ingredients on line, not what I would have expected. Some questional ingredients, not what you would call "ECO" friendly, I realize that Ivory Snow is no longer a soap, and overall it cleaned very well! Any thoughts? Has anyone used this lately?

 

[kenmorekeith]

My Mom and grandma use to use that stuff if was wonderful!! where did you find it?

 

[stan]

Ivory

I found it at Raleys. When your Mom and Grandma used it, it was probably still a soap. My understanding is that P&G stopped Making Ivory Flakes in 1978, and changed Ivory Snow, from a soap powder to a detergent in 1992? Dont know if they changed the scent, as I cant remember what the old versions smelled like. With so mamy Eco friendly products being made no a days, you`d think P&G would bring back the soap formulas, and market the as "earth friendly"

 

[frigilux]

My mom used Ivory Snow to wash delicates and baby clothes back in the late 1950's-mid 1960's. It was a soap back then, and had a very different texture---it really was little flakes! She abandoned Ivory Snow when she discovered Woolite.

 

[launderess]

Ivory Flakes & Ivory Snow "Powder"

Co-existed for awhile, with the flakes first to stop production (1978?). Ivory Snow powderes soap became a detergent sometime in the 1990's or 1980's, cannot be sure when.

Soap flakes had been round for ages, brands such as Lux, Ivory, Amour, and anyone else who made some on both sides of the pond, also made flakes. The process for turning soap in to chips/flakes isn't that hard, and it saved housewives (and others), the bother and danger of having to shave strips or grate up soap say for laundry or cleaning.

Ivory Snow powdered soap was done in by the fact it really wasn't suited for it's prime market, doing baby's wash.

Flame retardant infant sleepwear looses that property when washed in soap (same as with using fabric softener, as both contain tallow/fat/oil), and as more countries mandated infant and children's sleep wear be FR, that was that.

With better products for cleaning fine lingerie,delicates, infant wear and so forth came on the market, Ivory Snow powder saw it's share drop, so P&G switched from soap to chemical surfactants (detergent). Lux Flakes were still sold in the UK a bit longer, but even they finally bit the dust for awhile. This was until a company called "DriPak" brought them back recently.

I remember using Ivory Snow (soap powder) as a youngster to launder woolens and baby items. Nothing smells "broody" like a load of baby things washed in Ivory Snow soap powder.

As for using modern day Ivory Snow for general laundry, some have tried it over on "ThatHomeSite", and while some were please, others weren't. IIRC the product does not contain whitening agents, nor enzymes, so certian stains/soils didn't shift and things began to look "dingy" after awhile. Still some men swear by the stuff for laundering fine shirts.

 

[stan]

Thanks for the replies, this is why I dig this site! Modern day Ivory Snow " detergent " actually dose contain Protease (enzyme/stain remover) along with (Disodium Diaminostilbene Disuifonate ( whitener/or fluorescent brightener) also a host of other water softeners , oxygen bleach, and a suds suppressor. I dont know about the " broody scent" I did not find it that way at all. As far as the fire retardant on babys clothing, and Ivory Soap (flakes) removing it, that seems odd to me, only because most of the soap flake manufactures, now claim that soap dose not remove the waterproofing from ski clothes, and other outdoor fabrics, like detergent dose. Soap is usually recommended for washing down out door awnings for that reason! maybe it`s different for the fire retardant on fabric? This brings me to the subject of "soap" and perhaps I should post a new thread on the subject of soap? LOL To simply grade up a bar of soap, dose not actually replace the soap flakes of yesteryear that were used for laundry, and dish washing, There is in fact a science, and chemistry with regards to the methods involved at that time, First would have ben the selection of the fats used, be that animal or vegetable, and the combination of the two. Certain fats do in fact, have there own unique water softening, and sudsing characteristics,( when combined with the lye). Second, would be the amount of lye used for saponification, ( the amount figured by weight in relation to each specific fat) and could be increased for the purpose of making soap flakes for laundry, or dishwashing, ( bath soap would be different, less lye more fat) Third the purification of the soap by means of removing the glycerin (a bye product of soap making) sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide. which would not be done to make ordinary bar soap. Forth, to re-precipitate the soap with salt to promote drying on a " chill roll' or vacuum dryers which would have then produced the flakes. Fifth, to scent the flakes with their proprietary scent, LOL. I hear a lot of people say " you can just grade up a bar of Ivory or Fels Naptha and get the same thing that they had back then" This simply is not the case. I wish it were! I do grade up certain soaps for cleaning and laundry, and they can work very well, but I know they are not the same thing a the real soap flakes of yesteryear. Best to all. Stan. P.S hit me back with your thoughts

 

[launderess]

Should Make Myself Clear

Soap, because it is mainly made from fats/oils/tallow does not rinse totally away from fabrics. This oily residue interfers with flame retardent treatments in that it can increase the risk of fabrics to burn. Think of it as coating textiles with oil/fat.

OTHO because these same fats and oils found in soap tend to make certain cotton texiles more "fluffy", that also increases risk of fire.

As for using soap to "waterproof" fabrics, again that is because of the fat/oil/tallow residue. Oils and fats generally are hydrophopic (repel water), so using soap is a good way to lay down a layer of "water repellent". Or, you could simply rub the thing down with fat or oil.

Regarding glycerine and soap, early versions of Ivory bar soap (as many others) did not contain the substance. It was removed during processing and was quite valuable, hence sold off. This explains why Ivory bar soap, despite it's claims of purity and floating, was drying to most persons skin. IIRC, P&G has revamped Ivory soap bars a number of times, and not only do they sink in water, but they contain glycerine.

P&G also came clean recently about another long standing myth: the creation of "floating" Ivory soap bars was not an accident as lore has repeated for ages. Rather a P&G employee (related to one of the owners), discovered how to produce floating soap and decided that would be the way it was done from now on.

Soap Flakes:

In 1921 an American by the name of George Dawes Senior, invented and patented how to make soap flakes. He sold his rights to P&G for mere $500, only to have someone else come along a few weeks later and offer him $1500 plus a share of the royalties.

As for making "soap flakes" from grating bars of soap, well soap recently made will be too moist for proper grating, and thus little use. OTHO have tons of vintage Fels Naptha, Kirkman's Borax, and P&G "white" soap that are so old that their moisture content is near nil. Can make soap flakes by using a carpenter's plane to shave off thin slivers, then break apart for "flakes".

 

[stan]

Real Soap Flakes of yesteryear

Thanks Launderess for you input, but FYI Ivory soap still floats! If you dont believe me just grab a bar and see, I`m not a fan of Ivory soap for bathing or laundry. A lot of detergents are made with petro chems, (petroleum) nothing oilier than that, but because of chemistry an other added ingredients ( chemicals ) we dont think of detergent as oil based, but its. The same holds true for soap, once the blend of fats have reached saponification, it no longer is lye or fat, it becomes soap. Now what kind of soap? Soap for laundry? or soap to take a bath with? Again this depends entirely on the selection of the fat or fats, and the ratio of sodium hydroxide use to saponify EACH fat in the mix. To make bath soap (bar soap) a minimum of lye would be used, and possibly slightly less than the minimum so that some of the fat could escape saponification so the final bar would be the most conditioning for the skin. This is NOT how soap flakes are made for laundry. I have explained all that in my earlier post. Properly formulated Soap Flakes for Laundry use, would not leave an oily residue, as I have explained. Now I would like to explain how soap flakes clean. Soap removes dirt in two stages, First, it attaches itself to the dirt, and then it suspends the dirt in the lather intil a rinse carries them both away. More specifically, a soap molecule is a chain of atoms-including carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen- arranged with a distinct head and tail. The head is attracted to water, the tail to dirt. The soap molecule cleans by embedding its tail into the dirt and dislodging it as its head pulls toward the water. The soap then holds the dirt in suspension until its rinsed away. Because we are talking about "soap" this all works better in warmer water. And I`m talking about sodium hydroxide based soaps, have not even begun to mention Potassium hydroxide soaps yet! They also work for skin and laundry uses. Hit me back! Best to all, Stan