Zote soap flakes

[sudsmaster]

I used to use Ivory real soap flakes ("Ivory Snow") for hand washing of detergent sensitive items.

 

But of course that product has long vanished from store shelves.

 

I have grated Ivory Soap bars in the KA with the grating attachment, and used that sparingly in my Neptune 7500 front load washer. With hot water to help dissolve the grated soap bits. Dosing is tricky, so when I've used it I've added less than one might otherwise think, then check the suds level and add more later if needed to establish a thin layer of suds. I also add STPP at the start of the process, before the soap, to help prevent soap scum. The results were good, but a bit of a bother. It left bath towels softer than with most detergents, but  with a sort of rubbery feel that I attribute to residual soap. I also noticed that whites tended to have a more yellow tinge to them after a few washings with the soap gratings, so I went back to my trusty Sears Ultra/STPP mix for them.

 

I haven't seen the Zote flakes in a market yet. I've grated Zote laundry bar soap as well as the Ivory, with similar wash results.

 

 

 

[sudsmaster]

I found the Zote flakes on walmart.com. $2.46 for 17 oz. About twice as much as the solid bar. Still, for occasional use, might be worth a try.

 

 

[miele_ge]

for softer towels and sheets i like the Persil Sensativ....

Laundress can confirm, but I do think it has some soap as part of the formula. I like it for sheets and bath linens as it makes them softer and gives them a nice faint scent.

 

[stan]

Unlike Ivory..

Zote contains a fairly generous amount of optical brighteners..same as some detergents do.
The fact that it does, may keep things from yellowing.

Just did a thorough cleaning of my TL ..after 15 years of use.
(Taking the inner tub out and scrubbing the outer side of it and scrubbing the inner tub)
I'd hesitate using Real Soap in a FL unless I knew it was as easy to take part and clean as a TL.
I don't have a FL, but would think that real soap may "cushion" the fall too much in a modern FL machine?

Laundress makes a good point about the use of real soap and wringer machines. I'll add to that by pointing out that wringers do not have a inner and outer tub for hard water scale or soap scum to get caught between. The "muck" left behind (where it should be left) can be scrubbed out easily immediately following the wash portion

 

[launderess]

As Housekeeping and Professional Laundry Manuals

Pointed out years ago about the over use of bluing (or use of at all) to counter yellowed article after laundering with soap; if the wash was properly done in the first place bluing (nor OBAs for that matter) are necessary.

Yes, cotton textiles yellow with age and bluing/OBAs can help mitigate this to an extent. However much of the yellowing you see with white laundry comes from bad practices such as but not limited to:

Allowing items to become soiled then not sent to the wash at once.

Use of soaps, soda and or other alkaline substances in the wash but failing to rinse properly to remove all residue.

Failure to remove all traces of soap before using certain types of bluing.

The yellowing some of you are seeing after using soap for the wash is no different than what housewives/laundries faced years ago; residue of soap and or alkali reacting to the application of heat from irons or today heated dryers. In addition certain types of bluing contain iron like minerals and will react with soap residue. The result when heated (again by irons or dryers) is yellowing or brown/rust colored marks.

It cannot be stressed enough; if you are using soap for laundering you need hot or warm water for the wash and the same (though hot is better) for at least the first, second or even third rinse, followed by a final cold.

As have said often one of the reasons wash was boiled after using soap in the wash was to liberate any reside before the textile fibers closed in a cool or cold rinse. When washing machines came along (along with indoor plumbing one assumes) it was found several rinses in hot water did the same as boiling. If you did, want or could not boil it was often recommended to either plunge your soapy wash into scalding water or pour the same over. In any event the working theory was clear, the soap had to come out of textiles.

In addition to being hot or boiling these rinse waters had to have soft water. If you rinse soap laden laundry in hard water it will cause the formation of lime curds (scum) that will cling to the fabric.

Anyone who cares to look this up simply search Google books for housekeeping and laundry manuals going back to the early 1900's or even middle to late 1800's.

Those of you blessed to have learned or at least observed someone from the "Old Country" using the old ways of doing laundry with soap know what one is saying.

Or you just could ask "Norge" *LOL*

http://https//books.google.com/book...SJ4qq4DQ&ved=0CFEQ6AEwCDgK#v=onepage&q&f=true

 

[mrboilwash]

In addition to what has already been said about using soap in a FL there is one more thing to consider.

Most modern machines have more expensive and very durable synthetic rubber hoses and gaskets. But it still seems common for some BOL manufacturers to use inferior real rubber parts in their machines. Think of rotten door boots. Rubber doesn`t cope well with greasy residues.

Many modern detergents contain soap as part of their formular. Its primary function is to control sudsing of man made surfactants. Silicon oil as a suds control is very hard on the environment whereas soap is easily biodegradable. Other benefits might be assistance in cleaning and water softening.

Anyway, when a detergent that contains soap as part of its (mostly) well balanced formular is used the manmade surfactants always "outweigh" the soap. So there should never be any kind of a greasy residue on clothes or the machine. If there is a residue the detergent has not been dosed correctly to match the soil level of the load.

 

[gpevas]

Detergents????

What modern day detergents have soap as there make up? I have never read any soap as an
Ingredient in detergent. By the way I have been using soap for my laundry and have not seen any yellowing with any of my cloths. I do use very hot water for washing AND rinsing though. The water is softened in both wash and rinse waters. I do not use the dryer I line dry everything except towels. They are put in my automatic and dried in a dryer.

 

[launderess]

Most if not all versions of Tide Liquid (including pods)

Contain sodium fatty acids aka, soap.

Across the pond Persil by both Unilever and Henkel along with probably everyone else also has soap for liquid or gel if not powders as well.

As Mr. Boil Wash pointed out above; while using soap on its own for laundry presents problems, it forms a critical part of many laundry detergent chemistry. It is one of the best anionic surfactants for dealing with grease, oil and fat type soils.

http://www.tide.com/media/pdf/products/ingredients/en-CA/tide-he.pdf

 

[mrboilwash]

Soap in modern detergents ?

In the US, there is for example Wisk, liquid Tide Original, Tide Simply, Persil (all types) just to name a few that have clearly soap in the mix according to their ingredients lists.

Some others like liquid Purex or powdered Tide variants use less specific terms like "fatty acids" but I`m pretty sure they also mean the salts of fatty acids.

There are indeed quite a few detergents in the US that don`t have any soap in their make up whereas in Europe probably every modern detergent has a soap content.

 

[mrboilwash]

Thank you Launderess your post just came in one minute before mine

 

[gpevas]

Didn't know!

Thanks for the info! I never knew that before... You truly lean something new every day.....

 

[launderess]

You are most welcome guys!

You know me, I am a *giver*! *LOL*

On another note have offered several times in this group to sell on some vintage soaps from my stash. The vintage P&G white laundry soap IMHO is far better than Zote or any other modern offering. Sent Stan some and he ran various test concluding the stuff still packed its cleaning power. *LOL*

Unlike Zote and the rest P&G is pure white soap, no OBAs and so forth.

http://www.old-time.com/commercials/1930's/PandG Guiding Light.html

 

[supersuds]

I have a bar of the P&G White Naphtha Soap and use it for cleaning spots, but I'm too chicken to try a whole wash with it. I'm still working on a vintage box of Super Suds granulated soap, anyway.

 

[mamapinky]

I hope Launderess can help me. I know a few people that have complained of a scum on their washer drum when using tide turbo liquid. I know there's soap in tides liquid detergents, now since the new turbo was created to be low sudzing could there be more soap in this turbo and that's what's causing the scum? Thank you much..Cheryl

 

[launderess]

Have commented elsewhere in the group

About liquid detergents and scum floating in discharge water as it drains into the laundry sink. If it is in that water is most certainly is elsewhere as the washer drains.

P&G liquid detergents seem the worse for this and Persil gel/liquid much better. Can only attribute this to the difference in surfactants and or perhaps other chemicals.

Tide and some other liquid detergents the wash and subsequent rinse water draining in sink looks same as when someone very dirty takes a bath with soap. That is there is a visible crud. Have tried upping dosage but it seems to make little difference.

 

[mamapinky]

Thank you Launderess, I've also noticed this scum on top of the wash water with liquids and pods, I've never seen it with powders yet.and tide free liquid seems to have much less than other liquid tides at least for me....again thank you

 

[stan]

Yep

The P&G Naptha still cleans. So if anyone's interested..get um while their hot from Laundress!

Don't be chicken LOL
To use soaps of that age for general laundry, I find that grating and pre-dissolving works best.
Grating 1/4 of the bar into a sheet of paper, then add to a measuring cup, add hot water and stir. Let sit and allow any sediment to settle to the bottom, carefully add this to pre treated wash water (STPP) avoid pouring the sediment in. Throw that part out.
It il do you proud! Youl see!

 

[supersuds]

Thanks Stan but

The reason I'm chicken is that all I have is a DD Whirlpool and picturing the soap scum building up invisibly on the outer tub is giving me pause. If I had a wringer it would be fun to try. As it is I use the Super Suds sparingly with a hefty dose of silver box Calgon, but lacking even a warm rinse not sure even this is a good idea.

Plus I've got a TON of vintage detergent with phosphates that's perfect for this type of machine...just got an 8 lb. box of All with Bleach, Borax and Brighteners the other day, to go with 9 lbs of Cheer, three boxes of White King D, etc etc. I'm outta control!

 

[stan]

John

I see your dilemma.
Without at least a warm rinse I wouldn't risk it either. Only way you could do it would be if you babysat the machine... after it spun out the wash, you'd have to be right there to stop and reset wash cycle so it would re wash hot water. This would be your first rinse .. Then Allow the machine to go through the whole cycle, so there'd be a second rinse in cold
Probably better that you continue to use the bar as a stain stick. Or for hand washing

 

[supersuds]

Stan, that's a brilliantly simple idea! Never thought of it...hmm. I'll try it the next time I wash towels! They're so much softer washed in soap.