Can I wash with liquid laundry soap?

Every good housewife has a good-quality bar of laundry soap in her home arsenal. Its washing effect has been well known since ancient times, and its composition not only disinfects, but also does not cause allergies. Today, many people cannot imagine their life without a washing machine, and therefore forget about this “miracle product” that our grandmothers used to wash clothes perfectly by hand. But laundry soap is produced not only in pieces, but also in liquid form. Therefore, the question arises: can such liquid soap be used for washing in an automatic machine, and can it be made at home? We will try to give answers to these questions.

Detergent overview: chemical composition

Laundry soap is considered the most natural; it contains two groups of substances: sodium salt and fatty acid residues. Soap with a predominance of unsaturated fatty acids (oleic or linolenic) quickly goes rancid, but copes well with stains in cool water. Based on the percentage of fatty acids in soap, it is divided into three categories:

• The first is soap with an acid content of more than 70.5% (72% laundry soap is common);
• The second is soap with an acid content of 69%;
• The third is soap with an acid content of 64%.

Important! Soap of the first category has the best washing properties.

Rosin can be added to low category soap, which promotes foaming and its dissolution in cold water, as well as extending the shelf life of the product. In addition, soap may contain soapstock. This substance is obtained by purifying fats and oils with an alkali solution.Soapstock makes soap hard, but if the soap stock is not of good quality, then the soap will not only be hard, but also darker and smell unpleasant.

This is exactly the composition of laundry soap in Soviet times. Despite the external similarity, Russian-made soap differs from Soviet soap in composition. As natural fatty acid residues, synthetic acids or other fatty acids having safety certificate, according to GOST. Foreign laundry soap differs from Russian soap, which contains palm and coconut oil, sodium silicate, and rosin, so it lathers more strongly and does not stick.

As for the liquid form of laundry soap, it differs even more from its ancestor. Although manufacturers claim that the liquid version has the same composition. But looking closely at the small inscriptions on the packaging, you can see that it contains toxic surfactants (surfactants). Therefore, this composition of substances can be called a gel for washing and washing, rather than laundry soap.

Real laundry soap cannot be in liquid form; technology makes it impossible to make it that way.

Strengths and weaknesses of soap

Laundry soap has a wide range of applications, but most often it is used for hand washing and washing dishes. What are the benefits of laundry soap?

• is a good disinfectant and anti-allergenic agent;
• removes organic stains well without damaging the fabric;
• has a whitening effect;
• has a low price (economical).

As for the disadvantages of laundry soap, there are practically none.It can only be noted that laundry soap cannot remove stains of inorganic origin; in addition, frequent use of such soap when washing colored items can make them duller.

Liquid laundry soap does not wash as well, but does an excellent job of washing dishes. But you can’t call it environmentally friendly, except for expensive foreign-made soap. For example, French laundry liquid soap EcoDoo. It contains water, soap based on olive and linseed oil, lavender oil, caramel, and natural gum. Its biodegradable formula contains no fragrances, petrochemicals or preservatives. According to consumer reviews, the effect of washing with this soap is no different from washing with regular powder. But this soap costs 2 times more than powder.

Methods of using soap: instructions

Everyone knows how to use laundry soap for hand washing. It is enough to thoroughly and thickly lather the product with soap, wait a couple of hours, then rinse everything well. Lightly soiled items can be washed in water with dissolved laundry soap, grated. But what about the washing machine? Is it possible to put in dry soap or pour in liquid laundry soap?

Imagine for yourself, bar soap, when dissolved in water, turns into a viscous sticky mass, what will happen if this soap does not dissolve well in water in the drum of a washing machine? Naturally, it will stick to things that are in the drum. It will stick to the walls of the drum and settle on the heating element, and this is fraught with failure of the heating element. If you put the grated soap not in the drum, but in the powder compartment, it will stick to the walls of the hose.

It is also not recommended to pour liquid laundry soap into the washing machine, especially into the powder compartment. Its effectiveness is the same as that of ordinary liquid powder, but soap has a negative effect on the operation of the automatic machine.

However, you can use laundry soap for washing in an automatic machine, but only if you properly prepare a washing paste from it. Here is one of the simplest and most effective recipes:

1. you need to take 200 g of laundry soap and grate it on a fine grater;
2. pour a little boiling water into the pan and add soap;
3. put on low heat and wait, Until the soap dissolves, you need to stir constantly and do not let the mixture boil;
4. now in a separate container, dissolve 400 g of soda ash in a small amount of water;
5. then add baking soda to the soap and mix everything thoroughly until the ingredients are completely dissolved;
6. cool the resulting mass;
7. add 12 drops of essential oil and mix well again;
   

   For your information! You can beat the mass with a blender, so there will definitely be no lumps left that could spoil the washing result.

8. Cool the washing paste and pour it into a convenient container, such as a bottle of conditioner.

You need to use this washing gel in the same way as store-bought ones. When washing lightly soiled laundry, pour 100 ml of gel into a measuring container; for heavily soiled laundry, pour 150-200 g, depending on the amount of laundry. The container is placed together with the laundry in the drum. This method is good because laundry soap dissolves well in water and can be rinsed out of things well. You can use laundry soap paste for any fabric except wool. And making a gel, as you can see, is very simple.

Important! If the laundry soap product turns out to be too thick, like a paste, then before using it in the car, you need to dissolve it in water.

In conclusion, we note that if you regularly clean your washing machine citric acid, then the product based on laundry soap will not harm the machine parts. But if you wash clothes with shavings of laundry soap or its liquid counterfeit, the result is unpredictable and no amount of lemon will save your home helper. Therefore, before you conduct an experiment, use your head and think carefully about whether it is worth it.

   

6 reader comments

1. 04/22/2016 at 18:45

   Tatiana:

   I liked it, I will definitely use it, wash it and report back.

   Answer
2. 05/16/2016 at 00:20

   Zarina:

   Today I saw this liquid household soap. The composition was confusing. Doesn't look like normal. Now after reading the article I understand everything. It’s best to make this gel yourself! The most natural thing will be

   Answer
3. 06/18/2016 at 23:03

   Julia:

   A wonderful product, the entire drain system is clogged, we will wash the household items. soap - only now by hand!

   Answer
   • 07/25/2016 at 12:25

     Konstantin:

     Well, it's clearly not from this gel. I've been doing laundry for two years, no problems.

     Answer
   • 05/25/2018 at 15:14

     Wang:

     Get your socks out of there!

     Answer
4. 06/07/2020 at 18:52

   Julia:

   I wash black clothes with Zoz soap, which is sold in 5 liter containers. It's been ok for 2-3 years now.

   Answer