# what did I do wrong with mysoap ??



## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

I mixed up two bars of Ivory soap, two cups of laundry borax and two cups of laundry soda, and put it thorough the blender. It came out pretty grainy so I put some in my laundry water and all the soap chuncks floated to the top. I then put it all in a gallon of water and heated it up real good and the soap particles still floated. The water got really sudsy and slick but the soap is still in small particles. I ran it through a strainer and it seems like all my soap is now in the strainer  Somebody please tell me what I did wrong, and how to do it right. I really want to make my own laundry soap.
thanks, P.J.


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## Sunbee (Sep 30, 2008)

Mmm, I'm not sure, but did you desolve the soap in hot water?
When I do a cold load or warm load, I put hot water in the washer and swish the soap mix around in it until it looks desolved, then turn the water to cold or warm and wait until it feels right to the touch in the bottom of the washer to add the clothes. Mine doesn't get sudsy at all, though. I have a note to that effect taped on the washer to stop visiting relatives from adding more and more!
I use an old cheese grater on my soap bars--fels naptha--so I don't know just how fine the soap bits would be from your blender. Mine is like a powder, usually, at least as fine as the borax.
If it's a water issue (hardness, maybe?), I think there's a way to cook your mix with water to make a liquid, but I don't know how to do that. I'm sure someone here does.


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## Clementine (Dec 21, 2006)

I've never tried the dry recipe, but I have read that it needs to be microfine, like you would get from a food processor. You might be able to save what you have made if you take your soap bits and melt them on the stove in some of the water. I recommend the liquid recipe that WIHH gave you. That's basically the same one I use. Don't give up--the first batch can be frustrating.


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## used2bcool13 (Sep 24, 2007)

I don't use the dry method, I melt them soap bits first then add the other ingredients and make a liquid soap.

Let me know if you find the answer.


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## beaglebiz (Aug 5, 2008)

with my mineral rich hard water, no powder will dissolve..I melted zote soap in a recipe and it came out fine


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

OK, first off, I didn't melt the soap, so I will do that first. My water comes out of the creek so I don't know if it's hard or not. I don't have any trouble with soap sudsing up, but it could be. I think probably it's the melting the soap first thing. I"ll go back and give it another try, thanks for all the encouragement 
P.J.


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## Clementine (Dec 21, 2006)

Good luck! It's worth trying again.


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## Sarabeth (Sep 14, 2008)

This is the first post I've made....but I got a great tip and used it yesterday when making my laundry soap. Put your bar of hard soap (Ivory or whatever, I used Fels Naptha) in a glass pie plate in the microwave for a couple of minutes. The soap will puff up and get all expanded looking. Then let the soap cool, and it will easily crumble with your fingers into a fine texture. Previously I had tried my blender, and had the same problem you mentioned. This microwave method worked great.


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## Clementine (Dec 21, 2006)

amandaraedylan said:


> This is the first post I've made....but I got a great tip and used it yesterday when making my laundry soap. Put your bar of hard soap (Ivory or whatever, I used Fels Naptha) in a glass pie plate in the microwave for a couple of minutes. The soap will puff up and get all expanded looking. Then let the soap cool, and it will easily crumble with your fingers into a fine texture. Previously I had tried my blender, and had the same problem you mentioned. This microwave method worked great.


That's a great idea. I'll try that with my next batch. I _hate_ grating the soap. Thanks for the tip!


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