# Can you rebatch Ivory soap?



## ruby_jane

As I sit and stare at stuff laying around the house...can you rebatch Ivory bar soap? I have a couple of dozen of the plain white bars and a dozen of the lavender Ivory bars. :help: LOL!


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## Jen H

Yeah, you can grind them up, add a bit of water, melt them down, and re-form them. It's easy to do. I use the grinder attatchment for my Kitchen Aide mixer, but a box grater works just as well (just more time consuming). Grate the soap down, and spritz it with water. You want the shreds of soap moist, but no water left in the bottom of the bowl. Let the moistened soap shreds sit overnight, then melt them down. Ovens, double boilers, crock pots, microwave... all of these methods work. The melted soap will be sort of vaseline consistency, but you can mix things in before pouring it into a mold to harden up.

Was there something in particular you were wanting to do with the rebatch?


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## keljonma

Thanks, Jen, for the info! Not trying to hijack the thread and I don't know about Ruby Jane. But here at our house, Ivory doesn't last long in the shower before the bar snaps in half. So we end up with 2 bars the size of hotel soap. I stick the small pieces in roostercogburn's shaving mug, or sometimes in with the liquid hand soap (in the dispenser). I always seem to remember Ivory lasting much longer when I was a kid.


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## ruby_jane

Jen H said:


> Was there something in particular you were wanting to do with the rebatch?


Nah, just thinking I could make plain white soap into something a little different  I got some books from the library recently and one is about making your own lye soap (lots of pictures) and the other one is about rebatching the 5 pound blocks of soap you can buy (lots of PRETTY pictures!)

As I get ready to shred my Ivory soap tonight after the kids are in bed and the DH has gone to work...


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## ruby_jane

keljonma said:


> Thanks, Jen, for the info! Not trying to hijack the thread and I don't know about Ruby Jane. But here at our house, Ivory doesn't last long in the shower before the bar snaps in half. So we end up with 2 bars the size of hotel soap. I stick the small pieces in roostercogburn's shaving mug, or sometimes in with the liquid hand soap (in the dispenser). I always seem to remember Ivory lasting much longer when I was a kid.


 :nono: No hijacking threads! LOL

When we get the broken or "too small to use" pieces, I put them in a Mason jar and right now I have about a half jar (I do the same thing with the scented votive candle pieces but that's for a different thread...). I may make them into hand soap or just say the heck with it all and rebatch it! :hobbyhors

I've also crocheted soap end bags out of cotton (thinking I should use nylon stuff next time...) and put some ends on the bag and hang it from the spigot outside at the hose or hung in the laundry room for use.


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## Jen H

The Ivory will last longer in the shower if you unwrap the bars and let them sit naked on a shelf. They're packaged before they have a chance to get good and dried out. I let my own soaps sit naked on open shelves for at least a month before they get wrapped up and put away to make sure they're good and dry so they'll last.


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## keljonma

Jen H said:


> The Ivory will last longer in the shower if you unwrap the bars and let them sit naked on a shelf. They're packaged before they have a chance to get good and dried out. I let my own soaps sit naked on open shelves for* at least a month * before they get wrapped up and put away to make sure they're good and dry so they'll last.


Thanks! I see I haven't been letting them sit long enough....


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## DenverGirlie

Jen H said:


> The Ivory will last longer in the shower if you unwrap the bars and let them sit naked on a shelf. They're packaged before they have a chance to get good and dried out. I let my own soaps sit naked on open shelves for at least a month before they get wrapped up and put away to make sure they're good and dry so they'll last.


Us too. When I bring them home I immediately unwrap them and stack in the linen cabinet. I find the suring the soap helps a LOT. We've never had an issue with them breaking in half until they were almost gone, but curing the soap first seems like it lasts a LOT longer in the shower, than a non cured Ivory bar.


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