…… Bath Soap (bars) Long Term Storage

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Well I have a dilemma. When I found out the company that made Kiss my Face soap was bought up and their soap line was killed I went out and bought the last nine bars of their olive oil chamomille blend bar soap.

Thing is I don't go through a bar of soap that quickly this will likely last me two years. And yes I do bathe regularly, I have no idea why I use less soap than OC does, and we don't share a bar of soap he uses another brand that he likes better.

So how can I store them so that they don't develop that old lady stale perfume smell?
 

Martinhouse

Deceased
Maybe put each bar in a Ziploc sandwich bag and then wrap it in foil?

If the icky smell is from oils in the soap, maybe it should be stored in the freezer?

I used to use Dial soap for bathroom sink and for bathing, Ajax liquid for dishes, Amway for laundry, and Prell for shampoo. All just plain and simple stuff. Now I just use Prell for shampoo and the Ajax for everything else. Makes life lots easier and I don't get allergic reactions to so many different scents.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I have around 100 bars of soap stored in a cabinet in my laundry room. Always using the oldest first, I've never had any that went bad. They aren't organic soaps, though. We use Dial, SafeGuard, Dove, and Ivory. I also have several bars of Zote to use in laundry if I have to make laundry detergent here at home.

I do plan on learning how to make my own organic soap in the near future.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Maybe put each bar in a Ziploc sandwich bag and then wrap it in foil?

If the icky smell is from oils in the soap, maybe it should be stored in the freezer?

I used to use Dial soap for bathroom sink and for bathing, Ajax liquid for dishes, Amway for laundry, and Prell for shampoo. All just plain and simple stuff. Now I just use Prell for shampoo and the Ajax for everything else. Makes life lots easier and I don't get allergic reactions to so many different scents.

I have this same issue with different scents, it really sets my asthma off.
 

Garryowen

Deceased
We have enough soap to last a long time. Haven't noticed any problems with changes in the smell. I used to pick up a multi pack when they were on sale. So some of the soap probably is from 20 years ago.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
We have enough soap to last a long time. Haven't noticed any problems with changes in the smell. I used to pick up a multi pack when they were on sale. So some of the soap probably is from 20 years ago.

I've never stocked up on soap like this before, so wasn't sure how long it'd stay viable.
 

mudlogger

Veteran Member
We had handmade soap that was well over 10 years old, and was awesome.

I don't know about kiss my face, but all the others y'all mentioned are detergents, not actually soap, and
will probably be fine.

Mice will eat soap, though, just so you know.
 

Millwright

Knuckle Dragger
_______________
Vac-pac one and throw in the freezer?

Chemical changes like that often slow down at low temps.
 

nomifyle

TB Fanatic
I've been storing ivory for years, does not seem to set my allergies off, can't stand scented anything. Age seems to make the bars harder which makes them last longer. Recently I bought some irish spring (stinks) to help deter mice. The pink zote stinks badly to me. Although its supposed to have citronella in it, so I cut a bar up and stuck it around, the intense smell seems to get less intense after exposing to air. I've got Felsnaptha soap also, plus a few bars of the white zote (seems to have less of a killing scent). Some of my ivory soap is about 12 years old. Right now I have my stash in a 5 gallon bucket, but I think I will put it in smaller containers so I don't have to open the 5 gallon bucket when I need a bar of soap. I've not made my own soap yet, but I do have s stash of dollar store laundry soap that should last a good while. I also have a couple of scrub boards, one of which my mother used to scrub my diapers in 1947.

Judy
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
We had handmade soap that was well over 10 years old, and was awesome.

I don't know about kiss my face, but all the others y'all mentioned are detergents, not actually soap, and
will probably be fine.

Mice will eat soap, though, just so you know.

Kiss my Face is an organic olive oil based soap, that can come with various herbs or other plants like aloe vera, blended in with the olive oil mixture. I used to make my own soap and found this stuff, my favorite is olive oil with chamomile. Making olive oil soap can be a real crap shoot if you're not paying really close attention to the process. A really expensive crap shoot!
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
I've been storing ivory for years, does not seem to set my allergies off, can't stand scented anything. Age seems to make the bars harder which makes them last longer. Recently I bought some irish spring (stinks) to help deter mice. The pink zote stinks badly to me. Although its supposed to have citronella in it, so I cut a bar up and stuck it around, the intense smell seems to get less intense after exposing to air. I've got Felsnaptha soap also, plus a few bars of the white zote (seems to have less of a killing scent). Some of my ivory soap is about 12 years old. Right now I have my stash in a 5 gallon bucket, but I think I will put it in smaller containers so I don't have to open the 5 gallon bucket when I need a bar of soap. I've not made my own soap yet, but I do have s stash of dollar store laundry soap that should last a good while. I also have a couple of scrub boards, one of which my mother used to scrub my diapers in 1947.

Judy

You sound like me, Judy. I have been storing Ivory soap for years. I've got more of that than any other. It's very versatile. We also store it to use as a barter item, since it is a basic soap. DH likes SafeGuard and Dial, so we have
lots of those stored too for our own use. Dove for sensitive skin is what I use. As for the Zote, I have lots of that stored, too. If I have to fall back on making my own dish wash and laundry detergent, Zote is what I will use. Yes, I have a scrub boards, too, one large and one small.

I've just begun to learn how to use essential oils for soap making, shampoos, toothpaste, and etc. Lots of great items in my new book!
 

Zahra

Veteran Member
I've read that cockroaches & silverfish like bar soap, so I've always stored mine in a small plastic tote bin with latch down lid. Nothing expensive - you can find these sort of containers at Target or Walmart easily.
 

Sojourner

Senior Member
Both Amazon and Walmart have Kiss My Face olive oil soap. These may be the end of their line but it's still a great way for you to stock up if you would like more for storage.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
Both Amazon and Walmart have Kiss My Face olive oil soap. These may be the end of their line but it's still a great way for you to stock up if you would like more for storage.

Apparently, another company bought the line/recipe and is now producing the soap again.
 

Siskiyoumom

Veteran Member
Cool dry storage has worked for us in regarding to storing Bar soap. I still have Fels Napa and Lava soap from 1997. The one thing I notice is that the glycerin based soaps we store will weep fluid, so I take it out of the cellophane wrapping and air dry and put layers of wax paper between bars. Marie’s poison oak soap also weeps fluid.
 

Old Gray Mare

TB Fanatic
I stored soap for years in a tote with a lid in the cellar and don't remember having any problems. Among the hand soap I also picked up bars of Fels Naptha.
 

Walrus Whisperer

Hope in chains...
Only soap I use is Kirk's Castile. It dries and keeps very well. I unwrap the bars & set to dry on a shelf for several months then pack it away in a tote.
 

bethshaya

God has a plan, Trust it!
Kiss My Face is still available on Amazon. An alternative that might be easy to find in pharmacy stores is Love, Beauty and Planet.

Maybe using a Mylar bag with oxy absorber?
 

Cag3db1rd

Paranoid Pagan
When y'all say make laundry soap, do you actually mean shredding it and adding something like washing soda to it? If you are using a wash tub and scrub board, would it not be easier to just add a little washing soda to the wash water and then directly put the soap on soiled places befor scrubbing? I would think in a grid-down, the time shredding could be better used for more important endeavors.
 

packyderms_wife

Neither here nor there.
When y'all say make laundry soap, do you actually mean shredding it and adding something like washing soda to it? If you are using a wash tub and scrub board, would it not be easier to just add a little washing soda to the wash water and then directly put the soap on soiled places befor scrubbing? I would think in a grid-down, the time shredding could be better used for more important endeavors.

Don't know as I've never made laundry soap in the past.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
When y'all say make laundry soap, do you actually mean shredding it and adding something like washing soda to it? If you are using a wash tub and scrub board, would it not be easier to just add a little washing soda to the wash water and then directly put the soap on soiled places befor scrubbing? I would think in a grid-down, the time shredding could be better used for more important endeavors.

I've known women on other prepper type discussion forums who make up their laundry soap in 5 gal buckets at a time. No need to mix up a batch each time you do laundry.
 

EYW

Veteran Member
When y'all say make laundry soap, do you actually mean shredding it and adding something like washing soda to it? If you are using a wash tub and scrub board, would it not be easier to just add a little washing soda to the wash water and then directly put the soap on soiled places befor scrubbing? I would think in a grid-down, the time shredding could be better used for more important endeavors.
There is a recipe for laundry soap floating around the internet that involves borax, washing soda, and grated soap such as Zote or there is another soap I cannot think of the name right now. You can mix it up dry and use it like that, but most people mix it in water and heat it up on the stove for a while, then put it in a 5-gallon bucket and dilute it by adding water up to the 5-gallon mark. It has to be stirred occasionally. Most will fill a detergent bottle with it rather than dipping out of the 5-gallon bucket.

Many, many love it and swear by it, and in a grid-down situation it would be quite satisfactory. I have made several batches, but after a while the clothes were not as clean, apparently there was some sort of buildup in the clothes, and my husband complained that they did not smell as clean. I went back to regular detergent. I actually believe there may have been an issue with our local water system. Our water was piped down from the South Miami area. They totally purified it so it did not cause calcium-type buildup in the pipes and then as it got to its destinations in the Keys, minerals and other things were added back in. So I am thinking something they added back in and the home-made detergent did not work together.

Anyway there is a recipe floating around the internet for laundry soap. Give it a try. It is cheap.
 

skwentnaflyer

Veteran Member
I don’t like liquid laundry soap, but zote works well for me. I unwrap the bar so it’ll harden, and grate it into the washer with an old cheese grater.
 

SouthernBreeze

Has No Life - Lives on TB
This is the recipe for laundry soap I've used.

1 bar grated Ivory or Zote soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup of baking soda or washing soda

Mix altogether. Use 2 Tlbs per load.

I didn't like it, because it didn't leave the clothes smelling clean, and over time, the whites became dingy. Also, it clogged my drain pipes.
 
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