what can i use instead of fels naptha

Both soaps can be used to spot-treat laundry stains, as a laundry detergent booster, or as a component of homemade laundry detergent itself. Find my recipe for Homemade Laundry Detergent here. Both bars do the job surprisingly well! Individual results may vary. You may find one bar works better for your needs or preferences. Details below.

To use in your laundry as actual laundry detergent you’ll need to grate Zote with a cheese grater. A blender or food processor might work, but because it’s softer it may also clump unless you let the bar cure and firm up first. You can also put slices into the microwave. Cutting into manageable slices is especially important with Zote since the bars are HUGE. So, really, cut maybe 1/16 off and then zap that. It would take forever to heat the entire bar all the way and even if you managed without destroying your microwave, the resulting foam would take up more cubic inches than can fit in a microwave. Maybe more than a whole kitchen! This might be amusing for some, but it would be bad. Just bad. So smallish pieces, okay? Zap a few minutes and it will also look like shaving cream is growing out of the piece of soap. It’s also way awesome fun to watch! Who needs a TV? And it leaves a fresh scent in the microwave for a little while. Let the foamy mounds cool completely — they’ll deflate some. Then crumble. Add to laundry per directions or use in an online recipe for homemade laundry detergent. Zote’s website also offers a recipe for making liquid Zote by cooking it with water on your stove until it dissolves. You can let it cool to a gel for future use. Check out the list of other uses for Zote! Wacky. Use per directions.

To use in your laundry as actual laundry detergent you’ll need to grate it with a cheese grater or pulverize it in a blender or food processor (cut into medium small chunks first). You can also put smaller slices into the microwave and zap a couple minutes until the soap foams up. It will look a lot like shaving cream is growing out of the piece of soap. It’s way awesome fun to watch! (Maybe a little too much fun for some of us.) Let the foamy mound cool completely, then just crumble it to a powder with your fingers. Add to laundry per directions or use in an online recipe for homemade laundry detergent.

I was able to remove some exceptionally tough stains by adding a little hydrogen peroxide to the stain along with the Zote treatment. There were some really hideous stains at the underarm area of a cream-color, short sleeve sweater I rather like. How did I sweat that much? Maybe it was some icky brand of deodorant that left the stain? Anyway, I tried several commercial spot removers as well as pre-treating with conventional laundry detergent and adding a small amount of bleach to the laundry. But those stains did not budge until I rubbed liberally with Zote and added a little peroxide. Then I let it sit a bit and laundered with a homemade laundry soap (made with Zote, washing soda, and borax). The stain was darn near 100% gone except a small streak right at the seam which probably didn’t get as much Zote.

SIZE: 14.1 oz , 400 g COST: $1.99, $1.27, $0.97 (prices from Home Depot, H Mart international grocery, and a Walmart respectively ) COLOR: comes in white and pink, both semi-translucent (The two colors have identical formulas with the exception of non-staining color added to pink. The white is natural and free of added color.) CONSISTENCY/TEXTURE: firm but pliable, like slightly warmed candle wax RESIDUE: None noticed when used grated, pulverized, or powdered. Larger slices may not dissolve all the way. May depend on water temperature used and water conditions in your area. WHERE MADE: Mexico AROUND SINCE: 1970 FRAGRANCE: clean, soapy, citronella*** INGREDIENTS: for white: “sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, fragrance, optical brightener.” (And that’s it. Which is pretty cool if you ask me.) For Pink, all the above plus “violet 10.” And that’s it. OTHER INFO: 66% fatty acid. Alkalinity of 0.04% (bath soap is 0.02%) Website claims some folks use it to bathe. Everything but the optical brightener is just soap, right? Maybe it will impart a bright, glowing complexion. Who can say? VEGAN: no ** HOW IT WORKED: Useful for spot treating. Fresh out of the wrapper you can squish it with your hands like firm clay. It was soft enough to rub directly onto the spot or stain with no water. It leaves a wax-like film. But the bar seems to get a little firmer once opened for a while so you may find it helpful to either moisten the end of the bar or the area of the stain. Rub firmly and thoroughly to cover the stain with a film of soap and let sit a bit before laundering. White Zote leaves a cloudy colorless film, while pink Zote leaves a pinkish film where you rubbed it. Let sit a bit. Wash. Spot comes clean. Like Fels Naptha, it works especially well for oil-based stains.

There are just 3 ingredients to the recipe – borax, washing soda and a bar of Fels Naptha soap – and all of these items can usually be found in the grocery store, in the same aisle where you’d buy the big name detergent brands (often times, you’ll find them tucked on the lowest shelf). The longest part of the process has always been grating the bar of soap to make the dry mix, but many of you recommended the microwave method, claiming that it saves your arms a workout. (I’ll take that!) A few months ago, I tried this new-to-me method for the first time and shared the process in an Instagram Story, and we received so many questions, I thought I’d share over here just how easy it is to replicate.

Some of our readers have swapped in Kirk’s Castile, Zote or Ivory in place of the Fels Naptha, and we’ve even heard of using OxiClean as an additional whitening boost! For anyone who may be having trouble finding the ingredients at your local grocer, you can get a starter pack right here. One box of both borax and washing soda will yield you many, many batches of detergent (we only buy these two ingredients maybe once a year), so we’re always sure to stock up on bars of the Fels Naptha soap.

Since completing the laundry room renovation, we also keep a wedge of Fels out by the sink. It has been an absolute miracle as a stain pre-treater; simply run it under water and rub it into anything stubborn. Before washing any of our dog bed covers, I’ll take a moment to pre-treat the worn down areas, and they always come out of the wash looking great.

Our double batch fits perfectly in one of these glass jars (we use these jars for everything from stashing coffee to cat food!), and we keep this 2 tablespoon scoop inside.

Six years ago, we decided to try our hand at making our own laundry detergent. It started as an experiment in saving some money, but then something happened – we never stopped. It’s cost effective and we like that this mixture leaves our clothes clean without the heavy scent of ‘mountains’ or ‘fields of flowers,’ but most importantly, it works! The lack of perfumes and dyes is friendly for the allergy prone (aka, us and every single animal that lives in this house!), and we’ve used it in both a standard washer and, most recently, our H/E machine, too.

Zote vs Fels-Naptha Soap Cleaning Test!

Can I use Fels Naptha for laundry detergent?

I’ve chosen to use Fels Naptha for my laundry detergent. Try using Dr. Bronner for your homemade laundry detergent instead. Other soaps that work well are ZOTE, and Pure & Natural. Both Fels-Naptha and Zote are called laundry soap, meant specifically for cleaning clothes. Of course you can use your own homemade bar soap too if you want.

How do you use Fels Naptha?

Deal with poison ivy – Whether you have poison ivy on your clothes or your skin, you can use Fels Naptha to help get rid of poison ivy for good. Make dish soap – Just like laundry soap, you can use Fels Naptha Soap to make dish soap. 1 part of grated Fels Naptha to 2 parts water warmed on the stove until all combined.

What can I use instead of Fels-Naptha soap?

Pure soap flakes can be used as a substitute for the Fels-Naptha soap in your homemade laundry detergent recipe, skipping the tedious process of grating it. Simply add borax, washing soda, baking soda and your choice of essential oils for an easy DIY solution.

Can you use Fels Naptha soap to wash clothes?

There are even bar soaps that are made for laundry, such as the Fels Naptha Laundry Bar (amazon paid link). This soap bar is made specifically to remove stains, and it’s recommended that it’s used with actual laundry detergent. However, using this to give your clothes a quick wash in the sink will work just as well. 3. Body Wash Less is more here.