household soap - green and and carbolic....whats the difference

handymanni

Went to buy some household soap in order to make some home cleaning products as I was running low.

In the shop they had the usual green as well as carbolic.

Done a bit of looking around and it seems they are similar but not much is said as far as using carbolic for things like gloop etc

Anyone able to clarify?

Evil_Olive

Dunno about the suitability for laundry gloop but carbolic soap is an old fashioned antiseptic soap - very good for killing bacteria, it was used in hospitals and schools right up to the 1970s/80s

The added antiseptic ingredient is carbolic acid, which makes the soap a red/pink colour and gives it a coal tar type smell.
That is, if it's real carbolic soap - some modern ones are fake - they don't contain any carbolic acid - they are just dyed red/pink and have artificial coal tar scents added.

The real stuff kills bacteria and helps with B.O. ('Lifebuoy' brand was originally a carbolic soap) but some people find it can irritate their skin with prolonged use.

handymanni

Thanks for the reply.

So basically they have the same cleaning qualities except the carbolic also has the added antibacterial agent

Evil_Olive

That's my understanding, yes
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