Mushy soap

Thrift_Cottage

My soaps always go mushy, despite being in a proper soap dish with drainage holes. Does this happen to cheaper soaps?:o:o

elona

I used to put the bar of soap on top of a dry lace flannel and it stopped them going mushy.

iammumtoone

Are you storing it on plastic, wood is better

Soap should be kept on something like this



draining holes are not enough it should be on a rack or a dish where the air can circulate all the way round.

Also what the soap is made from will effect its hardness and how likely it is to go mushy.

downshifter

I thought I'd add a touch of class to my bathroom and bought Imperial Leather. It didn't go mushy, just hard and cracked. Terrible. Would prefer mushy!

Laura_Elsewhere

You could try storing decent soap, unwrapped, for six months or a year before using. Proper soap is supposed to harden off, otherwise you use it all up very quickly.

Hmm, it would make sense for manufacturers not to tell people that, wouldn't it? Then you use it quickly, and what's left goes mushy...

I would try buying a really good castille soap/ marseilles soap and leaving it til next autumn to air-dry in a cupboard, and see if that works.

I use Sally Pointer's handmade soaps ( google for her online shop ) and they last for ages for me, although I did bulk-buy for presents a few years ago, so mine are all air-dried a fair bit! I note she actually states they are sent wrapped "to keep them soft for grating" should you want to make soap-balls, etc. - the other side of the coin from the air-drying to make them more economical!

iammumtoone

Laura_Elsewhere wrote: »

You could try storing decent soap, unwrapped, for six months or a year before using. Proper soap is supposed to harden off, otherwise you use it all up very quickly.

That is correct for proper soap.

However I suspect the 'soap' the OP is taking about is not proper soap but referring to 'soap' brought in supermarkets.

These are not soaps (they have had all the glycerine taken out to be used for other products). You will not see the word soap on the packet most of them are actually cleansing bars.

Nomoonatall

A good way to store soap or 'cleansing bars', is to unwrap them and store them in your drawers. As in chest of drawers, but whatever takes your fancy!

Particularly good if your drawers are a bit musty! x

shandyclover

Most of my family use liquid soap or shower gel, except myself and my youngest. I use Dove and she uses Lush soap. We both store them on a little china soap dish and after use it goes in the airing cuboard to dry off - this way we have avoided the mush and our soap lasts longer.

Nomoonatall

Due to the 'Death of a Hoarder', I received 50 bars of soap, from the dead person's (by natural causes...this is not Midsomer Murders!) relative. I refused the other 200 odd bars. I don't even like soap, so it is being used in my cupboards to make everywhere smell as if I clean up properly!

It does dry out well and makes the place smell nice...if not a bit too soapy!

Thrift_Cottage

Thanks for all the feedback. Will try some of your suggestions. It's the supermarket soap that is the main mushy culprit.

[Deleted User]

I use Tesco value soap, just chuck it on the tiles at the end of the bath when I'm finished with it, and that doesn't go mushy at all.