| Thread Number: 40859
Instant Fels Naptha, a little experiment |
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Post# 604539 6/18/2012 at 15:02 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen  (columbia ky) |
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  After seeing some vintage ads for Instant Fels Naptha, and realizing I not only had the day to myself, but also that I was rather bored, I decided to perform a small experiment. I wondered would it be possible to re-create Instant Fels Naptha detergent, and what the results might be.
A quick trip to the shops provided the necessary ingredients, and I began mixing. First an entire 10 load box of Trend detergent, not a great performer cleaning wise, but it contains several ingredients I wished to Include, such as washing soda, optical brightener, whitener, and sodium silicate to protect the washer. For 1 dollar this seemed a good way to obtain all these things. As a bonus, Trend is so lightly scented as to have almost no scent of it's own. Next 2 cups TSP to soften the hard water one must deal with in this area. (This was used only for the trial batch, as it is locally available. For any later batches STPP purchased online will be used) Finally an entire bar of Fels Naptha laundry soap, grated to equal about 4 cups. ( the best smell on earth). I mixed everything, for a total of about 16 or so cups. I then proceeded to blend the coarse mixture in small batches in the food processor, to reduce the coarse ingredients to a fine well blended consistency. The end result was about 9 cups of this finely ground, lovely pale yellow detergent powder, with a gorgeous old fashioned scent, (none of the overpowering floral tropical perfume like smells of modern detergents. 
This post was last edited 06/18/2012 at 15:24 | ||
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Post# 604540 , Reply# 1 6/18/2012 at 15:06 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Now I needed something to experiment on. I rummaged about, and found an old table topper I had meant to get rid of, which being 100% cotton and white, served my purposes exactly. I then proceeded to stain the cloth using engine grime from the lawnmower, mustard, ketchup, blueberries, and some permanent fountain pen ink.
Stains are in order left to right across the cloth below. I got a bit lavish with the ink, lol. 
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Post# 604543 , Reply# 2 6/18/2012 at 15:11 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Half a cup of my detergent in the Daewoo Twin tub, along with hot water, provided a milky wash fluid, with just a trace of bubbles across the top, and no real suds. The water felt very slippery, and smelled heavenly. Although I am used to suds, and one normally wants suds with soap, I understand from reading previous posts by Laundress that soap combined with detergent kills the suds, so I proceeded.
I threw in some ratty old towels kept for such lowly purposes as hair dye etc, to help give some bulk to the load. Here we are washing away.. 
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Post# 604544 , Reply# 3 6/18/2012 at 15:15 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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After a 12 minute wash, (I do so miss the fast wash times of the old twin tubs),
I rinsed in the spinner, first rinse warmish, second rinse cold, final rinse cold with a splash of vinegar. I did notice the smell of the Fels Naptha was completely gone after the second rinse, sadly, but this does point to it being clean rinsing, so compromises must be allowed. Is there anything lovelier than a line full of white laundry in the sunshine? 
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Post# 604545 , Reply# 4 6/18/2012 at 15:22 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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And here we have the results. The mustard, ketchup, and blueberries are gone completely, the engine grime is somewhat lightened, and the ink is extremely lightened. Not bad for no pre-treatment on stains I ground in and then allowed to dry into the fabric.
On a side note, the towels, while clean and not heavily scented, were not nearly as soft and fluffy as I would have liked. I believe for the next load I will try skipping the vinegar. Should this fail, I guess a rinse with fabric softener may have to follow the vinegar rinse. I was hoping to eliminate the need for softener, per the old ads for true Instant Fels Naptha. 
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Post# 604547 , Reply# 5 6/18/2012 at 15:50 (333 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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 While containing builders such as washing soda was still mainly a soap based product. That was the reason behind the "no fabric softener" required marketing. You can test for the presence of insoluble substances and or builders in soap (washing soda, rosin, talc, borax etc...) by disloving a tablespoon or so in a good sized jar filled with hot water. After closing the jar well shake to dislove the soap in water then allow to rest for awhile. As the water cools the soild matter from the soap will settle to the bottom of the jar. You can also do this in a pot of hot water (stirring instead of shaking) but you'll have to pour off the cooled water to see the stuff at the bottom.
Many soap based products such as Ivory Snow/Flakes (washes softer than detergents) made similar claims all based upon the same fact. Pure soap never truly rinses clean of fabrics, there is always a bit of whatever fats/oils are used to create the stuff left behind which acts as sort of a fabric softener. Also if you use pure soap for wash day without or very little harsh builders such as washing soda, TSP etc the laundry will feel softer as well. This is why many say their laundry feels softer when washed in liquid detergents versus some powders. The former lack washing soda,Zeolites and so forth. If you want a softer wash with your homemade detergent I'd ditch the TSP in favour of STPP. Haven't used Trend in years but the powder one tried during one's college years was a BOL detergent full of fillers and washing soda. That alone would give you a harsh feeling wash. Whenever one is mixing pure soap formulas for wash day (and one has enough of the stuff to last the duration), I go for liquid detergents over powders. Usually a small amount of liquid Tide "HE" free and gentle. First and foremost the liquid detergent provides water softening without the harsh builders mentioned above. In the case of Tide one also gets a good cocktail of enzymes and other substances to assist with stain removal. You also have chemicals to keep soils from redepositing on the wash and from clogging up the washing machine. | ||
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Post# 604563 , Reply# 6 6/18/2012 at 16:19 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Thank you for your reply, you are always so knowledgable when it comes to such matters, I knew you would have some good advice about using a soap formula.
I hadn't really intended for this to become a daily driver detergent, just an interesting experiment, but now I am intrigued. Is there a recipe you would reccomend if I were to carry this experiment further? I do love the convenience of powder, but I see your point about the liquids as well, especially since judging by the ads even Instant Fels came in both powder and liquid versions. I had considered at first using just grated Fels Naptha and STPP, but was afraid this would cause buildup in the washer and the fabrics, leading to the dreaded tattletale grey. However this may be closer to the original formula judging by your comment. Lastly, you are correct. Trend is a very BOL detergent, fluffy and filled, a 1 cup formula, without much at all in the way of stain fighiting ability. I only chose it as it was so cheap for an experiment I actally expected might fail, and it was one of the only lower cost detergents with a ful ingredient list. | ||
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Post# 604599 , Reply# 7 6/18/2012 at 17:51 (333 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Drop me a message either by email or internal system with your address and if desired will send some vintage laundry soaps from my stash.
As for laundring with pure soap and or mainly soap based laundring products long as you keep the following in mind you should be fine. First is water quality. You need plenty of hot or at least warm water if you're going to use pure soap for laundering. The more liquid or other detergent you are willing to add the worse one's water quality can be. Or, simply use phosphates to soften water *BEFORE* adding soap. There isn't a fast and hard ratio for soap to STPP ratio because water hardness varies over much of this country. In general however you can start with the recommended amount of STPP then add enough soap to one has a rich thick layer of suds that hold up during the wash. Rinsing: If using pure soap then the first and maybe second rinse should be in hot or as warm as the fabric can stand. You want to flush out soap and soil from the fabric before the fibers contract by contact with cold water. If your water is hard then add some STPP to the rinse baths as well. The final rinses can be in warm or cold water. The commercial laundry manuals one has from the early part of last centruy give washing machine formulas (using soap for washing) where the machines did mostly all rinsing in hot or warm water. Others rinsed in cold. It cannot be stressed enough that without proper rinsing you will get "tattle-tale" grey laundry when using soap. The off colour comes from soap and soil residue that is built up in fabric. In olden days and even for the early part of the last century laundry was boiled after the wash when soap was used for laundering. The boiling helped open the textile fibers so soils and whatever would leach out. Since laundry was liften out of the boiling pot the gunk remained. The other thing to remember about using pure soap is that it's best to pre-soak or pre-wash laundry first and certainly treat any stains. The pre-washing removes much of the surface soils and water based stains leaving less for the soap to deal with. Pre-treatment of stains was to insure they were removed as far as possible and to prevent them from perhaps being set by contact with soap. | ||
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Post# 604610 , Reply# 9 6/18/2012 at 18:35 (333 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Was widely sold in it's pure form and as part of packaged brand name water softeners (Climatine,Melo, etc...) for much of the early part of the last centruy, right though the 1950's or so.
From what one has read TSP while alkaline isn't nearly as bad as washing soda (could have that backwards), and if one was using the shifting of laundry method to do the wash (wringers/mangles) when used even soap it wasn't that bad. Apparently the action of wringing laundry out of the wash tubs squeezed out an or otherwise left whatever gunk and participate hard water mineral matter in the tub. Not sure why there is a difference but when modern spin drying washing machines came along that TSP laden water was "filtered" through the laundry and that wasn't a good thing. | ||
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Post# 604612 , Reply# 10 6/18/2012 at 18:42 (333 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Went into laundry even for the housewife's sake during the period say from 1900's through the 1950's. People believed in applying science to everything and there was a movement to lighten the burden on housewives, maids and anyone else stuck with the often backbreaking drudgery of housework.
Mind you all those women who went to college and earned degrees in home economics or even the sciences had nothing else to do. Chemistry in the big companies and universities was a man's game. Even when they did hire women it was often for less pay to do the behind the scene work. Anywho it is really amazing to read my vintage laundry manuals where so much research was devoted to soaps. How they were made, types of, types best suited for each purpose etc... They also knew about the dangers of LCB/Javelle water and certain other bleaches such as oxalic acid. | ||
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Post# 604631 , Reply# 11 6/18/2012 at 20:03 (333 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Ladies in years gone by truly had to be amature chemists in order to have properly washed laundry. While I don't have access to any of those lovely old laundry manuals like Laundress, I have heard a few old family recipes, including one for "laundry soap", which began as a basic lye soap, but towards the end added things like sal soda (washing soda), ammonia, and salt, if one remembers correctly. Not to mention that as laundress said, stains must be pre-treated, and in those times there were no store bought pre-treaters. The lady of the house had to be able to remember what home brewed formula to use on each and every sort of stain if she were to have clean linens for her home and clothes for her family. And as the world at large was of a more respectable turn in those days, stained clothing was not an option, for anyone. The dirty looking things one sees some people wearing now are enough to give you chills.
While I love the convenience of modern detergents and modern machines, I find it interesting to learn how things were done when housekeeping was an art, and some days it is relaxing to be able to take all the time one wants piddling around with some or another method, and to sort of transport one's self to another time. The benefit of living today, is one is able to keep the best parts of the past alive, while leaving the worst parts well in the past, where they should be. | ||
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Post# 604754 , Reply# 13 6/19/2012 at 13:25 (332 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Per the advice given by Laundress, I changed things a bit. 1/3 bar grated Fels Naptha, along with 2 Tbsp or so liquid detergent in HOT water gave a nice soft layer of suds, and in went some towels. They seemed to wash well, though next time I will try 1/4 bar fells, and 1/4 cup liquid detergent. A hot rinse, followed by a warm, and finally a cold, all in the spinner, and out to the line they went.
OMG, the softness, the just clean smell! Launderess, you were spot on with the advice of using the liquid detergent! Right now I have a load of vintage sheets washing in the mixture. Im wondering how it would do to dissolve the Fels in water, add a splash of alcohol to keep it from gelling, and then blend that into some free and clear detergent? This would give an always ready blend, so long as it didn't seperate or spoil. | ||
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Post# 604880 , Reply# 14 6/19/2012 at 21:36 (332 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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A new attempt. Today I made a liquid version of the detergent. The liquid produced much softer results than the powdered version, though I didnt try it for anything extremely dirty yet. Hopefully the liquid will also have a lower risk of buildup than using pure Fels.
First I brought 2 1/2 cups water to a boil, removed it from stove, and stirred in 1 bar grated Fels. Once the soap was fully dissolved I added a splash rubbing alcohol to hopefully keep the mixture from gelling. Once it was almost cool, I mixed it into an entire 42oz bottle of LA Aweseome wool wash. (Available at the Dollar General, the wool wash from this brand is a decent cleaning performer, but too highly sudsing, to the point of being cartoon like.) 1/2 cup of the mixture made a thin skim of suds in the washer, and got a load of towels nicely cleaned, and just soft enough. I'm fairly sure one wouldn't be able to expect extreme stain removal from this mixture, but for sheets and towels it seems to do well, and is probably better for my vintage linens than using a stronger (harsher) detergent. 
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| Post# 604911 , Reply# 15 6/20/2012 at 02:27 (332 days old) by stan (Napa CA) | ||
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you now have 66 ounces of working product? the 42 ounces of wool wash, and the 24 ounces of the dissolved Fels, mixed with the Wool wash, that was unscented, and clear? Want to stay with you as you come to the end of your experiment, and see how this turns out! | ||
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Post# 604935 , Reply# 16 6/20/2012 at 04:55 (331 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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While I didn't measure the finished product, I estimated it to be somewhere around 68 ounces. Though I was initially pleased with the consistency, as it has set it has become rather a thick slime, although the alcohol did prevent the soap from seperating, and kept it smooth. I'm considering possibilities as far as thinning the mixture, but I fear the addition of too much water will encourage seperation.
I'm working the next few days, but Friday I will make a test cloth like the one I used for the powder version, and see how the liquid handles stains. As a side note, don't worry about the powder going to waste. If nothing else it will be used for throw rugs and such, where softness does not matter. | ||
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Post# 605095 , Reply# 18 6/20/2012 at 18:10 (331 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Actually while the wonderful scent of Fels Naptha was part of my goal, the scent doesn't really linger if laundry is properly rinsed. Part of my goal was laundry that simply smelled clean, with no perfumy odor, but really I was hoping to get the softening properties of a soap wash, without the build up. Also, Fels Naptha and other laundry soaps are better for removing certain stains than most laundry detergents, hence why many use Fels Naptha as a pre-treater for stained clothing.
So basically, my goal is to get the cleaning properties of both soap and detergent, combined for the best of both worlds, as well as eliminating the need for fabric softener. My final goal was to attempt to make a stable mixture that would be ready to use off the shelf, without requiring one to combine various ingredients at wash time. That goal may not be acheivable from what I have seen thus far. At this point, I beleive my best bet may be to go with adding grated soap to a wash, until I find a combination that gives the best results, and then work from there on making a shelf stable mixture, rather than continuing to make batch after batch of mixtures that disappoint. Even if a shelf stable mixture is never possible, I don't think I will give up on using soap in the wash, at least for my vintage linens and such. | ||
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Post# 605109 , Reply# 19 6/20/2012 at 18:49 (331 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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It is far better to grate soap and disslove in hot or boiling water before adding to the wash tub. In the "old days" before soap powders came along a housewive or launderess would have either shaved bits/grated or whatever means to get bits of soap into a pan of hot water and allow to sit overnight before wash day. Ready made soap chips/flakes (Chipso, Ivory Flakes, etc...) made the job eaiser in that they dissloved eaisly in hot water and thus were well suited to the new mechanical washing machines. One dosed the soap into the machine filled with hot water, allowed it to run for awhile to disslove the soap, then got on with wash day. Commercial laundries would use "soap cookers" to boil down soap and water into a liquid or jelly.
The other method was to create various liquid or gel soap by the batch full using various formulas that gave ratios of soap, water, builders (borax, soda ash, washing soda, etc..)which would be prepared in amounts enough for a period of time's washing. Obviously a commerical laundry or laundress who did lots of wash made amounts to get themselves through say a week's worth of laundry. Housewives would need less but unless preservatives were added you wanted to only have on hand what could be used before it started to go off. Every good commercial laundry had a "soap man" with the experience and or knowledge to make up the soaps needed for that particular plant's type of work, quality of water and so forth. As time went on and products like Chipso (P&G's number one selling laundry soap for decades, only surpassed in sales by Tide detergent which after being introduced literally sent sales of all laundry soaps including Chipso dropping off a cliff), meant again housewives and or laundries didn't have to "cook up" soap from bars. According to one laundry manual (circa 1930's) the porportion of soap to soda varies between one-half to two times the amount of soap depending upon water hardness. They offer the following formula: 5lbs of soap 5 lbs of soda 25 gallons of water Amounts of the above varied by the capacity of the soap cooker/pot the mixture was being done up in; basically you wanted a ratio of one part soap, one part soda and five parts water. The soda recommended was "neutral or modified" soda which one believes is different from what we purchase today by the likes of Arm & Hammer washing soda. Personally one would and does ditch the soda and uses phosphates, but there again you have to test to create a formula that deals with the hardness of local water. | ||
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Post# 605111 , Reply# 20 6/20/2012 at 18:57 (331 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Energine (trichloroethane) - Dry cleaning solvent. Used to remove non water based stains such as ink.
Glycerine - Lubricant. Used before applying other stain removal treatments such as hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide - Oxygen bleach. Used for spot treating stains such as blood, scorch, red wine. White petroleum jelly - Another lubricant. White Vinegar - Weak acetic acid used to neutralise final traces of chlorine and oxygen bleaches. Will also counter damage to some color damage caused by alkaline spot treatments such as ammonia. Ammonia - Is a gas dissolved in water (hence the foul fumes). Alkaline in nature will accelerate the action of oxygen and chlorine bleaches. Also useful in removing blood stains. Ammonia will also counter damage to colours caused by acids such as white vinegar. Often just holding the affected area over an open container of ammonia will work as the fumes given off do the job. Ok, how did I do and what/where is my prize? | ||
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Post# 605172 , Reply# 22 6/21/2012 at 01:09 (331 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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| Post# 605181 , Reply# 23 6/21/2012 at 02:18 (331 days old) by stan (Napa CA) | ||
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more! *LOL* | ||
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Post# 606323 , Reply# 25 6/26/2012 at 01:47 (326 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Well, after the addition of another 3 cups water, I got a much more fluid mixture, but still nice and thick, not runny and watery. The mixture has held, and the last traces of alcohol smell are gone. On a down side, even though I rinsed thoroughly, I have noticed a few of the washcloths seem to have held some residue. I suppose the high heat and humidity here accelerated things, but some of the washcloths had a bit of a manky smell about them when I took them out of the linen cabinet. Not sure how to proceed from here.
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Post# 606329 , Reply# 26 6/26/2012 at 02:45 (326 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Order some STPP from the Chemistry Store.com and rewash.
Or, get yerself a bawlin pot! *LOL* The main two ways of removing soap/soil residue from laundry is to strip it out via phosphates (which convert the residue back into a type of soap), boil it out which causes the textile fibers to open up and release the muck. In the case of the latter the boiled laundry should be lifted out of the vessel and rinsed once or twice in hot or very warm water. One does this to leave whatever residue behind. | ||
| Post# 606380 , Reply# 28 6/26/2012 at 10:16 (325 days old) by stan (Napa CA) | ||
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the number of gallons your washer holds (part of the calculation) | ||
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Post# 606569 , Reply# 29 6/26/2012 at 23:01 (325 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Launderess
Ordering the STPP this weekend, will use it for all future soap washes. And for the first rinse, lol.. I see now why housewives so readily embraced detergent for all but their finest fabrics. Soap washes aren't only much more trouble, they are also much more expensive. By the time one accounts for the cost of water softeners, ultra heated water, and the high price of soap per ounce vs detergent, I agree with the housewives of the past. Nice easy affordable detergent for everyday washes, difficult expensive soap reserved for "special" items. That theory would play out better if I didn't have so many "special" items, lol. Stan My washer holds 16 gallons, if one remembers correctly. Not sure of the exact level of water hardness, but fairly hard. I think Launderess is correct, and further/better rinsing is what is lacking. | ||
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Post# 606586 , Reply# 31 6/27/2012 at 02:03 (325 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Actually the first SLS type detergents for fine wash put a dent in soap use for danties including silk and wool.
Vel,Dreft and others were mild and gentle detergents that did the job of cleaning fine fabrics in cold or warm water. Being surfactant based one didn't have to worry about water hardness and rinsing was easy. Such products were good for anything that required gentle cleaning, especially silks and wools, but couldn't deal with heavy duty dirt. That job remained with soaps until Tide came along. | ||
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Post# 606603 , Reply# 32 6/27/2012 at 06:00 (324 days old) by Frigilux (the open prairie of Minnesota) |
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 My mom kept a box of Ivory Snow (I think that's what it was called) for washing my "little kid" clothes. Was that soap or a detergent? I recall it looking like little, thin shaved flakes rather than standard granules.
I ordered a recommended laundry soap online a few years ago. Loved the smell, and towels were soft, but cleaning power was nothing special, and my washers (had a 2006 Frigidaire TL and a 2002 Frigidaire FL at the time) didn't allow for warm rinses, so had to be present to reset dial after first spin to refill with hot or warm water. Lost interest in it and went back to Tide. Then I discovered UK Persil Bio! | ||
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Post# 606607 , Reply# 33 6/27/2012 at 06:40 (324 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Both were pure soap based but the former were flakes the other powder.
Nothing smells like the nursery than Ivory Snow! Nabbed a few big boxes last year and drag it out when one has a "broody" moment. For most laundry soap will clean just as well as detergents, provided stains and special soils are treated and dealt with first. However it is going to take much more effort and hot water than with modern detergents. IMHO White King Soap powder got it probably as best as it could be. According to my vintage box the stuff contained surfactants, soap and water softeners, so it wasn't like using pure soap thus probably avoided many problems. Have so many other things open at the moment have just left the box in my stash. | ||
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Post# 606642 , Reply# 34 6/27/2012 at 09:26 (324 days old) by Frigilux (the open prairie of Minnesota) |
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| Post# 606709 , Reply# 35 6/27/2012 at 15:29 (324 days old) by stan (Napa CA) | ||
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I know the sense of smell is so closely connected to memory...Broody smell? Broody moment? can you elaberate a bit? | ||
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Post# 606716 , Reply# 36 6/27/2012 at 15:48 (324 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Post# 606717 , Reply# 37 6/27/2012 at 15:55 (324 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Have said before there are places in the EU such as France where soap is still used for laundry. Henkel sells "Le Chat" soap flakes in France, and persons still grate up Savon de Marseille for laundry in that country. Henkel amoung others also touts many detergents has having "Savon de Marseille" as part of the product. Indeed if you look at the content labels many liquid and powdered laundry detergents in Europe contain various amounts of soap. P&G and probably others in the United States also put small amounts of soap in their detergents. Tide's website states this as well.
Usually when such products claim to contain soap however it is often stearic acid or a similar componet of soap rather than a full soap product. IIRC V-Zug and perhaps other washing machines sold in the EU/UK have special cycles for those wishing to launder with soap. | ||
| Post# 606741 , Reply# 39 6/27/2012 at 18:22 (324 days old) by stan (Napa CA) | ||
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Thanks for the definition of "Broody" I'll remember that *LOL* | ||
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Post# 606776 , Reply# 40 6/27/2012 at 21:31 (324 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Actually just removed the boxes from the shipping crate and put them into a very heavy bin liner for storage. No, haven't tried them yet as there are so many products already open.
Did you try the soaps and Persil I sent in the goodie box? White King, IIRC they were one of the last holdouts as one cannot remember if they closed before or after P&G discontinued Ivory Snow. Basically the fine wash segment of the market was so dominated by Woolite and similar surfactant based products White King soap's sales went off a cliff. IIRC Huish owns the rights to the brand name. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK | ||
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Post# 606797 , Reply# 41 6/28/2012 at 01:11 (324 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Post# 606804 , Reply# 42 6/28/2012 at 02:28 (324 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Post# 607142 , Reply# 44 6/29/2012 at 15:53 (322 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Yes indeed, naptha was in short supply during the duration of WWII so P&G had to switch to other chemicals for their "naptha" soap. One assumes Fels and others had to make do as well or ceased production for the duration.
P&G marketed the soap produced during the war as "P&G "White" Laundry Soap and the wrapper had wording explaining the reason behind the switch. CLICK HERE TO GO TO Launderess's LINK | ||
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Post# 607152 , Reply# 45 6/29/2012 at 16:27 (322 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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While many naptha soaps came on the market after the sucess of Fels, Mr. Fels invented and IIRC patented the method of binding the stuff in soap so it remained stable and didn't evaporate quickly. Not sure how or even if P&G and others got around this.
In it's time naptha soaps were the bees knees for cleaning for heavy duty laundry and housework. The petrol chemicals did the work of dealing with grease and oil removal without all the harsh rubbing. Prior or even during this period housewives, laundreses and others would add a bit of gasoline or similar substance to the boiling pot of soapy water. One can only imagine how many serious burns and or deaths that method caused if the stuff was added too close to an open flame. Then there was all the rinsing required to get the stench of petrol off one's laundry. Benzine could be purchased in hardware or similar stores right up through the 1970's or 1980's IIRC. It was used for a variety of household purposes including stain removal. | ||
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Post# 608538 , Reply# 47 7/5/2012 at 18:13 (316 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Post# 608543 , Reply# 48 7/5/2012 at 18:47 (316 days old) by vintagekitchen (columbia ky) |
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Post# 608556 , Reply# 49 7/5/2012 at 19:44 (316 days old) by Launderess (La Pomme Grande) |
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Post# 608608 , Reply# 50 7/6/2012 at 03:31 (316 days old) by beekeyknee (Columbia,MO) |
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1
 Kevin,
I do agree with what you said earlier up the thread. The things one can see people wearing these days is atrocious. It's enough to give one sinkin' spells. I believe people who work in hospitals should be required to wear white, as in former days, so one can see how clean or dirty they are. If their clothes aren't clean one can surely bet their bodies aren't either. And if their bodies aren't clean then everything they touch becomes contaminated. A hospital is the best place to go these days if you want an infection. I don't agree completely with the theory that it's all because of the over use of antibiotics. Not trying to hijack the thread; just a sidetracked observation. Speaking of old cleaners, remember carbon tetrachloride? | ||
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Comes to the Rescue!
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