Have you ever fantasized over the thought that you can use just one liquid or bar soap for dishwashing, doing your laundry and showering? Well, sorry to disappoint you, but soap may not be the best for all your cleaning needs. In this article, I will share with you why soap should not be used to clean everything and what you can use instead.
This article will cover the following:
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What is soap?
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Why should you not use soap for washing dishes, or doing laundry?
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What about castile soap?
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Why can soap be used for your body and not for your house chores?
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What should you use instead and can this be used for both dishwashing and laundry?
1. What is soap?
Soap is a mixture of fat or oil, water, additives and lye (also known as potassium or sodium hydroxide – Potassium hydroxide is used for liquid soap and sodium hydroxide is used for bar soap). When these ingredients are combine in the proper proportions, they go through a chemical process called saponification, which results in soap.
2. Why should you not use soap for dishwashing or doing laundry?
Implications of using liquid / bar soap for dishwashing
If you use soap to wash your dishes, you may find that your dishes are not thoroughly cleaned and there is a whitish-grey film on your dishes. This whitish-grey film is called ‘soap scum’, which is a residue usually in response to calcium or magnesium in water (especially hard water). The longer you allow soap scum to sit, the harder it is to remove.
It is also dangerous to eat from dishes that have soap scum residue on them as the chemicals in soap are not meant to be edible. These same chemicals may be found in the soap scum and you will likely ingest them. Having chemicals found in soap scum in your body may make you feel uncomfortable, have diarrhoea, or induce vomiting.
Implications of using soap for doing laundry
Using soap in your washing machine can also cause longer-term problems for your laundry. Soap scum and fabric are not a good combination. Repeated exposure to soap scum will make your clothes dingy and will also break down the fibers of your garments and other laundered items.
The buildup of soap scum is also really bad news for your washing machine. The soap scum buildup in your washing machine’s pipes can lead to slow drainage, and therefore your clothes may not be thoroughly cleaned. You may then think that it is your washing machine that is lousy, when in actual fact, the issue is due to the soap scum residue in your washing machine.
3. Why can soap be used for your body and not for your house chores?
Liquid or bar soaps are meant to cleanse your body and remove dirt and excess oils that can contribute to unpleasant odors. They are also intended to help wash away bacteria that can lead to infection, while still maintaining the natural, healthy levels of body oil you have. The oils used in soaps have great skin-loving properties and can also help moisturise your skin.
Some soaps even increase the oil percentage, hence there are additional skin loving oils in the soap after the saponification process between sodium hydroxide, water and oils is completed. They may also use more luxury oils like hemp seed oil, jojoba oil, tamanu oil which means that they are also high in antioxidants! I especially love organic soaps as I know that the ingredients used are not harmful and are not composed of synthetic materials.
When it comes to washing your dishes or doing your laundry – your main criteria is definitely not”cleaning your body to remove dirt and excess oils while still maintaining healthy levels of body oils you have”.
The main criteria for washing dishes is to be completely clean with no remaining residue.
Same for your laundry – the main criteria for laundry is to be completely clean, brightening and maintaining the colour and softness of your clothing.
4. What about castile soap?
Castile soap is soap that is fully vegan, and is formed after the saponification of primarily olive oil and other plant oils, distilled water and lye (sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide). Castile soap has been lauded for years as being gentler and more versatile than any other soap out there.
You may have heard of the famous Dr Bronner’s All-In-One Castile Soap that is meant for everything, including dishwashing, laundry, and cleaning floors. However, did you know that even the famous Dr Bronner’s All-in-one Castile soap has an alternative option when it comes to dishwashing and laundry.
This is because castile soap is still soap and is made in the same saponification method as all other soap. Hence, as with all soap, it is a reliable and thorough cleaner for your body, but on shiny or hard surfaces, it can leave a deposit of salt film behind, especially in hard water (which is water full of minerals like calcium and magnesium).
Since you cannot control what sort of water goes through your tap, I highly advise you not to use soap, even castile soap, when it comes to washing your dishes, doing your laundry or cleaning your floors.
5. What should you use instead and can this be used for both dishwashing and laundry?
a. What should you use instead?
A more recommended product to use for your dishwashing and laundry is dishwashing detergent or laundry Detergent. Detergents are formulated completely differently from soap. As mentioned in point 1 in this article, soap is formed from a saponification process between oil, water and sodium hydroxide.
As for detergents, they are usually a highly-foaming mixture of surfactants with low skin irritation, and are primarily used for hand washing of glasses, plates, cutlery, and cooking utensils in a sink or bowl. A detergent can come in various formats – powders, gels, and tablets or packs. Detergents can include ingredients such as surfactants that affect the way water acts, making it excellent at removing dirt from your clothes.
The surfactants found in detergents are molecules that improve the mixing between water and other substances, such as oil or grease. Surfactants aid in cleaning because they reduce surface tension and improve water’s ability to spread evenly over it. This creates a more uniform wetness that makes dirt and soil easier to wipe away and remove.
b. Can you use the same detergent for both dishwashing and laundry?
Yes and no.
When it comes to your dishes, it is straightforward – all you want is squeaky clean dishes and cutlery once you are done washing.
As for your clothes in addition to getting them squeaky clean, you may also want to brighten them, make them softer, get rid of hard-to-remove stains, get rid of pungent odours or whiten your clothing. Therefore, for your laundry, you will want your detergent to cater to these issues. In order to cater to these issues, your detergent will need to contain active ingredients, such as brighteners, stain removers, or anti-soiling chemicals.
You may be thinking that you can simply use your laundry detergent that consists of active ingredients mentioned above for your dishwashing. However, the detergent might not rinse completely from your dishes and you may be exposing yourself to toxins.
If you want to use the same detergent for both dishwashing and laundry, my best suggestion for you is to start with a base detergent, preferably one that is organic, and is also suitable for dishwashing. You can then build on from there for your laundry.
For your base detergent, choose one that does not contain toxins such as:
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
- 1,4-dioxane (in the short term can cause eye and nose irritation; long-term, it can even affect liver and kidneys. The state of California has declared it can cause cancer and has been found to be potentially toxic to your brain and central nervous system, kidneys, liver and respiratory system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)
- Nonylphenol ethoxylate (has been found to mimic estrogen and disrupt endocrine functions. That is, when exposed, your system may not be able to know the difference between nonylphenol ethoxylate and estrogen.)
- Synthetic fragrances
- Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (This has been linked to cancer, neurotoxicity, organ toxicity, skin irritation and endocrine disruption.)
- Anionic surfactants
- Petroleum distillates
- Phenols
- Optical brighteners
- Sodium hypochlorite
- Bleach
- Ethylene-diamino-tetra-acetate
You can easily check the ingredients lists of the detergent to see if any of the above ingredients are listed there. Usually you will also find phrases such as “Does not contain …” or “NPE free,” or “no bleach,” “SLE free” stated clearly on the descriptions of the organic detergents’ packaging.
My recommendation on what you can use as your base detergent
Remember earlier in this article, I mentioned that even thouse Dr Bronner’s Castile Soap is supposed to be multipurpose, they still have another product specifically for your dishwashing, laundry and home cleaning needs?
That product is the Dr Bronner’s Sal Suds Biodegradable cleaner and I highly recommend it as your base detergent!
Dr Bronner’s Sal Suds Biodegradable cleaner is a detergent that is free from toxins and nasties such as synthetic fragrances, Petroleum and Bleach. You can safely use this for your dishwashing. As for your laundry, you can use this and simply add on a few more ingredients to get the washing outcome you want. I will cover more more of this below.
In addition to your base Detergent, here’s what you can add on and use for your dishwashing and laundry, to ensure that your dishes and laundry are always completely clean after washing!
Dishwashing
- Dr Bronner’s Sal Sud’s Detergent (Or any organic detergent of your choice, preferably one that is free from nasties)
- Heavy Duty Sponge
- Non-abrasive Scrubber
- Dish Towels
- Bottle Brush
- Dish Rack
- Dish Brush
- Rubber Gloves (This is important if you want to maintain your youthful looking hands!
Laundry
- Dr Bronner’s Sal Sud’s Detergent (Or any organic detergent of your choice, preferably one that is free from nasties)
- ‘Bluing’ Agents
- Can be used with detergent but should not be used with chlorine bleach, fabric softener, or any other laundry product. The other products will cause spotting or staining if used with bluing agents.
- Lemon Juice
- The citric acid in lemons helps to break down stains and get those dingy whites back to bright. And unlike bleach, lemon juice is safe for colors, too.
- Borax
- Just add half a cup of Borax to each wash load, and you’ll boost the cleaning power of your laundry detergent. Borax acts as a buffering agent, and hence it helps to keep the water at an ideal pH level, even after detergent or other cleaners are added.
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I hope that this article has given you a better idea of why you should use detergent instead of soap for your dishwashing and laundry.
Did you also know that when it comes to soap, you can choose between soap and a syndet bar when it comes to your showering? I personally love using soap, due to the many skin-loving properties I can get from my handmade soap bars. However, bar soap may not be suitable for certain skin types. Find out what is the difference between soaps and syndet bars, so you can decide whether if soap is suitable for you, or if syndet bars are a better option.