Shelf life of hm soap

**onencgirl** · 02-25-2009, 12:45 PM

I was on another forum and someone said something about hm laundry soap having a shelf life. I've never heard of this and never had a problem. My hm laundry is used up in 4-6 months. Has anyone here heard of this?

**The Muse** · 02-25-2009, 12:48 PM

I haven't heard of it. Mine lasts about 3 months, and I've never had an issue with shelf life.

**mombottoo** · 02-25-2009, 12:58 PM

I have never had an issue with laundry soap going bad, so I think the person on the other forum may be mistaken. Perhaps they are having issues with clumping and consider that a sign that the soap is no longer good?

**Debbie-cat** · 02-25-2009, 01:13 PM

I have never read or heard of that before.

**old_lady_in_the_shoe** · 02-25-2009, 06:56 PM

I would think the powdered version would last pretty much forever...

Now the liquid/gel version, I would think would not last as long, maybe 6 months. I would say that becasue it is liquid and could start to grow germies after so long. It would depend on the temperature and other conditions of the area it is stored in, but I would say 6 months would be long enough.

If you want it to store for a long time, I would suggest making the powdered version.

**Thevail** · 02-25-2009, 08:54 PM

hee hee I'm not sure germies can survive in fels naptha..I'm just saying..if they can..fear them!

**Grainlady** · 02-25-2009, 09:38 PM

For all the years I used homemade laundry soap, I never had any "go bad", but I could see how it might be possible if there was some bacteria fostering in the mixture in the warm/humid environment of the laundry room. I also only made one recipe of it at a time - not a 5-gallon bucket.

It would also be possible for the fat in the mixture to go rancid after a period of time. If the bar of soap used in the mixture happened to be made with beef tallow rather than palm, castor, coconut, or olive oil, there are some substances in tallow that do NOT saponify. These tallow-containing soap products can also cause acne and skin breakouts.

I now keep on hand and occasionally use for laundry, a Castile Soap/salt/baking soda/vinegar mixture and add 40 drops of Grapefruit Seed Extract, a broad spectrum bactericide, fungicide, antiviral, and antiparasitic compound. That should take care of any potential bacterial growth. I also use this same mixture as an all-purpose cleaner in a spritz bottle.

**butterflygreen** · 02-25-2009, 09:44 PM

well mine lasts 3 to 6 months but we always use it up by than.

**old_lady_in_the_shoe** · 02-25-2009, 09:46 PM

Originally Posted by Thevail

hee hee I'm not sure germies can survive in fels naptha..I'm just saying..if they can..fear them!

You may be right, about the fels naptha soap, and hopefully that is the case...
but with a wet goo in a warm area, mold, germs and who knows what "may" grow, especially after a bit of time of sitting...you can't be real sure, in fact, I am not sure if anyone "really knows at all" and that may be the real issue.

Not everyone uses a commerical soap either, many people use their own lye soap or purchased lye soap and with these too, I would probally only keep the wet homemade versiona average about 6 months. I would have more doubt with the homemade lye versions than the fels napthe soap for longer storage times...

**zakity** · 02-26-2009, 12:54 AM

I use powdered, but I heat up some water in the mic and mix in the soap to make sure the soap gets dissolved.

**onencgirl** · 02-26-2009, 02:16 PM

The only thing I can figure is it must be the liquid they were talking about. I can see where it could go bad depending upon the ingredients. I make the liquid but as I said I use it up in 4-6 months and have never had a problem.