I'm a bit late to this discussion lol but I'm curious as to why it's not ok to use neem oil with Safer insect killing soap? The original Safer insecticidal soap is only potassium salts of fatty acids... No sulfur. Safer brand does also make a 3-in-1 concentrate which contains both sulfur and potassium salts of fatty acids, but this is not their original or only product. On a further note, castile soaps like Dr. Bronner's usually contain potassium hydroxide. Potassium salts of fatty acids are made by combining natural plant oils with alkali - typically potassium hydroxide. As far as I can tell, castile soaps & Safer insecticidal soap are very similar... P.S. Salts based on long chain fatty acids are the best/safest for plants. Salts made from shorter length fatty acids can have higher phytotoxicity.

To those of you who have been using these "home made" detergents, are you experiencing any odor, mold or mildew issues? The reason I ask is because castile soap builds up into a gooopy, gel-like gunk if not properly rinsed. This could potentially cause problems in washers. Every home-made product I've tried - from detergent to fabric softener - has proven unsatisfactory. Either the products don't clean well, they risk building up in my machine or on my clothes or they just don't work. Price is not the only consideration, which is what appears to be driving this homemade laundry movement.

"Tue, Aug 19, 08 at 16:32 I've just started making soap (more like a mess than anything...) and need tips. Its mostly just MP soap right now, but I plan on making soap from "scratch" once I get the hang of it. Most everything I've made so far is too soft or just plain runny. A couple of my soap-making books suggest using beauty bars and unscented bar soap to make a higher quality product (by adding oils of course). I currently have palm oil, almond oil, coconut oil, a few tiny bottles of Dr. Bronner's Magic Soap (base I guess...), and Kirk's Castile soap bars on hand. Recipes are welcome! :) Thanks! " Hi Abby, I have not attempted MP (nor really want to), so keep this in mind; I am coming from purely a "from scratch" experience only. If you are wanting to make your own soap, buy yourself a good quality scale. I use a triple beam scale, but you could get a digital scale that will measure down to the gram or tenth of an ounce, with a tare feature. To me it sounds like your soap has too much added oil in it You said that you are mixing ¾ of a cup of added oils/fats, to 2 cups of already made soap. First of all, measuring by the cup is not accurate for CP soap (MP, I am not sure of remember) Volume by the cup, is very different then by the weight. How much air is in that cup? In order for the oils/fats to be incorporated into the grated soap, would have to be far less than the amount that you have used according to that recipe. Most soap on the shelves, if it is indeed soap, the superfatting (this is what you are really doing, by adding the extra 0oils/fats, is at best around 8% and definately not close to zero at all. (Anything less than zero will burn skin = chemical burn from the sodium hydroxide, and just above zero could irritate) I make CP soap at 3 ½% superfatting, and that is low to most soaperÂs preferences. So, I would guess that the already made soap that you are grating is between, 4 to 9%; then you are adding more oils/fats. The amount that you should consider to add to that may be around 2 to 5%, but this is only a guess because we do not know how much "extra"/superfatting is in the store bought soap. The oily soap that you have made must have far exceeded the 8 or 9% that I have mentioned. This will not harden up for you. That soap is not usable in that state. Salvageable? Probably, but not at this stage of the game. Find yourself a good scale, and a mentor for making your MP soap, even a local hobby shop may be a good start? I hope this helps a bit and have fun with it! I check this forum infrequently but post any more questions; some others may help as well.

On the oil pulling, one thing I once saw mentioned somewhere is that some people may want to consider how they are disposing of the oil. Since it solidifies in cooler temperatures, it could potentially cause a rather nasty clog if you are spitting it down the drain. Personally, I could not imagine swishing anything in my mouth for 20 minutes. Linelle, coconut oil has been a "thing" for a while and how one reacts to the nutrition/health claims probably depends on one's point of view. My take on it, is that I like the taste and I do strive for variety so coconut oil is just one of achieving variety. It is quite useful as a moisturizer, as many noted above but I think as far as all the other possible claims, there is not enough information yet to say one way or the other. I did laugh the other day when in Trader Joe's looking at all of the coconut oil that was liquid. A true sign of summer.