Let's talk soap.

[jamesneuen]

I assume everyone here at least keeps a small amount of soap and other cleaning items on hand. So, lets hear what kind and why.

Type of soap, brand?, use, amount kept on hand, why you specifically chose that soap.


For me I store quite a few different types, almost all bar soap,

1. Ivory spring bar soap, currently have 7x3packs, use for hand and body soap though I think each person should have their own to prevent sickness in general, smells good, $1 per 3 at the dollar store and I'm a cheap ass.

2. Lava Soap bars, only 5 bars,use for hands or body for really gritty things, works great on really tough stuff but it's expensive

3. Dish soap is dollar store big bottles, 4 on hand, though we use the dishwasher so it just sits there.

4. BABY WIPES/HAND WIPES I keep both on hand in large amounts, almost 2 cases of each. Even though we have the ocean right outside saltwater can irritate and cause micro cuts on your skin once it dries into crystals, allowing skin infections. This isn't a guess, I spent almost 3 weeks in Panama and tried to bathe in the ocean. After the first week I had a skin infection on my lower back, center chest and.... other chafing areas. Found out I'm an idiot.

I like bar soap because it's really hard to use too much and be wasteful. Unlike body wash liquid where you can use a ton and waste it. I don't stockpile shampoo and conditioner because I have almost no hair, and everyone in the house in a long term situation would be getting a short haircut for hygiene.

I have no idea how women can have so much hair and shower every other day or less. I keep mine less than 2 inches and have to shower every day otherwise it feels grimy and oily.

[Kesephist]

I posted my saponifications table on here early on for making soaps, if it came to it.

No antibacterials, the very nature of soap is antibacterial. The hydrophobic/hydrophilic makeup of saponins will screw up bacterial cell walls a treat.

For shop work post SHTF, I would recommend GOOP in a gallon container with the pump nozzle, or one of the orange or other citrus based waterless cleaners.

In house, yes, Ivory or one of the other basics. Not having much of a sense of smell, the perfumed stuff is a waste for me. And hand soaps do very well for hair, just sort of drying, so oily hair would be neutralized.

Getting the fair sex to lop off a long lovely mane... you best have excellent relations with the couch for a protracted period, Chief.

The ex and I did make up batches of soap some time past. After they had properly aged and were wrapped in paper, they did fairly well. It seemed to me brown did the best wrap.

Might also consider that soap could be a trade item, too. A years supply would be well worth an oz Ag, to me.

I don't recall what would be useful as a plant soap down in the keys. Out here in the desert, yucca root does an okay job.

[jamesneuen]

Aloe vera plants are the closest we have to natural soap. Grows everywhere. Keep the outer skin on and chew it a bit and it makes a great toothbrush too FYI. Tastes like ass though.

The wife and I have an understanding, if it comes time for true panic, she will relinquish all decisions to me. She has seen me in some pretty hairy situations before and I have yet to disappoint. (yet being the key)

I dunno, a year supply of soap isn't very much to me. I go through maybe one bar every 2 months showering daily.

I think out in the desert that you would be in the same boat as me with the baby wipes and hand wipes. no?

- - - Updated - - -

I've never tried my hand at making soap but that is on the to-do list once I move up north and have a garage again. I want to do it completely from scratch with self rendered fat, wood ash, and all the other fun stuff.

[bacpacker]

Soap is an area I am probably lacking in, so this is a very timely thread for me.

We do keep at least one multibar pack on hand, say 10-20 bars. I think the wife get dial, although I wouldn't swear to that. Probably need to bump that up to at least 5 multi packs , or more.
We keep a couple of the large economy size bottles of Dawn dish soap, probably should triple that or more.
Laundry soap is bought in the largest containers were can get and generally have two of them on hand.
I try and keep a gallon of GoJo in the basement. I can get nasty just thinking about working on something. :) Need to triple that at least.
We always keep 2-3 cases of asswipes stocked up. I'm thinking need to up that to 5 or more.
After following a few threads about soap on here that people have made, the cost to produce it, and the effectiveness of it. I intend at some point to start making our own as well. For the same amount of money we spend in a year, we could probably make 5 years or more worth.

[Gunfixr]

We have some asswipes, not a lot.
Have several gallons of shampoo.
Several gallons of hand soap, anti bacterial.
Several gallons of dish soap.
Many family sized packages of the Ivory bar soap.

Ivory bar soap can be used for most all of the other jobs, including laundry. So, if you want to narrow it down, pile that up. Perfumed, or soaps with moisturizers in them, not so much.
The anti bacterial soap really shouldn't be used all the time, as it removes the good bacteria that you need, altering the balance. Regular soap is sufficient. We only have anti bacterial stored for special purposes, such as washing in prep for wound work or similar.

Really, showering every day drys the skin out. Post-shtf, I don't see many showering daily, or even every other day. Between the work load, and water usage, it just won't happen. People will stink.


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[jamesneuen]

I figured that post SHTF you would at least wipe off with a damp rag.

One of my (not to offend anyone) african-american friends had a hair brush, kind of soft like I would use when polishing my boots. He used it to brush his hair (which was VERY short) because he said he couldn't shower every day and that got all the gunk out of his hair and he just washed the brush every day.

[Caveman Survival]

We have a LARGE supply of personal hygiene products. Bins and bins of soaps, same for shampoos, TP, toothpaste, dental floss, mouth wash, feminine hygiene products, anti-bacterial wipes and gels, tooth brushes, dental picks, loofahs and loofah gloves... You name it we are stocked at least for a year in it... Enough for a family of 4 (we have five in the family but I guarantee one of them will kick the bucket immediately after shtf lol.) I make sure I hit every deal that I run across. Most of the stuff are things that we use daily and not just random stuff (although I do have a secret stash of no name crap too... Extra insurance that the wife doesn't know about -or vetoed.)

Do we have enough for an end of civilization scenario? Nope. But by then it won't really matter much and there will be a shit ton of other things to worry about . But for short to medium timelines we have them with bartering in mind.


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Patriotism is a pernicious, psychopathic form of idiocy. – George Bernard Shaw

To me, it seems a dreadful indignity to have a soul controlled by geography. – George Santayana

[Sniper-T]

I have enough ingredients to handle laundry soap for life, so I am good there.
Bar soap, I like Irish Spring, and have 50 or so on hand.
Dish soap, I need to try making again, I screwed up last time.
Haven't tried making shampoo yet.

TP and PT, don't have a lifetime supply yet, but close. Building on both regularly and steadily.

Toothpaste is an easy one to keep stockpiling, whenever on sale, I buy a few. Same with mouthwash.

Just keep adding, a little at a time.

[realist]

For dish soap the only type I use is Dawn Blue. Why because it is the only soap we would use for decon and it would pass the clean test on our equipment. So I guess if it would get the ickies off the equipment it would get them off of me too.

I do stockpile a bunch of Fels Naptha soap, it last for every and can be used to make more soap. I do have a bunch of bar soap, Irish spring too. I try to keep several boxes of laundry soap on hand. I do not use the packets because I want the powder so I can vary the size of the load.

[Gunfixr]

Dawn is what we use and store also. Primarily for cutting grease and oils, but the decon thing is good to know.
Short of a real hand cleaner such as go-go, dawn seems to work the best for dirty greasy hands. I imagine the addition of some sand or dirt would just add effectiveness.

Personally, we stay away from perfumed soaps, keeping with plain old ivory. Because it's just soap, nothing more. You can shave it and use it for dishes or laundry. Perhaps not perfect, certainly better than a rinse. Don't think I would want to shave and use a perfumed soap for dishes. Plus, you might be the only person for miles around that smells real nice. I think that might make you a target.

Now, for trading............

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[ElevenBravo]

I try to stock as much Ivory as I can... in the Infantry, Ive used it to wash body and clothes.. Ive got a cheese greater to grate soap for applications like laundry or... dishes. If I can only have 1 choice, it would be Ivory.

However, some bottles of dish soap would be a great backup... no-name Dawn would be my first pick.

EB