thinking about soaps

image via The Diaper Wagon

Soap is pretty easy to make. It is basically oils mixed with a alkaline solution. The acid/base solution neutralizes one another and creates a high enough PH that synthetic preservatives aren’t needed. Because oils can be costly, some companies have taken the cheap route and use detergents instead of soap. Detergent is a synthetic surfactant that is great for cleaning (phosphates do the hard work), but it can prove to be toxic when in contact with our skin or as it rinses back into the water table.

A very recent convert to Country Save for the bulk of our laundry (great for our hard water or HE friendly, even septic tank friendly), I occasionally will also use Rockin Green for diapers. We opt for unscented (Bare Naked Babies), though the scent options s are quite yummy, & it's great for stain removal & getting rid of any mineral deposit in the washer itself (both via a brief soak before running the normal cycle).