There is something old-fashioned and practical about a bar of soap, and they’re often much cheaper than liquid soap or shower gel. There are so many uses for a bar of soap that you might not know about. They’re versatile tools to have around your home, even if you prefer liquid soap. A bar of soap can be mixed into a simple solution for cleaning most areas of your home. For instance, if you need to clean your walls, you can mix up your bar of soap in a spray bottle, spritz the walls, and clean them in no time. In this post you can discover 7 ways to use a bar of soap around the house, apart from washing your hands.
1. Deodorise Enclosed Spaces
For small, enclosed spaces like dressers and closets that have a musty, stale smell, a bar of soap can be a quick solution. Simply wrap it in a piece of clean fabric and place it in the offending area. A single bar of soap can be divided into a few pieces, and each piece will remain smelling great for years. Only scented bars of soap will help to deodorise and absorb the smell. You can also add a bar of soap to your gym bag, shoes, and suitcase to keep them fresh.
2. Unstick Doors, Windows, And Drawers
Now that it’s summer, you’ll start to notice that the humid air causes wood and metals to expand, while in colder temperatures they tend to shrink. The expanding and contracting through the seasons can cause drawers and doors, and even windows to not open and close properly.
Use a bar of soap to glide along the tracks or hinges and loosen up the stuck parts which will reduce that friction.
3. Stick Zipper
For a stuck zipper, if the teeth are still lined up, you can quickly restore it with some soap. Lubricate the zipper by rubbing a piece of dry soap along the teeth and slide. Let it sit for a few minutes before easing the zip up and down. If there is still some resistance, add more soap and try again.
As soon as the zipper can glide up and down smoothly again, you can wipe away the soap residue with a damp cloth.
4. Make Liquid Soap
As bar soap is usually cheaper than liquid soap, you can make your own liquid soap at home by diluting leftover bars of soap. Do this by grating or cutting up the bits of bar soap and placing them into a large pot of water. Turn up the heat and allow the soap to melt down into gel. You can use a wooden spoon or stick blender to mix it up well, then simply pour it into your soap dispenser as required.
5. Removing Stains
Stains can come up anywhere, and specific stain treatment products aren’t always as affordable as we would like, so this is worth a try. You can use the soap bar to pre-treat before getting oil stains out of your clothes. This will also work for mud and grass stains.
Start by wetting the stain directly with a little bit of water. Next, rub your bar of soap directly onto the stain until it starts to create a lather. Let the clothing sit for a few minutes to ensure that the soap penetrates the fabric before you put it in the washing machine.
Another option is to make your bar soap into a liquid spray and treat the stain with that before laundering it. Grate the bar of soap into shavings in a bowl. Add boiling water bit by bit to ensure that the soap shavings are saturated, but not wholly immersed in the water. Then, use a wooden spoon to mash it into a paste. Once it cools, add a teaspoon of the soap to an empty spray bottle and fill the rest of the bottle with lukewarm water. You can give it a little shake to mix it all up.
6. Keep Your Glasses From Fogging Up
With a little bit of soap, you can keep your glasses free from condensation. Get some soap on your fingers and rub both sides of your spectacles. You can then polish them with a clean cloth or tissue to dry and remove smudges and streaks.
The soap will also stop water vapour from clogging your view.
7. Keep Your Fingernails Clean
By simply dragging your nails across a bar of soap, you can create a barrier against dirt and gunk. Even if you have to do a messy job like tidying plant beds, getting rid of weeds in the garden, or DIY maintenance of your car., you don’t need to worry about your nails anymore. Once complete, give your hands a good rinse to wash out the soap from under your nails, leaving them squeaky clean.
Conclusion
These are just some of the ways you can use soap in your home apart from just washing your hands. A bar of soap can also be used for simple cleaning tasks, like cleaning the kitchen sink or washing the dishes. It can be grated to make laundry detergent or you can use it to clean your window tracks. With a bar of soap, you’ll also be able to repel pests and rodents inside and outside your home. Use it as a simple insecticide for pests like spider mites, mealy bugs and other such insects invading your plants.
While you discover more ways to use a bar of soap around the house, let SweepSouth expertly clean up your home with one of our many professional cleaning services, so that you can start using your bar of soap in a clean space.
