What is laundry soap made of?

Laundry soap is made as follows: in special equipment (boilers) fatty raw materials, which can be of both animal and vegetable origin, are heated. As animal fats, raw materials are used that are unsuitable for food purposes – pork, beef, lamb fat.

Fat substitutes are also used. Next, the heated mass is mixed with sodium hydroxide, this is the usual caustic soda – caustic alkali, which is often used in various areas of the chemical industry. This mixture is boiled at a temperature not lower than 120 ° C for 10 days. The resulting product is called glue soap. They cool it down and get a well-known laundry soap. It is cut into pieces and sold. This method is called the direct method of making soap.

There is also an indirect way. Household soap according to this technology is made as follows: adhesive soap is additionally treated with sodium chloride (this is a common solution of sodium chloride). As a result, a soap core and soapy lye are formed in the soap.

Laundry soap is divided into three categories:

• not less than 70,5% fat in the composition;

• not less than 69%;

• not less than 64%.

The more fatty acids the soap contains, the higher its cleansing ability. The least amount of them is found in soaps obtained by the direct method.