Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

[Mike]

Now, I know this may sound like a silly thread, but every once in awhile you stumble onto something new - often by accident - that improves camping life.

For many decades, I have been a Phels Naptha soap man because it especially designed for hard water and it does, in fact bubble nicely even in the hardest of pumped well water and lake water. I use Phels Naptha bar soap for everything from washing dishes and clothes to washing my face - even for shaving if I am in a pinch. It makes for a harsh shampoo, though.

A couple of weeks ago, I was camping at one of our state parks and ran out of Phels Naptha soap. How do you run out of soap camping? I dunno, but I did.

Anyway, as luck would have it, the park had a small shop that was still open late in the season. Low-and-behold, that tiny shop had a bar of soap - only one bar of soap, and that bar of soap was Zest. It was my first time ever to try it. Oh man, after camping for several days what a refreshing soap that was for a face wash in the ice cold water from the iron hand pump! I felt good for the rest of the day.

Too much perfume for doing dishes? Maybe, but I don't care too much about that. I am not making it my soap at home, by the way. I want to have something special when I go camping.

Now, for the rest of the folks here, I expect we will learn about biodegradable soaps and some other neat detergents and soaps.

How about you? What is your favorite soap/detergent or cleaning product for camping? Is it the same product you use at home, or do you have special soap just for camping?

[tplife]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

We found that CampSuds does it all - dishes, hands, laundry, whatever - without harming BLESSED MOTHER GAYA so we can come back to the campground next time without being egged as Lynrd Skynrd rednecks! No biodegradeable lectures from this organic chemist, that formula's been what it is for almost a half-century now due to California's unique talent to tell the rest of the world how to live. And admit it, you know we're right!

[Mike]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

Ha ha ha. Leonard Skynard rednecks. I love it. I have seen those campsuds in the stores, but wasn't sure if it worked well.

Does it work well enough that you have used it at home too?

What makes it better for the environment that regular soap or detergent?

[Nickadeamus]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

“You’re not fully clean unless your Zestfully clean”

I think that is how it goes. But yes I have used it and many other brands and carry mostly biodegradable soaps anymore. As for what type I take I really don’t care. I’ll buy whatever kind I find first just to get out of the store as fast as I can. Sometimes I’ll buy some online but if it can clean me and whatever else I want to clean and it is biodegradable then I get it. But I do love Zest

I never put soapy water in natural water sources. I’ll dig a hole 100 feet or more from any water source and bump it there. I try to keep it at 200 feet or more but sometimes I just can’t do that.

[Riverdog]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

TPLIFE, Soap on a camping trip for something other than dishes? and to think I was just starting to think you were ok and now, now are talking soap like it is your best friend on whilst camping. Next think you know you will talking what your favorite camp razor is.

[Mike]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

Good old ivory soap is biodegradable and I use that on some trips especially if I am forced to go shopping in a strange town and the grocery store soap isle is my only alternative. Between a bar of Ivory and a small bottle of Dawn Pure and some Tide Free you can pretty much get everything done and not wipe out a bunch of fish.

By the way, any pure castile soap is biodegradable. Castile soap is made from olive oil and alkali, whereas Ivory is made from animal fat and alkali and is not a castile soap but still what you could call a pure soap. They are both biodegradable. Where you get into the not-biodegradable parts are in all the little extras the soap manufacturers throw in - chemicals, suds enhancers, scents, etc and especially things like phosphates which are really bad once they get into a natural body of water (think algae bloom).
.

So, if I understand it correctly, the difference between biodegradable soaps and non-biodegradable soaps is that the biodegradable soaps are made with animal or vegetable fats/oils while non-biodegradable soaps are made with synthetic oils. Is that the difference?

[Nickadeamus]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

LOL, Riverdog

I know people that never wash themselves when they are out camping. Now you can get really rank (smelly) if you do this but I will wash myself.

Talk about shaving, I was in the U.S. Army and when I was in the first gulf war we had to shave everyday without water. We had to hold all are water for drinking but was told we still had to shave to help keep are humanity and not turn into animals. Try dry shaving everyday for three months.

I never shave when out camping but I also car camp and will wash myself and my cloths. When you are a heave person like me you sweat a lot when you are out hiking and splitting fire wood and this will make your cloths stink a lot so I wash them when I can.


Mike,
That is what I have noticed as well.

[tplife]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

Pure crude oil will break down naturally in the soil under decomposition by bacteria and fungus. Biogradeability means that and nothing more. It has nothing to do with natural or inorganic, chemical or vegetable, "green", "sustainable" or any other buzzwords to make you feel better while seperating you from your money.

[Mike]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

Pure crude oil will break down naturally in the soil under decomposition by bacteria and fungus. Biogradeability means that and nothing more. It has nothing to do with natural or inorganic, chemical or vegetable, "green", "sustainable" or any other buzzwords to make you feel better while seperating you from your money.

I think you are correct, tplife. I am a soapmaker and I don't see a lot of difference between the "natural" or "organic" or "biodegradable" soaps and the standard soaps made with synthetic oils. To be "biodegradable" in the legal sense, the material has to break down within six months. Of course, few, if any, cleaning products can make this claim once they are introduced to a river, lake, or other body of water. That is why it is important to use these cleaning products away from water sources like streams, rivers, lakes, and wells.

The traditional soaps soaps all saponify the fats/oils with a caustic compound which is most commonly caustic soda. Caustic soda in soap is a very strong alkali which radically changes the ph of anything it comes in contact with including soil, water, plants, or your eyes (insert crying here)

liquid "soaps" are a little different, but check this out. Here is a list of ingredients from Campsuds which is supposed to be a premium biodegradable product compared with Dawn dish soap. Athough Dawn dish soap does not claim to be biodegradable, it is every bit as biodegradable as Campsuds which markets itself as being biodegradable :

CAMPSUDS Ingredient list: Ingredients: disodium ethylenediamine tetraacetate, sodium laureth sulfate, isothiazolinone chloride, coconut diethanol amide, sodium chloride, acetate chlorhexidine, glyceryl cocoate, lauryl hydroxy sulfobetaine, sodium lauroyl sarcosinate

Dawn Dish Soap ingredient list: water, sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium pareth-23, sulfate C-12-14-16, dimethyl amine oxide, SD alcohol, undeceth-9, propylene glycol, cyclohexandiamine, polyacetate, protease, fragrance, FD&C blue, no phosphate

[Riverdog]

Re: Silly time: What is your favorite camping soap??

FYI -that was tongue in cheek and a jab at some folks...none on this forum. If I can wade fish in the White River Arkansas (i.e. water temps ranging from 55 to 60 degrees) in search of the wily brown trout with no waders then...I bathe regardless of the conditions...certain conditions/locales require sponge baths, but clean socks/underwear with a best effort to keep clean are a must. Now that I car camp that is a whole lot easier. Shave = never

LOL, Riverdog

I know people that never wash themselves when they are out camping. Now you can get really rank (smelly) if you do this but I will wash myself.

Talk about shaving, I was in the U.S. Army and when I was in the first gulf war we had to shave everyday without water. We had to hold all are water for drinking but was told we still had to shave to help keep are humanity and not turn into animals. Try dry shaving everyday for three months.

I never shave when out camping but I also car camp and will wash myself and my cloths. When you are a heave person like me you sweat a lot when you are out hiking and splitting fire wood and this will make your cloths stink a lot so I wash them when I can.


Mike,
That is what I have noticed as well.