While castile soap is a versatile and efficient soap product, there are still some ‘don’ts’ where your castile soap may be rendered ineffective, due to the chemistry and makeup of the product. Overall, castile soap is a wonderful product, but like every other cleaning product, there are some tips on how to use it in a more effective manner:
7 Tips When Using Castile Soap
No mixing of castile soap with acidic items
When you mix castile soap with anything acidic, the mixture of oils become unsaponified and split back into their original oils. For example, vinegar, which is acidic, is often used as a natural household cleaner as well, can affect your castile soap in this way. When mixed together, you will find that the castile soap curdles and starts feeling very oily. This is due to the chemical reaction between the two items, which cancels out the potency of each other.
Don’t use hard water with castile soap
Hard water can cause a reaction with castile soap and leave a soap scum or residue on your hair and skin. The soap is binding with the minerals in hard water to form cloudy liquid and leaving behind a residue after washing.
Hard water occurs when there is a high mineral content of calcium and magnesium in the water. Having a water softening system will reduce the concentrations of these minerals. In Singapore, the hardness of your tap water is generally soft, but ranges between from 25mg/litre to 145mg/litre.
If you have hard water, you can actually use distilled water mixed with castile soap or wash off with an acidic conditioning rinse. You can also install a water softening system to soften the water in your household, such as a water softening shower head.
Use an acid cleaner after cleaning hard surfaces
While mixing acid and castile soap is a no-no, if you want to get rid of the residue that the soap may leave on countertops and surfaces, using an acidic cleaner is great. Acidic cleaners like diluted vinegar or lemon and water can be effective in removing soap residues after cleaning.
Don’t store your castile soap for too long
Castile soap is economical and affordable, and often sold in large bulk containers for the whole household. However, storing it for too long can still make it go rancid. As these soaps are made from vegetable oils, they can still go bad and expire, usually after 3 years or more. So while you are stocking up, make sure that you are continuing to use the castile soaps as you go.
Dilute castile soap where needed
As castile soap is highly concentrated, you may need to dilute the mixture with water when using it for other cleaning purposes. For example, you may need to dilute the soap when using it as a shampoo, as it can be too alkaline for your hair. Similarly, if you’re using it as a vegetable wash for your fruits and vegetables, you would want a very mild cleaning solution.
Add baking soda
Castile soap really does not need to be mixed with any other products to be an effective cleaner. However, since baking soda and castile soap have similar pH levels, they can go together. In fact, using baking soda together with castile soap can form a soft scrub that may be good for cleaning stubborn, dirty surfaces.
Use The Blessed Soaps®️ for Effective Cleaning
We recommend using The Blessed Soaps®️ range of liquid castile soaps for overall cleaning for your body, hair and the whole house! A homegrown castile soap brand from Singapore, our special formulation ensures that dirt and grime are removed while leaving your skin moisturised and soothed. Add in the refreshing scents of 100% pure food-grade essential oils can calm the body, liven up the house and bring joy to the act of cleaning.
Made from premium quality organic olive, coconut and sunflower oils, The Blessed Soaps®️ are certified organic by NASAA - one of Australia’s most stringent organic certifying bodies. They also do not contain any parabens, dimethicones, SLS, artificial colours or fragrances.
You can thus be reassured that our liquid castile soaps are safe for everyone in the family - from pets to babies to your skin! Check out the full range of The Blessed Soaps®️ range of liquid castile soap and get to know why we love them so much.