Inside: A very simple 100% coconut oil soap recipe that produces a hard, strong bar of soap for cleaning or laundry. Not for skin!
Of all the frugal home projects you do, your friends might find this one the weirdest. But that’s okay.
You’ll be saving money on random stain removers, spot cleaners, and other miscellaneous cleaning supplies and exchanging them for this simple soap bar that costs pennies per bar.
Here’s how to make it!
Homemade Cleaning Soap
A coconut oil soap designed specifically for cleaning. Perfect for spot removal on upholstery, laundry stains, and use as all purpose cleaner.
Prep Time 30 minutes minutes
cure time 1 day day
Total Time 1 day day 30 minutes minutes
Ingredients
- 30 ounces coconut oil
- 11 ounces water
- 5.52 ounces lye
- color and fragrance optional
Instructions
Measure ingredients. Measure out the lye, coconut oil, and water in separate containers using a digital scale.
Make lye water. Add the lye to the water, taking care to avoid breathing in any fumes. (NEVER add the water to the lye.) Stir with a butter knife to make sure all the lye dissolves. The solution will get very hot. Carefully set it aside to cool in a safe place.
Melt coconut oil. Place the coconut oil into a pot and melt over medium-low heat on the stovetop. The oils must be completely melted and 130-140 degrees before proceeding. Once it has reached the temperature, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool in a safe place.
Check temperatures. Check the temperature of your oil and lye after an hour or two. You can use a thermometer or feel the side of the containers with your hand. They should be comfortably warm, but not at all hot.
Stick blend to trace. Pour the lye solution into the melted oil pot and blend using a stick blender. The soap solution is very caustic at this point and can cause burns. Make sure you are wearing gloves and goggles. Have everything ready before you start. Blend until your soap reaches trace.This means that when you drag your blender through the solution, it leaves a trace. If you lift up your stick and soap batter comes off of it, it will not immediately flow back in like a liquid, but will sit on top for just a second, like a thin batter.
Pour into molds. As soon as trace is reached, immediately pour the batter into the molds. If you take too long, soap will start forming and hardening right in the pot. Put your mold out of the way somewhere to let the soap saponify (turn into soap). It will need to sit about 12-24 hours
Cure. After the waiting period, turn the soap bars out and store them in a ventilated spot such as an old tea towel on top of a dresser. Allow to cure two weeks before using.
Notes
Remember that this soap is not safe for skin. It is much too drying.
Can be used to rub onto stains, clean spots on the carpet, or rubbed onto a damp cloth for cleaning counters, appliances, or anything else. If you like homemade laundry detergent, you can shred for that as well!
New soapmakers, you need to be careful when working with lye. Read this first.
What makes this different from regular soap?
Homemade cleaning soap is one of the most useful products you can have to save money on cleaning supplies. Although it is way too harsh to use on your skin, is perfect for household chores
This is the easiest soap recipe you can make. It is designed for making laundry and cleaning products. it only contains coconut oil, water, and lye.
If you are new to soap making, you need to know that all soap is a combination of oils, water, and lye. A chemical reaction occurs, and soap is produced. At first it is a batter, then you pour into molds where it sits overnight and becomes a bar of soap.
The oils you choose affect the outcome of your soap. Some are extra cleansing, some are moisturizing, etc. This recipe uses only coconut oil, the most drying and cleansing oil of all. It is calculated to have NO superfat so that it doesn’t leave any type of residue. (The things that make it terrible for your skin make it perfect for cleaning!)
This recipe contains no color and no fragrance. When I mix it up into household cleaners I add fragrance at that point if I want it. But you could certainly add fragrance and color to the soap batter.
- 30 ounces coconut oil (buy it in bulk to save money, brambleberry.com is good source)
- 5.52 ounces of Lye
- 10-12 ounces of water
- A digital scale.
- Stick blender
- Individual bar molds. This recipe sets up hard and is difficult to cut!
- Old pots and cups for measuring ingredients
Step by step
We begin, like with all soap recipes, by mixing up the lye and water. This will create fumes, so do this outside or near an open window. They will shoot up in temperature. Set it aside to cool in a safe place.
Next, melt the coconut oil over low heat on the stovetop. When it’s melted, it will look like any other cooking oil.
Everything needs to cool now for a few hours until they are about 110 degrees.
Get everything ready to go before you blend. You’ll need your mold out, and any color or fragrance if you’re using them.
Put on your safety gear (goggles and gloves), and blend the soap. It will come to trace very quickly, since it is all solid oils.
Immediately pour the soap batter into bar molds.
Let it sit for about 24 hours, then unmold.
It doesn’t need much cure time, since it is such a hard bar and you aren’t using it on your skin. Store in a dry, cool place.
This is a versatile and easy recipe! As you get more comfortable with soap making, try a shower soap or hand soap too!
Ideas for using your cleaning soap:
- Spot cleaning upholstery or bedding. You can get the bar wet or spray the fabric with water. Then rub the bar onto the stain and follow with a wet rag. If just a small stain gets on a quilt or bedspread I will often do this rather than washing the whole thing.
- Use it as a dish soap. Simply keep a bar with a wooden scrub brush and dish rag by your sink, get soap on you brush or rag, and clean your dishes.
- Rub the bar directly on any laundry stains before you put them in the washer. A little water and some scrubbing with this soap will effectively pretreat stains very well. It is especially good for greasy or ground in stains that resist stain sprays, like ring around the collar or kid’s dirty sleeves around their wrists. I keep a bar in each bathroom so that whenever someone gets undressed I can spot treat their clothes.
- Make soap flakes with a box grater or the shredding disk of your food processor. Mix in a mason jar 2 parts soap flakes to one part borax. You can add a few drops of fragrance oil or essential oil if you like. This makes a nice scrubbing cleanser for the bathroom toilet, shower, or tub. You will need to rinse well after using it, so don’t try this on your mirror or floor.
- When you travel, take a bar with you to hand-wash small clothing items in the sink.
- (I don’t like homemade laundry detergent. I just don’t think it cleans well, regardless of the recipe. But if you like it, this bar works as well as any other, such as Zote or Fels-Naptha. I’ve tried them all.)
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You can browse all my soap and lotion recipes here.
