RSS Feed

  1. How to make castile bar soap

    February 20, 2012 by Karl

    Soap berry berry berry


    This article will show you how to make your own castile bar soap.  If you enjoy using natural soaps, this will show you how save money making it yourself for about $1 US per bar.

    First something that needs to be said about soap.  There is NO WAY to make bar soap without using lye.  It is a physical impossibility.  The basic reaction that is needed to make soap, called ‘saponification’, cannot happen without some form of lye reacting with some form of oil.  Lye is actually a general term for a very strong alkali (the opposite of acid on the PH spectrum).  There are generally two alkali’s that are used in soap making, sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide.  Both are considered lye, but the potassium hydroxide is not strong enough to make a solid soap.  It is only used for making the liquid soaps in today’s world.

    Soap manufacturers today do everything they possibly can to hide the fact that they use lye in their soap.  They have made up lots of names to hide it.  Dr. Bronners soap, which many naturalists are in love with as a natural soap, uses lye.  They hide the fact in their ingredients list by saying that they use “saponified oils”, which is the process of mixing lye with oil.  The public is afraid of the word lye, but they have no idea that it is used in every bar soap ever made.  Soap simply cannot be made without it.

    The important thing in any soap recipe is using the proper proportion of lye and oil to form a PH neutral soap when completed.  In times of old, soap makers were not using a pure form of lye in their recipes.  The PH of the lye was not consistent, so their end product could end up being very alkaline, and burn the skin.  The story of “lye soap” burning the skin has been passed through the generations, creating public fear of the word.  When properly used, lye is our friend.  Lye (sodium hydroxide in this case), when mixed in the proper proportions with hydrochloric acid, produces a strong chemical reaction resulting in table salt, something we have been eating for hundreds of years.

    The recipe below uses the proper proportions of oil and lye to create a PH balanced soap that will be very mild to the skin.

    Here are a few tools you will need:

    • A digital scale capable of 5 lbs measurement.
    • 2 glass bulb thermometers that can measure up to 200° Fahrenheit.
    • A stick blender.
    • A high temperature plastic jar  (to mix the sodium hydroxide and water).
    • A long-handled plastic mixing spoon.
    • A ladle.
    • Two large plastic bowls.
    • Soap molds.

     

    Here is the recipe:

    • All measurements are in weight – not fluid ounces.
    • All bars are assumed to be 4oz.

     

    Full Batch Half Batch Quarter Batch
    Makes 28 bars Makes 14 bars Makes 7 bars
    24oz Cold Distilled Water 12oz Cold Distilled Water 6oz Cold Distilled Water
    12oz Sodium Hydroxide (lye) 6oz Sodium Hydroxide (lye) 3oz Sodium Hydroxide (lye)
    74oz Olive Oil 37oz Olive Oil 18.5oz Olive Oil
    14oz Coconut Oil 7oz Coconut Oil 3.5oz Coconut

     

    Caution: Whenever working with Sodium Hydroxide it is recommended as a safety precaution that you use rubber gloves, goggles, and any other protective gear that you may want to use in order to protect your skin or clothing from accidental splashes of the liquid.

    1. Add lye to water in a high temperature plastic container outside of house. Do not breathe fumes. Always add Lye to water (not reverse). Caution: Temperature of mixture will rise to approximately 195ºF. Stir mixture with plastic spoon.

    2. Mix oils and microwave to 110ºF.

    3. Allow lye to cool (place in bowl of cold water to speed up cooling).

    4. When both solutions are at 110ºF, add lye solution to the oil mixture. Blend with stick blender until the mixture reaches “trace” where you can see a film on top of the soap that traces the line of the stick blender. Ladle into molds.

    5. Handle bars with care for next two days. PH will be high and can burn the skin for the first 48 hrs.  The PH will settle to neutral after this.

    6. Place molds in freezer for 30 minutes to help separate the soap from the molds.

    7. Allow 6-8 weeks to air dry before use.

     

    Distilled water is used to guarantee that the PH of the soap will be neutral when complete, and that no impurities are in the water that could affect the saponification process.  Distilled water can be purchased at any shopping center in a one gallon container.

    Lye (Sodium Hydroxide) can be purchased locally at any Lowes home center, and now Tractor Supply carries it too.  A two-pound container of Roebic Crystal Drain Cleaner is available for just over $12.  Make sure you buy the one that says 100% lye.  Or, you can purchase it in bulk HERE.  Two pounds are plenty to last more than two full batches.

    Please note that sodium hydroxide is considered a hazardous substance, and shipping prices increase significantly because of this.  It is also used in manufacturing certain illegal drugs, and some states may regulate the sale of lye for this reason.

    Soap molds can be purchased HERE or at many other internet soap supply retailer.

    How to make your own Castile Soap like Dr. Bronners from Frugalberry.com on Vimeo.

    I now have an article posted on how to use this bar soap to make your own liquid castile soap. Check it out HERE.


     Share

    Category Household | Tags: , castile, dr bronners, home made, how to, make your own, soap | 127 Comments

  2. 4 money saving tips for your car

    February 15, 2012 by Karl

    Car berry berry berry berry

    Here are four money-saving tips that the average home owner can use to save some big dollars on their car maintenance.

    1) What do you do when the check engine light comes on in your car? Most people take the car to their mechanic to get it checked out. That’s the logical thing to do. But, did you know that most mechanics in the United States charge between $75 and $200 or  more to “run a computer diagnostic”?  What this means is that they plug a hand-held computer into your car through a data cable under your steering wheel. The computer gives them an error code, and they check through their book to see what the error code is. It takes between two and five minutes to complete. That is better pay than most lawyers!

    Many times these codes are false alarms. The technician will simply reset the error code buffer, and send you on your way. If the problem comes back then it may point to something that is starting to go bad.

    Relax. There are a few places you can go to take care of this for free. AAMCO Transmission has a free computer diagnostic check. Some auto parts stores like Advanced Auto Parts, Auto Zone, O’Reilly & Champion will also check it for you for free. Pep Boys does too, if you are part of their rewards program.  It’s best to call ahead to any of these places to verify that they offer this service in your area.

    I always wonder what someone is going to sell me when they offer a service like this for free.  I personally didn’t want to rely on a business that I may not trust to interpret my computer codes for me.   I decided that I wanted to see how much my own diagnostic computer would cost. I was floored to find that I could buy one from Amazon for under $20!  Sure, it required a little forward planning on my part, but I ordered it, and have been extremely pleased with the purchase ever since.

    Two years ago my mechanic charged me $100 to do this five-minute check on my car’s computer.  Now I can check it out and reset the codes (turn the light off) for free.  Over the past two years, I have saved $300 in mechanics fees on check engine lights that told me that the engine had misfired once or I needed to tighten my gas cap.  Seriously!  I should start a business doing nothing but auto computer diagnostics!

    2) Check your tire pressure every time you fuel up.  According to FuelEconomy.gov, you can save .3% on fuel for every 1 psi that your tire pressure is low up to about 3.3%.  What does this mean in dollars?  This is about 12 cents per gallon.  Keeping your tires properly inflated can save you between $75 and $150 every year on gas.  This says nothing about the wear on the tires that will be saved.

    How do you know if your tire pressure is low?  It’s not as easy as quickly glancing at them.  By the time the tires are looking deflated, they may be low by as much as 20 psi.  I once checked my air pressure and it was reading 10 psi, and the tire didn’t look that bad!

    Most people are not aware of what the proper air pressure is for their car.  The best way to find out is to look at the sticker on the jamb of the driver’s side door.  This will tell you the proper tire pressure.  The “maximum pressure” stamped on the sidewall of the tire is not what you should be following.  Usually the proper pressure is between 25 & 35 psi.  The maximum pressure is usually about  10 psi above the proper pressure.  This gives the tire a safety margin because the pressure changes with the temperature of the road.

    Failure to maintain proper tire pressure will not only cost you in gas, but it is also a serious safety hazard.  Over pressurized tires can blow out.  Under pressurized tires can cause problems with steering.

    It is easy to push-off checking your tires for weeks or months, even when they are noticeably low.  This is why it is best to get into the habit of checking them every time you get gas.  Instead of standing there watching the numbers count up on the pump, buy a tire pressure gauge and check the air in your tires while you wait.  Let’s face it, it’s inconvenient at any time of year.

    3) Replace your air filters.  I am always amazed when I replace an air filter, and suddenly my fuel mileage improves by a few miles per gallon.  Many owner’s manuals tell you to replace your air filter every 6 months or 10,000 miles.  The reality is that most people let it go a year or more.

    Those air filters are expensive little buggers!  They usually cost between $15 and $20!  There is another way to handle it.  K&N makes an air filter that is re-usable after cleaning, and it allows more air to flow through, which often means better fuel savings.  The extended benefit of these filters is that you don’t need to change them as often (about once a year).  I have been using these filters in my cars for about three years now, and love them.  They cost about three times as much as their paper counterparts, but they pay for themselves in a year or so.

    4) Some people have been changing their own oil for years.  I used to change the oil in my vehicles to save money.  10 years ago you could buy the oil and filter for about $15 US at any auto parts store.  If I did it myself I could save about $20 US per car, compared to taking it to my mechanic or one of the oil changing franchises.  The time commitment was about the same either way, so I decided to do it myself.  The job was a little messy, but it was satisfying knowing that I was saving money.  I would usually do both cars at the same time, and save $40 in the hour that it took to do it.

    Slowly, the price of lube oil has been going up.  It now costs almost $30 US to buy the oil and filter for one car.  For some reason the prices at the repair shops have remained steady.  It has always been about $35 US to get an oil change.  I recently decided that it is no longer worth the hassle to change my own oil for the $5 savings.  You decide if this is worth your time or not.  If you can find the oil at a decent price, it may be worth your time.  What has changed?  I would truly like to know.  I have my suspicions, and am fairly certain it is NOT tied to the price of gasoline at the pump.


     Share

    Category Car, Household | Tags: , 4 tips, air filter, car, car repair, computer diagnostics | 3 Comments

Older Entries
Newer Entries