My Secret Laundry Weapon

It's a nasty day, windy and with about an inch of snow on the ground, a bit more falling, and  several inches more to come tonight. Minor compared to the 2-3 feet forecast for New England, but still... Anyway, I decided it is a good day to stay in and catch up on laundry.

I've started with white, long-sleeved turtlenecks, which I wear regularly under sweaters in the winter. The cuffs always get so grimy! So, before washing, Fels-Naptha to the rescue.

I remember my mother using the same golden yellow bar of smelly soap to pre-treat our play clothes before washing. For the past ten years, I've been using it too. It works really well for getting stains out of clothing. I just wet the stained area, rub the bar of Fels-Naptha over the stain, rub it into the cloth with a brush if it is very badly stained, and let rest for a half-hour or so before laundering.

I'm told it's also very good for removing poison ivy or poison oak sap from your skin, which will make the rash heal a lot faster, or even prevent it if you get the sap washed off soon enough.

I've used Shout, oxygen cleaners, and other grocery store products to enhance stain removal, but I don't think any work as well as Fels-Naptha, which is also considerably cheaper. You can also use it on greasy kitchen items... pans, range hoods... on which  dish detergent just isn't quite cutting it. I buy inexpensive laundry and dish detergents, which aren't always the best for cutting stains and grease. With a bar of Fels-Naptha on hand, however, I can usually get clean clothes without having to spring for the expensive detergent brands.

Fels-Naptha was first manufactured in 1893 in Philadelphia, and originally contained Stoddard Solvent. It is now made by the Dial Corporation and no longer contains the solvent, which was a fairly strong skin and eye irritant. Some skin and eye irritation are still potential hazards, however, as with any alkaline soap product, so it shouldn't be used on your skin on a regular basis. I find the minimal contact from treating laundry drys out my hands, so I try to remember to rub in a bit of lotion or olive oil after use.

It used to be possible to buy Fels-Naptha at any grocery or drug store, but lately I've found it hard to find. A couple years ago I lugged a dozen smelly bars home with me on the bus from the one, distant, grocery store in my area that still carries it. Last year I bought a case of 24 bars from Amazon.com, at a cost that was a bit more than what I paid previously, but at least shipping was free with my Prime membership (and they delivered it to my door - no bus fare required).

Fels-Naptha is available online from quite a few vendors, but some of the prices are ridiculously high! Soap.com, for example, was selling bars for several dollars apiece. I paid about $1.53 per bar by buying in bulk. It doesn't go bad or take up much storage space, so that worked for me. Keep in mind that it does have an odor, so you don't want to store it in bulk where that would be a problem. Mine is in the basement.

Finding products like Fels-Naptha doesn't save large amounts of money. It is cheaper (and works better) than other stain treatment products I've tried, and also allows me to use less expensive detergents for clothes and dishes. No, not a big savings. It's just that when you make dozens of buying discoveries like this, they can really add up.