Making sense of soaps and detergents

Additives make soap smell better, but do little else

As a young man growing up, one of the chores I had to do during harvest seasons was to "buck hay."

At the end of the day, my dad, brother and I would be covered with dirt. Mom would hand us a bar of soap and several towels to clean up with before we came in for supper.

This week, I thought I would share with you some basic information about soap.

Soaps were one of the first active agents prepared by man. Actually, they are the salts of water-insoluble fatty acids.

Detergents are chemically different from soap. Both are able to emulsify oils, hold dirt in suspension and act as wetting agents (make water wetter).

Since the 1950s, most soaps have detergent added. Soap combined with hard water causes "ring around the tub." Detergents, on the other hand, do not leave scum.

Yo can wash your hands for about a penny's worth of soap. However, designer brands cost between 4 and 5 cents per wash.

Here's what soap manufacturers do to make a penny's worth of soap cost a quarter:

In its natural state, soap smells somewhat like fat in fresh meat. Manufacturers add fragrances to mask this odor. Most manufacturers believe that if they mask the odor well enough, it will allow them to adjust the selling cost of a single bar of soap to almost a dollar.

At beauty counters, they demand, and get, as much as $10 per bar of soap.

Manufacturers believe that if they claim health benefits like "hypoallergenic" or "nocomedogenic" (means that soap will not clog skin pores or promote blackheads), they can demand more for their product.

Soap makers add emollients, bath oil, moisturizing cream (lanolin), vitamin E, etc. as a softener and skin conditioner to support their claims.

A 1998 Better Business Bureau report stated that no soap can truthfully keep skin young and none can be advertised as "a cure, remedy or competent treatment."

Most soaps made today perform about the same, regardless of their scent. Soaps and detergents dry the skin because they remove the body's natural oils.

Once the oil is gone, the body starts to lose water. Most soaps have emollients added which help seal in moisture.

If you have dry skin, there's no magic soap formula to provide relief. Try applying baby oil or a moisturizer after bathing. Be sure to apply it while the skin is still damp.

To me it doesn't make sense to pay more than a few cents per wash for soap. What we are really paying for is the packaging or "eye candy."

If you are allergic to any of the above products, please don't use them.

Always test fabric and paints before using any chemical compound. Please remember to wear rubber gloves to protect your hands and eye protection for your eyes.

If you would like to share a cleaning idea or concept with the reading audience, call Ed Madan at Northwest Environmental Services (255-2266) or send them to Bonner County Daily Bee, 310 Church St., Sandpoint, ID 83864, Attn: What Would Ed Do?

? Copy written by Ed Madan, certified executive housekeeper, Northwest Environmental Services.