What is soap?

Soft soap is also called potash soap or crystal soap and is a compound of fatty acids. Soft soap is used as a cleaning agent. It can be gelatinous, solid in a jar, or, as in the past, sold in packages much like margarine is sold in stores today. Soft soap can also be liquid, like liquid soap.

What is soft soap made from?

Soft soap is produced by saponifying fat. The saponification process is also called saponization. The fat used to produce soft soap is usually vegetable-based. Linseed oil, pine oil, and, in Västerbottenssåpa, corn and rapeseed oil are commonly saponified into soft soap.

Historical facts about soft soap

When Sweden was an agricultural society, many farms were completely or partially self-sufficient. Soft soap was one of the things often made at home on the farms. There was usually a so-called lye pit in the barn. Ashes were collected in the lye pit. Pouring hot water over the ashes produced what was known as potash. This alkaline solution was then used to saponify animal fat left over from slaughter. In the northern parts of the country, sheep fat was commonly saponified.
The animal fat produced a grayish, opaque but highly effective soft soap.

What is soft soap good for?

There are many uses. Soft soap is also a very gentle cleaning agent—gentle on the environment and gentle on the person using it. Here are some examples of what soft soap can be used for:
* Cleaning kitchens
* Cleaning bathrooms
* Cleaning furniture and household items
* Treating wooden items
* Scrubbing wooden floors / Treating new wooden floors.
* Dissolving greasy dirt
* Dissolving and removing insects from car headlights
* Removing asphalt stains
* Removing algae and mold
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Customers have also used soft soap for
* Foot baths
* Washing sore dog paws
* Cleaning horse harnesses
* Treating aphid infestations