How to Dissolve Soap Flakes

Soap flakes dissolve best in hot water, the hotter the better. However, please be aware that some garments may be harmed by washing in hot water...so always check your garment labels!

Soap flakes, at least Dri-Pak Soap Flakes, will also dissolve just fine in warm water.

The key is to "agitate" and to give it a little time.

In a Washing Machine

If you are using a washing machine, put in your Soap Flakes and let the machine add some warm water. Don't put your clothes in yet! Start your wash cycle and let the machine action agitate the soap and water for a good two or three minutes, then check the water. If there are no flakes floating in the water, they must have dissolved. If you see some flakes still floating around, agitate a couple of minutes more.

An alternate method is to start filling your machine with some hot water and Soap Flakes. Move your machine cycle forward to prematurely stop the filling, and agitate for a couple of minutes. Then, move the cycle backward. Finish adding cooler water, and go on to wash as usual.

Once you know how this process works for you, in your machine, it will become an automatic wash habit, you won't have to be checking the water all the time. Reading about this makes it seem much harder to do than it really is.

By Hand

If you launder a few items by hand in a bucket, tub, or sink, you can see everything as it is happening. You're doing it yourself. You are there. Hands in the water, eyes on what you are doing, you get the picture. Laundering by hand allows you to feel the entire process.

Start by putting some Soap Flakes in first, probably about a tablespoon's worth per gallon of water. Then, add some hot water and carefully swish it around. Maybe add more hot water if necessary. After it looks and feels as if the Soap Flakes have been absorbed into the water, you may want to add more water, perhaps cooler water. Then begin washing your fabric or garment. And no matter whether you launder by hand, or in a machine, always rinse well!

The Effects of Hard Water and What to Do About It

If you have extremely hard water, or if your water is quite cool to cold, or if you are using a whole lot of Soap Flakes, dissolving Soap Flakes may be more difficult.

If you have hard water, consider adding a water softening product to your wash water. There are a couple of them widely available, Calgon and Rain Drops. Dri-Pak has a wonderful old single-ingredient water softening product as well, Aqua Softna. However we do not stock this product in the USA as yet.

Washing soda, or Dri-Pak Soda Crystals (slightly different from washing soda), also offers water softening characteristics. The soda acts as a degreaser and as a laundry "booster" too. Washing soda or Soda Crystals adds more power to plain Soap Flakes. It will boost the power of most detergents as well.

Beyond using water softening products in hard water, you can simply use more soap. Although, as the soap attacks the minerals in the hard water; potentially, soap scum may be created. Most people want to avoid that!

Soap scum doesn't hurt anything unless it is left to build up for too long creating clogs. A good washing in hot water and Soda Crystals, no fabrics or garments - this is just a clean out - removes all but the toughest soap build ups in washing machines. Most people will not have to do this, however if you find yourself in a soap scum situation, Soda Crystals and hot water is your way out!

Using Cooler or Cold Water

If you intend to use Soap Flakes in cool or cold water, consider mixing up a small batch using very hot water. You can do this directly in your washing machine and add cold water after the flakes have dissolved. Also, remember that the cleaning power of Soap Flakes is diminished somewhat when you wash in cold water.

Another approach for cooler water washing is to make a Soap Flakes concentrate. Then, add the concentrate to your water, at whatever temperature. The concentrate ought to dissolve quite well as the soap has already been dissolved during the process of making the concentrate.

To make a concentrate, use very hot water. Not much, maybe a quart or two, just enough to dissolve the amount of Soap Flakes you wish to use. The "correct" soap-to-water-ratio will becomes obvious to you after one or two times doing this. Stir and watch the process. The mixture may become gel-like as it cools, but this doesn't hurt anything. You can always add more water at any time to thin it out.

You Can Do It

Using soap and water is not complicated, yet people always have questions. I'm one of those people! I found myself wondering and worrying the first few times I mixed in some Soap Flakes to my warm water. The dissolving is not "instant" in the way many modern products are. But Soap Flakes work just fine. Generations have used them successfully for over 100 years.

You can too! (MSO)
Click here to buy Soap Flakes