what do you do with leftover bar soap?
By hereandthere
@hereandthere (45628)
Philippines
February 16, 2018 1:15am CST
my father had the patience to press pieces of leftover bar soap together under running water until they stick together.
they end up multicolored with mixed scents and a weird shape.
last week, i finally tried melting and molding leftover bar soap.
some websites said just soaking in hot water is enough so i did.
but the water from the thermos probably wasn't hot enough.
i got impatient and lit the pot on the stove.
when it boiled, the leftover bar soap didn't melt immediately.
i got impatient again and started stirring it
which caused it to bubble up to the rim. hahaha!
i quickly switched off the stove and took the pot to the outside sink to cool.
when it cooled, i was worried it might solidify and stick to the pot
so i started pouring it in 8 small metal molds (the ones used for a sticky filipino rice cake called kutsinta)
after 2 days, a relative dropped by.
i offered the soaps to her and used a plastic knife to take them out.
thankfully, they didn't stick to the bottom of the molds.
but the top was still a little soft, so i suggested she put them in an old sock or nylon stocking.
25 people like this
31 responses
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
yeah, some websites said to grate the soap. i just used scissors. i'll use a knife next them. i also should have just let it simmer (low heat).
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (502148)
• Italy
16 Feb 18
@hereandthere I used a very old cheese grater, the soap melts quicker if it is grated.
1 person likes this
@nitirrbb7 (4317)
• India
16 Feb 18
You seem pretty impatient at times, but after all it never ended up waste
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
i'm usually patient with regular tasks, but tend to get anxious when doing things for the first time.
1 person likes this
@nitirrbb7 (4317)
• India
16 Feb 18
@hereandthere I think its usual with everyone when its the first time something different.
1 person likes this
@SIMPLYD (90717)
• Philippines
26 Feb 18
I use up my soap until they are completely used up. I am thrifty when it comes to soap bars.
My mother in-law would have those small leftovers in a container until they blacken from dust, but she just leave it there. My gay brother-in-law one time just throw them all. She didn't remember having those.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
27 Feb 18
@SIMPLYD by the way, how is your mother-in-law? still forgetful?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
26 Feb 18
it's useless saving something or stocking up when you forget them and they end up unusable.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
24 Feb 18
do you use the same soap or do you not mind pressing two different kinds of soap?
1 person likes this
@valmnz (17095)
• New Zealand
24 Feb 18
@hereandthere usually the same, but no, really don't care if they are different. It still works. Soap is soap. I just do it while I'm in the shower and both pieces are soft and wet.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
we use laundry bar for handwashing (powder for the machine). we put the the leftover laundry bars in a net bag.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
@just4him they're common here, but there are now more laudromats too
1 person likes this
@just4him (323168)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
16 Feb 18
@hereandthere I don't think I've seen laundry bars.
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
16 Feb 18
My sister-in-law makes her own soaps and even natural deodorant and body creams but I've never had the inclination to try! My husband just uses the soap until it's too small to use anymore. I use liquid soap. :)
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
i see more brands of deodorants being sold here now, even one by arm & hammer (the baking soda brand).
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
17 Feb 18
@MarymargII true. i will try new brands once, then back to the usual
1 person likes this
@MarymargII (12422)
• Toronto, Ontario
16 Feb 18
@hereandthere Yes, products are always building in the stores- but there's always the favourites.
1 person likes this
@1hopefulman (45111)
• Canada
16 Feb 18
Wow, that was quite an adventure. I just keep using till it gets too small, then I break up and throw it is the toilet after letting sit there all night until the next flush the next day to give a nice smell to the toilet.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
what you do is the same as christina's in this discussion, but she says she melts it in the sink with very hot water, with the same effect - pleasant smelling bathroom.
1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
18 Feb 18
We mostly use liquid soap here. But I do have a soap bar there too if anyone wants to use it. But liquid is preferred so a bar last a long, long time 
. I have a charcoal soap in the shower - I literally use it until it is all gone!
. I have a charcoal soap in the shower - I literally use it until it is all gone!1 person likes this
@much2say (57760)
• Los Angeles, California
19 Feb 18
@hereandthere The activated charcoal stuff helps to take out toxins, they say. I use activated charcoal on teeth sometimes - and I know people actually take activated charcoal capsules to cleanse their internals. So since the soap is available, now we use it! I try not to get soaps with too many chemical stuff in it - very harsh on our skin.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
19 Feb 18
why did you switch to charcoal soap? how is it different from other bath soaps?
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
20 Feb 18
@much2say i've seen black toothbrushes
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (82978)
• Onaway, Michigan
17 Feb 18
I like your idea with the little leftover bars of soap. I have thought of doing body wash with some of ours. If you want to do this on a regular basis you should check out Pinterest they can help out with ideas on what to do with your soap
1 person likes this
@Tina30219 (82978)
• Onaway, Michigan
17 Feb 18
@hereandthere If I decide to do this I will save up some of my body wash bottles to put it in.
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
17 Feb 18
yeah, i've seen blogs about how to make liquid soap, even those that comes out as foam. but we didn't have any extra pump bottles
@toniganzon (77064)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
Most of the commercial soaps contain harmful chemicals and these chemicals are the ones that Harden the soap. Try melting a natural made soap and you would notice how easy it is.
The preservatives in the commercially distributed soaps are the ones making it too hard to melt.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
i did notice that. the soap was white on top and the sides, but when i scooped them out from the mold and turned them upside down, some had small unmelted chips of different colors at the bottom.
1 person likes this
@BelleStarr (61463)
• United States
17 Feb 18
I use them as long as I can and then throw them out, I don't have the patience for making my own bars and my time is worth more to me than the cost of the soap. But it sounds like you did a good job of it.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
17 Feb 18
there were so many i decided to try doing it just once
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
17 Feb 18
the dispenser i like is the one that spits out foam, not thick liquid. i find it rinses faster.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
17 Feb 18
i'll probably experiment with liquid next time when we have an extra pump bottle.
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
my soap dish has some remnants of my previous soap. i opened a new bar of Safeguard and now, the remnants are slowly gluing themselves with the Safeguard
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
yes, some do it that way if they only buy one brand
1 person likes this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
17 Feb 18
@hereandthere well, those remnants are not Safeguard. it is not a beauty soap, and it is also not fragrant.
@galileo2008 (1168)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
I put my bar of soap on top of a small sponge so it would absorb the water, then use the soapy sponge for scrubbing.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
another good tip! i tend to use a soapy wash cloth/face towel to exfoliate.
@crossbones27 (52907)
• Mojave, California
16 Feb 18
wash your hands, nothing goes to waste when your poor no matter how mangled something is.
1 person likes this
@chrisandmark (606)
• United Kingdom
16 Feb 18
My mum used to make her old leftover soaps into a new bar of soap too - we don't really use much bar soap so it's not worth saving the occasional tiny bit here and there, I usually wait until the leftover bit is tiny then fill the sink with really hot water and let the soap melt into the water. It's not really using it up but it makes the bathroom smell lovely for the rest of the day x
1 person likes this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
7 Aug 18
@hereandthere
That is really cool. I use my up to the end and then start a new one.
1 person likes this
@hereandthere (45628)
• Philippines
16 Feb 18
yeah, i've seen websites about how to make liquid soap, too, but we don't have an extra pump bottle at the moment.
