Why do you clean the soap?
Washing only with water does not work, we have it more than proven. But what makes the soap leave the dishes like a paten or our clothes untouched?Duke Cannon"Big Ass Brick of Soap" Smells Like Victory Bar Soap for Men, 10 Ounces (Pack of 2)
The method of making soap, used since the Babylonians, is called saponification , a chemical process by which a fatty body, together with an alkali and water, results in soap, a product used for cleaning. How did they do it ?: heating fats with the ashes of alkaline plants (plants that grow in soils with a pH level of 7 or more are called alkaline, or tolerant to alkalinity).
What gives the soap its peculiar ability to clean, for example clothes, is that its molecules have "two faces": one extreme hates water and is attracted to substances that are not soluble in water-it is hydrophobic-so it tends to Join the fat, while the other is hydrophilic, loves water. The hydrophobic part of the molecule is usually formed by a chain of hydrocarbons, which is similar in structure to oil and many fats. Obviously the pull effect of the hydrophilic side must be greater to be able to remove the dirt from the clothes, which we help when we rub it . In the end there is a tiny drop of dirt surrounded by a soap wrap, forming a structure called micelle. allowing the soap to reduce the surface tension of the water (increasing the humidification) and to adhere and make soluble in water substances that normally are not. This process is favored in hot water.
Now, the soap is reduced its effectiveness as the water increases its concentration in mineral salts -of calcium and magnesium mainly-, which is better known as hard water. This is because the salts react with the soap forming an insoluble precipitate that gives the clothes a touch as if it had been starched. Hence, we use softener.
We must bear in mind that when we talk about detergents we are referring to a product mixture of many substances among which is its active component, very similar to that of a soap since its molecule also has a long hydrophobic chain and a hydrophilic termination, what happens is that it is usually a synthetic product. What has made detergents have displaced soaps in the market is that they behave better in hard water.
Making homemade soaps is becoming more fashionable. It is a simple process but in which one must be very careful since it is necessary to use caustic soda which is very corrosive and also during the soap making process the chemical reactions that occur cause the mixture to reach high temperatures and very high vapors. toxic, so you have to do it in very well ventilated places and always with protection: glasses, gloves, use stainless steel materials ... but you can take the used oil from your homes to make soap of very good quality and recycle this oil that pollutes the environment