Family Washing Soaps.
We see no reason why every economical housewife should not profit by these simple methods of preparing cheap laundry soap, as they are the results of practical experience.
Best Soft Soap.
Take 4 pounds of white bar soap, cut it fine, and dissolve by heating in 4 gallons of soft water, after which add 1 pound of sal soda. Dissolve and mix thoroughly. If it is desired the soap can be made thicker by adding less water.
Hard Soap With Lard.
| Sal soda and lard, each6 | pounds. |
| Stone lime3 | pounds. |
| Soft water4 | gallons. |
Dissolve the lime and soda in the water by boiling, stirring, and settling; pour off, then return to the kettle (brass or copper), add the lard and boil it until it becomes soap. Then pour into a dish or molds, and when cool cut it into bars and dry it.
White Hard Soap With Tallow.
Take 2 pounds each of fresh-slacked lime, sal soda, and tallow; dissolve the soda in 1 gallon of boiling soft water, stirring occasionally every few hours after which let it settle, pouring off the clear liquor and boiling the tallow therein until it is all dissolved; cool it in a flat box or pan, and cut into bars or cakes as desired. It may be perfumed with oil of sassafras or any other perfume desired, stirring it in when cool.