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  1. #21
    Registered User Old Hiker's Avatar
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    https://www.amazon.com/Coleman-Camp-...an+soap+sheets

    These got put into a zip-loc to keep them dry. I would tear them in two and they would still be good enough to wash my hands. Just make sure your hands are dry BEFORE opening the case.
    Old Hiker
    AT Hike 2012 - 497 Miles of 2184
    AT Thru Hiker - 29 FEB - 03 OCT 2016 2189.1 miles
    Just because my teeth are showing, does NOT mean I'm smiling.
    Hányszor lennél inkább máshol?

  2. #22
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    This is an old thread, but it's exactly what I was searching for. I too was/am considering dehydrating soap for a trip to the AT.

    Responses are a bit odd, as people compare this soap to bar soap. It doesn't compare in the slightest. Dr Bronner's concentrated soap is the absolute best soap that I have ever used. If someone moderates their use of soap, it indeed can last for ages. However, dehydrated Bronners would be even more beneficial. I have three gallons of their soaps, and dehydrating soap would allow me to resupply easier. This would also allow me to lessen the weight that I am carrying, but also allow me to be safer.

    Yes, safety. I feel that people's responses in soap threads deserves a talk about safety. Food safety is the closest parallel for guiding how backpackers should look into cleanliness on the trail. I understand that hand sanitizer is a popular solution, but I view that as wildly unsafe. When washing dishes for a restaurant, someone must use the three compartment sink. Wash, Rinse, and Sanitize comprise the three compartments. All three are needed for sanitation.

    Now, please be weary of the belief that sanitizer is cleaning. It is absolutely not. The basics of cleaning and sanitizing are taught in the basic food handler's course. It's this course that everyone needs to take, so that they can serve food to people. In these courses, they describe how cleaning is the removal of visible dirt, and then sanitation can take place only after that. I really do suggest that people consider using both, soap and sanitizer on the trail. If I pooped on my hand, would you let me make you a sandwich if I put sanitizer on my hand?

    A few people have pointed out the camp towels. I feel that these are light towel or wipe material that has liquid soap added and dehydrated. Also, I feel that this could be DIY much better than the store bought. Our soaps could be high quality organic soaps, and we could even add in essential oils for bug repelling or something. The Bronner's peppermint is a great bug deter, but I also enjoy how it makes my sensitive parts tingle. In the heat, it's almost like a little bit of Air Conditioning. I want to try to make some trail wipes just for that purpose. I'm also thinking that using Bronner's almond would make a good DIY wet wipe.

    I am not sure if Bronner concentrate would dehydrate into a powder .... or what would happen. It's mostly oils, but those oils have been kind of transformed during the soap making process ( I think, I'm not a soap expert ).

  3. #23
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    " It's mostly oils, but those oils have been kind of transformed during the soap making process"

    Soap is made from fats and oils. Chemically these are called triacylglycerols as they contain three fatty acids on one glycerol (aka glycerin). In the soap making process, the linkage between the fatty acid and the glycerol is broken (hydrolyzed), releasing three fatty acids and the glycerol. This is called the saponification reaction. The saponification reaction is done under alkaline conditions so the fatty acids exist in their conjugate base form which are negatively charged anions. As such, there will be corresponding cations as well. The Dr. Bronner web site lists coconut oil, palm kernel oil, and olive oil as the main ingredients, however this is not really accurate. It would be more accurate to say these are soaps contain salts of the fatty acid conjugate bases that come from these oils (they are no longer oils after they have been saponified). Each type of oil has a different composition of fatty acids. Palm kernel and coconut oil are made mostly of shorter chain saturated fats (12:0, 14:0). Olive oil is mostly made from the 18 carbon monounsaturated oleic acid (18:1). The Dr.Bronners web site does not say what the cations are in their soaps.

    So to sum it up. Solid soap is the product of the saponification of a fat or oil molecule, i.e. the salt of a fatty acid conjugate bases with a little glycerol. Liquid soap is solid soap dissolved in water. Dehydrated soap is liquid soap from which the water has been removed to make it solid again

    https://www.drbronner.com/retailers/...and-bar-soaps/

  4. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trambo View Post
    Responses are a bit odd, as people compare this soap to bar soap. It doesn't compare in the slightest. Dr Bronner's concentrated soap is the absolute best soap that I have ever used. If someone moderates their use of soap, it indeed can last for ages. However, dehydrated Bronners would be even more beneficial. ... I am not sure if Bronner concentrate would dehydrate into a powder.
    I'm not clear on what the difference is between bar soap and what you're calling "dehydrated soap". As Wayne mentioned, Dr. Bronner's does make a dry bar soap as well, from which one could grate pure dehydrated Dr. Bronner's soap flakes.

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trambo View Post
    Now, please be weary of the belief that sanitizer is cleaning. It is absolutely not. The basics of cleaning and sanitizing are taught in the basic food handler's course. It's this course that everyone needs to take, so that they can serve food to people. In these courses, they describe how cleaning is the removal of visible dirt, and then sanitation can take place only after that.
    Interestingly, when I took that class (in Colorado, 1996), they had revised their instruction to explicitly recommend against any sort of antiseptic hand wash, since it was spurning rapid mutations into resistant germ strains. Apparently germs don't really stick to skin (we were told), but rather to the tiny particles of dirt, food, etc. on the skin. Which is why good 'ol plain soap -- which loosens those particles and allows them to easily rinse away -- is the most effective germ prevention.

    Perhaps the Department of Health has re-revised that revision since then, I don't know ... but even so its existence for a period, with no accompanying massive outbreak of foodborne illness, is telling.
    Last edited by Zalman; 01-22-2019 at 03:26.

  6. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Zalman View Post
    I'm not clear on what the difference is between bar soap and what you're calling "dehydrated soap". As Wayne mentioned, Dr. Bronner's does make a dry bar soap as well, from which one could grate pure dehydrated Dr. Bronner's soap flakes.
    The only dehydrated soap is the one that is created from dehydrating liquid Dr Bronners. There is a large difference between Bronner's liquid and bar soaps. While the company says that the two soaps are the same, I have gotten very different results from the two different types. Have you used both? I'm curious if my experience is shared by others.

    For my personal use, I have found the liquid Bronners to go much much further than the bar soap. This comes from around a ten year stint of brand loyalty, as this is the only soap that I purchase. I guess the next step is to dehydrate both, and test it out.

    You are correct. Food Handler class also talks about the dangers of anti-bacterial soaps, because of the theory that the bacteria can mutate. This doesn't mean to not wash with soap, but to just wash with regular soap (like what Bronners is). This definitely doesn't mean that they suggest to simply sanitize your hands, and to skip washing it.

  7. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by Trambo View Post
    The only dehydrated soap is the one that is created from dehydrating liquid Dr Bronners. There is a large difference between Bronner's liquid and bar soaps. While the company says that the two soaps are the same, I have gotten very different results from the two different types. Have you used both? I'm curious if my experience is shared by others.
    Oh for sure. Yes, I've used Dr. B's exclusively for 35 years, and I agree with you that the soap in liquid form is easier to use, lather, and maintains its nice scent -- which dissipates from the bar soap after time if it's stored unsealed. But I think the soap itself is exactly the same, and the difference in use is because it's liquid, and that as soon you dehydrate that liquid it will behave exactly like the bar soap. I'll be interested to hear the results of your experimentation.

    Quote Originally Posted by Trambo View Post
    Food Handler class also talks about the dangers of anti-bacterial soaps, because of the theory that the bacteria can mutate. This doesn't mean to not wash with soap, but to just wash with regular soap (like what Bronners is). This definitely doesn't mean that they suggest to simply sanitize your hands, and to skip washing it.
    Yep, exactly. I'm with you on the whole "hand-sanitizer alone is gross" thing.

  8. #28
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    Perhaps my bias stems from my multi-use of Bronners. I use it for everything. I make my own laundry detergent with it, dishwashing, shampoo, body soap, clean the floors etc. I want to make it clear that I am in no way a paid sponsor of Dr Bronners, but just a fan of their product. It boggles my mind, when someone hasn't heard of this company.

    I don't think that the bar soap would be as easy to use for all of the other things. You'd have to break it down first, and then process it into either liquid or powder. Now, for our purposes I think both of the soaps would be good dehydrated, and maybe used for different things. I see the liquid Bronners being best for soap towels and baby wipes, while the bar soap might be more cost effective for dehydrating. Then again, that's just an assumption.

    Many people carry Bronner's concentrate on the trail, and it just works. I don't know as many that carry the soap. Would it rehydrate and be as useful as the liquid soap? I don't even know what form the liquid Bronner's would dehydrate into. Would it be a powder, or a thicker gel? I almost wouldn't want a powdered soap, as I would hate to get that mixed into my food. I know, I can just label it and everything ...... but, I just don't know that dehydrating soap is worth it.

    I mean, it sounds interesting ...... but, I would need to pull the food out of my dehydrator, in order to attempt the soap. Right now, food trumps curiosity. We'll see if I have the chance to experiment in the near future. I do feel that this is an interesting question, is dehydrating soap worth it. I also think the understanding of cleanliness aka cleaning and then sanitizing is an important trail education discussion. There are so many Youtubers that only take sanitizer. Nobody talks about how this is unsafe. It always makes me wonder if I am on the minority of people who care.

  9. #29

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    Dr. Bronners goes an incredibly long way, I can get away with only a few drops per shower, so for me the weight savings just wouldn't seem necessary.

  10. #30
    Registered User southern9's Avatar
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    Nursing school taught us that soap and water is the best start to clean hands. It's the friction of rubbing, soaps "capture" of germs, and the rinsing, that cleans your hands. Sanitizer is a bonus after that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZquWcf7DInQ

  11. #31

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    I carry a sliver of bar soap,use just enough to lather the hands,wipe off with a damp Wysi wipe then use a wetter WW for the rinse,dry with a Lite Load towel and pack out all my paper and trash etc.

    Next weekend I will be hiking with friends,one of whom put liquid soap in his eye because it had packaged it in an eye solution bottle of all things! So I am gifting him a bottle from Litesmith with some soap in it,total weight is 14 grams but I think he is fully capable of handling those Extreme loads.............

  12. #32
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    For those who care...
    http://www.lisabronner.com/liquid-vs...-castile-soap/
    from Lisa Bronner "daughter to those who run Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps; and granddaughter to the founder Dr. Emanuel Bronner himself."

  13. #33

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    dish soap is very concentrated n goes a long way. I used about 3 oz on a week long trip this summer n that included washing hand n bathing everyday.

  14. #34

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    I've switched to liquid soap.Not worried about the water weight in an ounce dropper bottle of soap.Nothing beats a good hot Wysi Wipe in the morning with a touch of soap!
    Last edited by Five Tango; 12-13-2019 at 15:12.

  15. #35
    Registered User lonehiker's Avatar
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    I can't remember the last time I took any type of soap on a trip. It would have to be 15 - 20 years ago. I would assess items not used on trips and because I hadn't used it I figured why carry it. I do carry two tiny .5 oz bottles of hand sanitizer. I keep one with my toiletries and one in my hip belt pouch. I use on hands as needed. To clean up each evening I allocate myself 1 - 2 air dried wet ones each day. Add just a bit of water and wash face, armpits, and crotch. I then allow them to re-dry and pack out with my meal waste.

    FYI, 2 air dried wet ones weigh ~ 3 grams on my home scale.
    Lonehiker (MRT '22)

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