"dehydrated" soap?

[One Half]

So I thought if anyone does this it would be someone in this group. I belong to a dehydrating group on facebook and a woman mentioned she dehydrates soap (and shampoo?) for her son's backpacking. I wondered if any of y'all dehydrate your Dr. Bronner's or whatever you use while on the trail. I have a very large dehydrator, so why not?

[Venchka]

Buy Dr. Bronner's bar soap. Cut it into pieces.
Done.
Wayne


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[Venchka]

Bed Bath & Beyond stocks the bars. Use the always present 20% off coupons.
Wayne


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[Franco]

Comments , found on the Net, on the Bronner products :
Volume of actual soap:
I don’t know how to de-math this, but people who put together their own recipes for cleaners might want to know this. Bar soaps are 5% water; liquids are 61%. The chemistry is a little different for both, but considering that a bar of soap weighs 5 oz, and thus 4.75 oz of it is soap, you would need 12.18 ounces (a little over 1 ½ c.) of liquid soap to equal the soap content of a 5 oz bar. Doing the math the other way, 1 cup of liquid soap equals approximately 2/3 of a bar (or 3.64 oz.) of Dr. B’s bar soap.

if those numbers are correct, drying the soap would not result in a significant weight reduction.

[gpburdelljr]

Comments , found on the Net, on the Bronner products :
Volume of actual soap:
I don’t know how to de-math this, but people who put together their own recipes for cleaners might want to know this. Bar soaps are 5% water; liquids are 61%. The chemistry is a little different for both, but considering that a bar of soap weighs 5 oz, and thus 4.75 oz of it is soap, you would need 12.18 ounces (a little over 1 ½ c.) of liquid soap to equal the soap content of a 5 oz bar. Doing the math the other way, 1 cup of liquid soap equals approximately 2/3 of a bar (or 3.64 oz.) of Dr. B’s bar soap.

if those numbers are correct, drying the soap would not result in a significant weight reduction.

Saving 7.18 oz by carrying a 5 oz bar instead of liquid soap would certainly be considered significant by the type of people that shorten toothbrush handles to save weight .

[pickNgrin]

Forget dehydrated soap. Dehydrated water is where it's at. Zero weight! Just add water!

[left52side]

People carry soap <---- pun intended.
I actually honestly do not carry soap with me on my long distance hikes.
I will carry A small bottle of hand sanitizer (1/2ounce bottle)
Obviously when I go into towns on A resupply run etc I will make good use of there bathroom soap (cleaning up the bathroom when finished obviously).
I also carry A few compressed towels when im out for an extended period of time,but never seen the need to carry soap for anything really. I will do a water cleaning up at the end of the night with my pack towel and go to bed.

[Alligator]

I use a small amount of liquid soap in a micro dropper bottle. I'm mostly concerned about washing my pot and cup but only a drop is really needed, even for washing hands.

You might be interested in a product I bought once though. It was thin strips of soap in a dispenser, almost like a film. It required water though and if I remember correctly, they were advertised for the car.

Not to ruin your dehydrating fun though. Shred the soap and then dehydrate might save some weight if put into a small zip lock.

[Odd Man Out]

Dehydrated soap is sold in stores everywhere in packages labeled "soap".

[rocketsocks]

I use a small amount of liquid soap in a micro dropper bottle. I'm mostly concerned about washing my pot and cup but only a drop is really needed, even for washing hands.

You might be interested in a product I bought once though. It was thin strips of soap in a dispenser, almost like a film. It required water though and if I remember correctly, they were advertised for the car.

Not to ruin your dehydrating fun though. Shred the soap and then dehydrate might save some weight if put into a small zip lock.

I had those once, worked pretty good. You don't wanna confuse em with the "Listerene" leaves, you'll know ya did when you say "oh shyte oh shyte" and bubbles come out.

[Franco]

if those numbers are correct, drying the soap would not result in a significant weight reduction.



Saving 7.18 oz by carrying a 5 oz bar instead of liquid soap would certainly be considered significant by the type of people that shorten toothbrush handles to save weight .

What I meant was that attempting to dry the 5% water content from a soap bar may not be worth doing.
But maybe one does like peppermint flavoured apricots . (hint, the scent may linger inside the dryer)

[theinfamousj]

If you are going to go through the trouble of shredding the soap and then dehydrating it, you might as well buy Ivory Snow. It is "pure" (therefore biodegradable) soap that is already shredded and dehydrated. Also known as Ivory Soap Flakes.

Everything old is new again.

[One Half]

Comments , found on the Net, on the Bronner products :
Volume of actual soap:
I don’t know how to de-math this, but people who put together their own recipes for cleaners might want to know this. Bar soaps are 5% water; liquids are 61%. The chemistry is a little different for both, but considering that a bar of soap weighs 5 oz, and thus 4.75 oz of it is soap, you would need 12.18 ounces (a little over 1 ½ c.) of liquid soap to equal the soap content of a 5 oz bar. Doing the math the other way, 1 cup of liquid soap equals approximately 2/3 of a bar (or 3.64 oz.) of Dr. B’s bar soap.

if those numbers are correct, drying the soap would not result in a significant weight reduction.

This is what I thought! Pretty crazy.

[Deacon]

I had those once, worked pretty good. You don't wanna confuse em with the "Listerene" leaves, you'll know ya did when you say "oh shyte oh shyte" and bubbles come out.

I carried those thin soaps once on the LT. The problem is they eventually get damp, then slick so they stick together then nearly impossible to handle. I don't carry soap any more, just a one ounce bottle of hand sanitizer does just fine.

[CalebJ]

How much soap are you actually carrying? Even with the liquid, an ounce of Dr. Bronners would be good for weeks of backpacking the way I've gone through it in the past.

[QHShowoman]

You all are some clean backpackers.


I just make peace with my stank and own it.

[CalebJ]

It's less about the stink and more about good hygiene with your hands, particularly after going about your business.

[Dogwood]

Comments , found on the Net, on the Bronner products :
Volume of actual soap:
I don’t know how to de-math this, but people who put together their own recipes for cleaners might want to know this. Bar soaps are 5% water; liquids are 61%. The chemistry is a little different for both, but considering that a bar of soap weighs 5 oz, and thus 4.75 oz of it is soap, you would need 12.18 ounces (a little over 1 ½ c.) of liquid soap to equal the soap content of a 5 oz bar. Doing the math the other way, 1 cup of liquid soap equals approximately 2/3 of a bar (or 3.64 oz.) of Dr. B’s bar soap.

if those numbers are correct, drying the soap would not result in a significant weight reduction.

if those numbers are correct, drying the soap would not result in a significant weight reduction.


Saving 7.18 oz by carrying a 5 oz bar instead of liquid soap would certainly be considered significant by the type of people that shorten toothbrush handles to save weight .

What I meant was that attempting to dry the 5% water content from a soap bar may not be worth doing.
But maybe one does like peppermint flavoured apricots . (hint, the scent may linger inside the dryer)

How much soap are you actually carrying? Even with the liquid, an ounce of Dr. Bronners would be good for weeks of backpacking the way I've gone through it in the past.

Agree. And, consider the OP and her SO are mailing regular resupply boxes their entire AT thru-hike. It leads to Caleb's question 'how much soap does one really use and need between resupplies?' How often(time) and far(distance) apart are the mailed resupply boxes? Heck a small plastic 2-3 oz dropper bottle of concentrated Dr Bronners used sparingly and efficiently, which should probably be done anyway to be ecologically friendly, likely could suffice for a two party group every 7-21 days.

[Dogwood]

Dehydrated soap is sold in stores everywhere in packages labeled "soap".

he he .........

[Venchka]

And then there are small bars of soap free for the taking in most every hotel or motel room in the country.
Wayne


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