I use a Microplane to grate up pure soap which I keep on hand for quelling the occasional oversuds in my FL.

I have no experience using Zote, but in some parts of the world where I have lived laundry soap was only sold in chunks whacked off a great blue-veined slab and then wrapped up in newspaper to carry home. I used it (grated up, or in thin shavings) in my FLs. You can also try liquifying the grated soap and dispensing it from a (well-shaken) bottle if that's more convenient.

But I can't give you more precise instructions, other than to do some experiments and see what happens. BTW, I have trouble with unfamiliar laundry products jumping into my shopping cart all the time, too. The only cure is to send my DH by himself with a list, but where's the fun of that?

I be interested to hear what you deduce from yur experiments.

Molly~

Molly, how much of the microplaned soap have you used in your FL when it was all you had? And how much do you add nowadays when you have oversudsing?

I have two sudsy HE liquids I want to use up but am avoiding because I am out to protect the bearings on my FridGEmore. I would like to try a load with half a dose of the detergent and some measure of the grated soap -- maybe a tablespoon?

Thanks!

BTW, I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who has trouble resisting unfamiliar laundry products.

For emergency anti-sudsing I use several pinches of Microplaned Ivory bath bars and a pint or so of hot water to wash it down the hatch. Remember, I'm talking about unplanned usage discovered during the wash cycle, for instance when I'm bringing vintage linens into my care and they have a particularly dense residue of detergent from previous launderings. Sometimes even if I don't add any detergent to their first washing I can get an oversudsing. That calls for some of my "magic" soap. I would use Ivory soap powder if it was still avail, but I haven't seen it in years.

For a planned usage I think you could start with a couple of teaspoons, or a tablespoon and see what happens. I think the risk is the build-up of biofilm from imperfectly rinsed-out(not only out of your clothes, but also out of the machine's innards) soap. Synthetic detergents were considered a boon for cleaner rinsing, back in the days when they were invented.

As to regular washing with ground or planed-up soap. Of course, that was with highly alkaline products overseas (Latin America and elswhere). IIRC, I would use about 2-3 tablespoons non-microplaned, just grated with a simple box grater, or shaved off the soap chunk.

I wouldn't hesitate to experiment and see what works for you. As long you are occasionally washing in quite hot water (even if you have to add some from a kettle) I think the biofilm and soap build-up shouldn't be a problem. And soap would generally be less sudsy than detergents. The key, as always is if you can concoct something that cleans your stuff well, with your water, in your machine.

Molly~

I use Zote (or Fels-Naptha, or Kirks Castile) for my powdered homemade laundry detergent concoction. I also use a microplane or food grater to grate it.

Powdered Homemade Laundry Detergent

1 c. grated Zote (or Fels-Naptha, or Kirks Castile)
1/2 c. washing soda
1/2 c. 20 Mule Team Borax
1 c. SUN Oxygen Cleaner (cheaper than Oxy-Clean)

Mix together and store in an air-tight container. Use 2 T. for light loads and 3 T. for heavy loads. Be sure to pre-treat any stains.
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My mother used to grate homemade lye soap, or one of the store-bought brands of bar laundry soap mentioned above, and add it to a quart jar of hot water (not sure how much - maybe 1/2 inch of the bar). This quickly melted the soap and made it easier to use to pre-treat stains and then she added the remainder to the load of laundry. We had very hard well water, and pre-dissolving the soap seemed to make it work quickly.
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Yet one more recipe: (You could easily use Zote for the Fels Naptha.)

Ma's Liquid Laundry Soap
2/3 bar Fels Naptha - grated
2/3 bar Kirks Castile Soap
2 c. washing soda
2 c. borax
1/4 c. glycerin
2 gallons hot water
20-30 drops essential oils (suggested: Rosemary, Lavender, Tea Tree Oil, or Grapefruit Seed Extract - or combination of)

1. Place 1 quart of water into a medium pot over medium heat. Add the soap and stir until melted.

2. Add the Soda and Borax and mix until the mixture thickens.

3. Place one 1/2-gallon of Hot water into a three or four gallon bucket and then pour in the soap mixture and stir well.

3. Add the glycerin and essential oils to the mixture and fill to the two gallon mark on your bucket or simply add another 5 quarts of hot water.

5. The glycerin acts as a stain remover and the essential oils suggested have anti-bacterial and/or antifungal properties.

6. Set in a safe place (out of reach of pets and kids) to cool.

7. Stir and use 1/2 c. to 1 cup per wash load depending on size and level of soiling.

8. Use directly to pretreat stains.

-Grainlady

I have been using Zote - replacing FelsNaphtha. I grate the Zote using a medium grate. I pinch a pingpong ball sized bunch of it for a larger load. I had a TBSP Borax, washing soda and a quarter cup oxyclean. I got terrific results when I switched to Fels, and Zote is even better. My white were getting dingey with Fels! I also enjoy the smell of Zote more.