13 years ago i moved into new build with a marble shower... it had both a dk verdi marble and a lighter, whitish marble in it-don't know the type... i don't know if the shower was sealed by the tile installers, but only lived in that house less than 3 years and some areas in the shower had significant etching... i had used a 'marble safe' cleaner on it and nothing else... 2 1/2 yrs ago we had our current shower redone in marble... had it sealed and resealed it twice (about once a year...) and it looks perfect, so i assume sealing it is key... (and using a marble safe cleaner when cleaning!) tho the type of marble used might also be a factor...?

Here are instructions for using water slip decal paper. She is using laser paper - but I use ink jet - I don't have a laser printer. With inkjet decal paper - you need to spray several coats of clear sealer (krylon or any clear spray paint) to waterproof the decal after printing let the ink dry for a bit first). Also - Bel Decal is a good place to buy the inkjet decal paper from. Here is a link that might be useful: Water slip decal on soap from Beneath the Willow Tree Newsletter

Froth is an indication that one is using enough soap to properly clean as well as keep soils/hard water minerals and muck suspended. This is why most every soap product from laundry to bath advertises or advertised "mounds of rich creamy suds". Pure soaps by design will create suds, quite allot of them, while detergents can be either low or high sudsing. Anyone brought up to do laundry with soap will tell you that if one does not see suds, then more soap was needed. When Ivory Snow was powdered soap, directions on the box recommended a 1 to 2 inch layer of creamy suds throug out the wash cycle as an indication one had added enough product. The problem with using soap in front loaders is even one inches of suds can cause problems, and you have very little control over how much soap to use. If you add too little in the drawer, you may not have a way to add more during the wash cycle. Add too much, then you have other problems. There is also the fact that even a one inch layer of froth may trigger a washing machine's internal "over sudsing" system to abort the wash cycle. The tumbling action of front loaders will cause even more froth to form, which not only will decrease cleaning results, but can damage the washing machine as well. Simply put soap softens water (by binding hard water minerals), and also cleans like all "detergents". Differnece is detergents are "built" with additives to soften water, while soap will do this by itself, but one must use much of the product depending upon water conditions. It is the binding of hard water minerals that causes soap crud which forms on everything washed in pure soap. Besides creating froth, which is bad for front loading washing machines; the first several rinses after laundering with soap must be either hot or at least warm water temperature to prevent soap and the muck it has released from becoming trapped in textiles when coming in contact with cold water. Soap is very difficult to rinse from laundry (just because the froth is gone, does not mean all soap has been rinsed from garments), indeed the fats and oils used to make soap will leave a residue on textiles that can build up over time, resulting in dingy, tattle-tale grey fabrics that can turn rancid smelling. Zote, is still widely used in Mexico and other parts of South America as bar laundry soaps have been for ages; to do laundry by hand in either a river bank, wash tub/sink or semi or totally automatic top loading washing machine. Personally wouldn't use soap in any of today's low water front loaders, with the exception of soap based products such as Persil's "Perwol". Do have bars of vintage Fel's soap, but use it more as a pre-treat than to do actual wash loads. C.dS

I thought I'd chime in as a pro CP person. I've done both methods, but personally prefer CP because I like the feeling of making something from scratch. I know what goes into my soap from beginning to end, which is great for me since I have sensitive skin. CP is definitely a lot more labor intensive than M&P, but I find it relaxing and therapeutic. It's also much more complicated since you're working with lye, and ingredients that you might put into M&P soap with no problem will turn out all different sorts of ways when you introduce it to lye. It's even MORE complicated if you're interested in designing your own soap recipe because it involves balancing chemical reactions and understanding the various properties of different oils. I love it, though, because it appeals to my geeky side. And once you learn it, it's not that difficult. Anyway, I agree with Hazel. Try both and see what you personally like. You might want to start with M&P to break yourself into the whole experience. That's how I started. I later moved into CP once I'd tried M&P. Good luck!