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Top 10 Uses for Bar Soap (Besides the Obvious)

by on Jul 16, 2007

Woman washing her hands with soap printing on bar soap wallpaper.

10. Lubricant. Stuck drawers or windows? Rub a bar of soap on your drawer glides and the bottoms of the sides to ease sticky drawers. For windows, rub the soap on the sliding elements.

9. Deodorizer. Place a bar of your favorite soap inside your suitcase or your drawers to keep them smelling fresh. The same goes for your car; a bar of pleasingly scented soap might be just the thing after that new car smell has faded–or never was.

8. Repellant. Problem with rabbits and deer in the garden? Making soap sachets out of a particularly pungent soap–Irish Spring seems to work particularly well–will help protect your plants from marauders.

7. Artist medium. When we were kids, my sibs and I used to carve figures out of bar soap. When we–or Mom–grew tired of our creations, we used them to lather up in the tub. And don’t throw away the slivers the kids carve off the bar; sift them into a toe of a clean sock for more clean fun at bath time.

6. Lubricant Part 2. When faced with a particularly dense piece of wood, lube the tip of your screws in a bar of soap for easier penetration. You can lube your saw blades as well, for the same effect.

5. Pin cushion. Wrap a bar of soap in a bit of cloth and use it as a pincushion. Again, the soap will act as a lubricant, making them easier to insert into fabric.

4. Pre-treater. Instead of spending a bunch of money on those spray pre-treaters, try bar soap instead. Simply wet it and rub in on the stain before washing.

3. Dirty fingernail prevention. Before you do your next gardening project, scrape your fingernails over a bar of soap. The resulting soap accumulation will keep dirt from getting under your fingernails and will wash away at clean up.

2. Soot prevention. If you’re planning a cook out using a cast iron pot, rub a bar of soap over the bottom of the pot before you set it over the open flame. The soap will make for easy cleanup, as the soap will prevent the soot from accumulating.

And the number 1 use for bar soap (besides the obvious)…

Insect bite anesthetic. Apparently, a dampened bar of soap rubbed on insect bites will alleviate itching. Who knew?

(The 21″ x 27″ giclee print entitled ‘ Savon Shyb’ by Rene Lelong is available through AllPosters.com for $124.99.)

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1 Comments

  1. I like all the suggestions except soap in your garden. Sprinklers and rain would disolve it in no time. Even Irish Spring isnt cheap enough to be replacing on a regular basis, plus Im not sure how good it would be for the soil over time.