How to Make the Most of Public Goods Castile Soap

Saying castile soap has aged well would be an understatement.

This staple from the Castile region of Spain has been around since medieval times, yet consumers are still inventing new uses for it. There are people who swear by castile soap and rely on it for everything they can think of, kind of like Windex in the “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” movies.

At Public Goods we produce our own brand of castile soap, and we want our members to understand how versatile this gold liquid can be. If you run out of cleaning and bathroom products and are waiting on another order, castile soap could be your savior. There’s also the possibility that you’ll fall in love with it and decide it’s all you need.

Want Your Castile Soap to Have a Scent? No Problem.

Some of our members love that our castile soap does not have a potent smell. One reviewer wrote, “I love that this soap doesn’t have a strong fragrance. I hate when Castile soap has peppermint added, because it makes it too harsh!”

Other members want it to have a scent, so they make clever use of our other products.

“I mixed some of the soap with some of my PG lavender oil (in an empty PG conditioner bottle) and now I have a delightful lavender soap (which I use with my ayate washcloth),” another reviewer wrote. “Now I’m clean AND delightfully scented.”

Depending on the fragrance you want, you can also mix castile soap with our other essential oils:

• Argan Oil
• Eucalyptus Essential Oil
• Lemon Essential Oil
• Peppermint Essential Oil
• Rosemary Essential Oil
• Tea Tree Essential Oil

A few drops of oil should be enough to create a pleasant aroma and add disinfecting power to the castile soap.

All-Purpose Cleaner

One of our members uses castile soap to wash his car, showing it can clean pretty much anything. The first step is to set aside an empty spray bottle and fill it with warm water. Then mix in some castile soap. The ratio is up to you. Don’t be afraid to experiment and see what works.

Once the solution is ready, here are some of the many ways you can use it:

• Surface cleaning
• Floor cleaning, especially useful for hardwood and tiles
• Car washing
• Cleaning makeup brushes
• Cleaning sneakers

If these methods don’t work for you, feel free to try some of our cleaning products.

Hand and Dish Soap

Some people find hand soaps and dish soaps harsh because they contain unnecessary artificial ingredients. Because castile soap is derived from vegetables, it provides a gentler wash and is environmentally-friendly, perfect for vegans and animal lovers.

You can squirt the soap on directly or dilute it with water. It depends on what kind of strength and sensation you want.

Shampoo, Body Wash and Facial Cleanser

For the same reasons, many consumers love using castile soap as an alternative to shampoo, body wash and facial cleanser. All of our bathroom products are natural and do not contain harsh chemicals, but some members prefer using castile soap for everything.

One member found that castile soap was the perfect product for washing her baby.

“He doesn’t fuss when wash I him with it and the scent isn’t overwhelming,” she wrote.

Apparently there are also people who rely on it to scrub their pets.

Laundry Detergent

This one is more complicated. If you don’t want to bother with it, try our laundry detergent pods.

For those of you who are dedicated to DIY and making the most of this beloved product, here are some steps to transform castile soap into laundry detergent (courtesy of Live Simply):

1. In a large saucepan, bring six cups of water to a slight boil. Once the water begins to boil, turn off the burner and add Borax and Washing Soda. Stir to dissolve.
2. In a large bucket (around two gallons), combine the remaining 11 cups of room temperature water and one cup of our castile soap.
3. Add 15 drops Essential Oil (optional).
4. Pour the hot Borax mixture from the saucepan into the bucket.
5. Stir the mixture together.
6. Pour your mixture into a storage container. We recommend a mason jar or something similar.
7. As the soap sits, the mixture might form into a gel. There may also be liquid and gel separation. Simply stir or shake. We recommend 1/8-1/4 a cup of soap per load of laundry. For stains apply a small amount of soap directly on the stain. The gel will dissolve in the water of the washing machine.

Brushing Your Teeth

It may sound gross at first, but people have enjoyed castile soap as an alternative to toothpaste. A few drops can clean your teeth, and apparently it is possible to become accustomed to the taste.

There are benefits to trying this unexpected approach. Popular brands of toothpaste often contain controversial chemicals such as sodium fluoride. Like castile soap, our brand of toothpaste has ingredients derived from vegetables. Both can freshen your mouth without health risks, although obviously people overwhelmingly prefer the toothpaste.

Bug Repellant

Bugs do not like castile soap, especially when combined with essential oils. If only they had the intellect to appreciate its versatility. To keep ants and other insects off the surfaces around your house, lather on some castile soap or try our insect repellant.

Washing Vegetables

Unfortunately our vegetables are often covered with pesticides and other chemicals that are not healthy for us. If you’re worried that water isn’t doing the trick, use a dab of castile soap to rinse your produce. Castile soap comes from vegetables, so it’s the best product for cleaning them.

How Are You Using Castile Soap?

If you have devised an interesting way to make the most of castile soap, please let us know. So far our members have been very creative, and we are curious to see what they do next.