Is Fels Naptha Soap Safe?
Fels-Naptha was extremely popular during WW2 but over the years it dropped in popularity as convenience products made their ways to the shelves. Recently though it has seen a resurgence since so many people are starting to recognize the value of saving money with depression era money saving tips or money saving tricks from World War 2.
Fels Naptha is safe, however, it is a known eye and skin irritant with prolonged exposure. Also, while Fels-Naptha isn’t labeled as a nasal irritant, I find that grating it does irritate my nose quite a bit. Just keep that in mind when you’re looking for ways to use Fels-Naptha in your home. With all of that said, you will be fine as long as you aren’t sitting in a bucket of soapy water for hours. You can view the Fels Naptha MSDS sheet right HERE if you would like.
If you find that trying these uses for Fels-Naptha irritates you a bit more than you care for, you can give Zote soap a try. Simple at Home has an a really nice list of uses for Zote soap HERE.
Uses for Fels Naptha Soap
Treat poison ivy with Fels-Naptha
Our family spends a lot of times outdoors which makes this one of my favorite ways to use Fels Naptha! If you think you have come in contact with poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac, quickly scrub the area with Fels Naptha soap. Rinse very well with hot water. The Fels-Naptha will help to remove the oils from the poison ivy from your skin keeping you from itching and blistering later. Use it on hands, ankles, and arms that may have touched the ivy. Be sure to avoid your face and any other sensitive areas of your body.
Use Fels-Naptha to clean your grout
Cleaning grout can be a pain in the rear, but Fels Naptha can make it easier. Before you get to scrubbing, rub your grout with the corner of a bar of Fels Naptha. The soap will help remove the dirt that is trapped in the lines of your grout. Follow the soap with your favorite homemade grout cleaner and rinse well.
Make a quick and easy homemade dish soap
Do you hand wash your dishes? Why not make use this super budget friendly use for Fels Naptha soap and make homemade dish soap? For hand washing dish soap, grate 1/4 cup Fels-Naptha and combine with 1 cup of water. Melt the soap into the water on the stove, let cool then use like you would any other dish washing liquid. It will work better than any dish liquid you can buy at the store for hand washing, but it isn’t great for dishwashers. For homemade dishwasher soap, check out my homemade dishwasher soap recipe or my homemade dishwasher detergent tablets instead.
Use Fels-Naptha to help unstick drawers
In my kitchen, I have a drawer that likes to get stuck. I’m sure we all have at least one in our homes and that’s why I love this tip the best out of all of these ways to use Fels-Naptha. It might not seem like it but it absolutely will help you save money around your home since you won’t have to buy something to get that stubborn drawer unstuck. For an easy fix, rub a bar of Fels-Naptha on both of the drawer tracks. It will lubricate the track and cause your drawer to open and close freely.
Use Fels-Naptha to brighten your whites
Washing your whites in bleach too often can make them take on a yellow or dingy color. To keep that from happening, skip the bleach and use Fels-Naptha to help boost their color! Simply dissolve one cup of grated Fels-Naptha into a sink full of warm water. Soak your white clothing for an hour then wash as you normally would. When the whites come out, you will notice they are whiter, less dingy, and will be sparkling clean!
Pre-treat stains with Fels-Naptha
Keeping your white clothing looking great isn’t the only laundry themed tip on this list of ways to use Fels-Naptha soap. You can also use it to pre-treat stains so there is never a need to buy those expensive stain remover sticks or sprays! To pre-treat, rub the stain with a bar of Fels-Naptha and wash as you usually would. This works great on grass stains, makeup stains, lipstick, oil, chocolate, and other foods quite nicely.
Use Fels-Naptha to clean your sneakers
Dirty and stinky sneakers? Rub a bar of Fels Naptha soap over them before you clean them. It will pre-treat any stains like grass, grease or mud and also help deodorize them so that they smell better. This can save you quite a bit of money over those expensive odor eating insoles.
Use Fels-Naptha to keep deer out of your garden
Pest deterrents can be expensive and often are full of things you don’t want near your vegetable garden. If deer have started to consider your garden their personal buffet, Fels-Naptha can help. Grate a bar and spread all around your garden and near your plants being careful not to get any near the roots. They won’t like the scent (or the taste if they lick it) and will choose to go elsewhere. If you need an extra strong boost, you can also add things like scallions and chili powder with the Fels-Naptha for that extra strength.
Make Homemade cleaning products with Fels-Naptha
At it’s base, Fels Naptha soap is a laundry bar which makes it perfect for cleaning and perfect for making DIY cleaning products to help you save money around your home. You can use it for everything from making homemade powdered laundry detergent, homemade laundry detergent tablets and more. Usually if a DIY cleaning recipe calls for a bar of soap, Fels-Naptha can be used.
Clean gunky sinks and toilets with Fels-Naptha
We all know that commercial cleaners are expensive so if you’re looking to save money around your home, using Fels-Naptha in as many places as possible is a great way to do it, especially in the bathroom.
To clean your sinks, rub them all over with a bar of Fels-Naptha then using a soft cleaning brush, scrub them. Rinse well and your sink will be as clean as a whistle. To clean your toilet, melt 1/4 bar of Fels-Naptha into 5-6 cups of water. Allow the soap/water mixture to cool quite a bit then add 15 drops of lemon essential oil and 10 drops of tea tree oil. Pour into your toilet bowl then use your toilet brush to clean normally. Flush and you’re good to go!
Use Fels-Naptha to clean soap scum from your shower
If your shower has glass shower doors, you’re probably pretty familiar with soap scum. Instead of using expensive commercial shower cleaners, rub a clean, dampened sponge with Fels-Naptha then scrub your damp shower and doors down with it. Be sure to hit every area of your shower and doors. It will take some elbow grease the very first time that you do it, but once it is done, it will be significantly easier to keep up with. If you want to make the process easier, pre-clean your shower with our homemade bathroom cleaner then use the Fels-Naptha after you have rinsed well.
Clean paint brushes with Fels-Naptha
If you like to paint. you might be spending a ton of money on paint brush cleaner. There’s no reason to. Just rub your brushes over a bar of Fels-Naptha then rinse well. The bristles will stay soft and they’ll be as clean as new.
Shine aluminum with a bar of Fels-Naptha
Do you have aluminum cookware? If so, Fels-Naptha works great for shining it! Just rub your gunky aluminum with the edge of the bar and polish! Rinse well and you’re done!
Remove baby formula stains with Fels-Naptha
Baby formula is one of the worst things to have stain your clothes or your baby’s clothing…especially if you’re looking to resell them. To remove baby formula stains from clothing, rub the stain with a wet bar of Fels-Naptha then soak it in 1 gallon of water with 1/2 cup Borax powder for 30 minutes. Wash like normal and the stains should be completely gone! This is especially helpful if you’re looking to sell your old baby clothes online.
Treat cold sores with Fels-Naptha
Cold sores can be literal pain. To help dry them out and treat cold sores with Fels-Naptha, simply wash the area with the sore on it with Fels Naptha soap and rinse well. Pat the area dry and after a few days, it should be gone. One caution on this is to be very careful if you have sensitive skin since Fels Naptha is a known skin irritant.
Use Fels-Naptha to make a homemade insecticide
If your garden plants are being eaten alive (literally) by bugs, this may end up being your favorite of all of these ways to use Fels-Naptha. You can use it to make an insecticide that will kill the bugs on your plants without harming the plant itself. Since commercial insecticides are so expensive, this is another great ways to save money around your home.
To kill bugs using Fels Naptha, grate a small chunk of Fels-Naptha then dissolve 3 tablespoons of the grated soap into 1 gallon of hot water. Allow the mixture to fully cool, add to a spray bottle and spray on your plants.
Use Fels-Naptha to repel bugs
Not only will Fels-Naptha kill bugs, but it can also repel them. To keep bugs away from your plants and home in general, cut a bar of Fels-Naptha into 1 inch chunks and place around the areas that you need to keep bugs out of.
For plants, you’ll want to place the chunk at the base of the plant, but be careful not to get it into the root area. This will work for garden bugs as well as moths and other creepy crawlers that can get into your home.
Deodorize your can with Fels-Naptha
Why spend extra money for scented trash bags when you can save money around your home and use a bar of Fels-Naptha instead? To clean and deodorize your trash cans, dissolve 4 tablespoons grated Fels-Naptha into 1 gallon of hot water.
Allow to cool and add 15 drops of tea tree oil and 15 drops of lemon essential oil. Spray the inside and outside of your trash can with the cleaning solution and allow to dry fully. Your trash can will now be clean, disinfected and deodorized.
Bonus? Since Fels-Naptha works to repel bugs, it will also be pest free!
Remove ink stains with Fels-Naptha
I can’t be the only one who has washed an ink pen, right? Really? Noooo, I really can’t be!
In any case, if you too have washed a BIC; Fels-Naptha can rescue your laundry. Just add a chunk to your washer and wash like normal. For stubborn ink stains, follow the instructions above for baby formula stains. Your clothes should look like new!
Use Fels-Naptha to repel mice
Mickey causing too many issues in your home, but using mouse traps isn’t your cup of tea? Fels-Naptha to the rescue! Cut 1 inch chunks off of your bar and place them in areas where mice and other critters give you issues at. They won’t like the smell and will stay away. If you want to double up on the protection, add a few cotton balls covered in peppermint essential oil in different places. They won’t like that smell either.
Treat Chigger and mosquito bites with Fels-Naptha
Chiggers and mosquitoes are pretty common pests during the warmer months of the year, but luckily Fels-Naptha can help relieve the itching from them!
To treat chigger and mosquito bites with Fels-Naptha, simply wash the area well with the soap. Rinse well and pat dry. The soap will help dry the bites up leading to relief for you.
You also might want to consider using a homemade bug spray or homemade citronella candles next time so you can prevent bites in the first place. If you’re like me, mosquitoes like to make you their dinner buffet.
Fels-Naptha can prevent poison ivy
Not only can you dry up poison ivy, poison oak or poison sumac with Fels-Naptha, but you can also prevent it. Poison Ivy can stay on your clothing for up to a year after you’ve brushed against it even with commercial laundry detergents.
Washing exposed clothing with Fels-Naptha though can help remove any oils that are on the clothing and actually keep you from many itchy nights. Make sure to wash them separately from the rest of your laundry. Since we camp a lot, I keep a WonderWash on hand just for this. I don’t want to take the chance that the oils will transfer to my washer.
Clean grease and other things off of your hands with Fels-Naptha
Know someone who deals with greasy hands on a regular basis? Lava hand soap works well but is twice the price of a bar of Fels-Naptha. Washing your hands with it can easily remove not only grease, but onion scents and other things that can stain or scent your hands.
Clean outdoor furniture with Fels-Naptha
Outdoor furniture can get pretty funky over the course of just a few weeks and they are super expensive to replace. Instead of replacing them, clean then with Fels-Naptha.
Wet your furniture down and rub your outdoor furniture with either the bar itself of with a cleaning brush that has been rubbed across a bar then rinse thoroughly. We like to use this when we clean our outdoor furniture on a budget. It helps them stay looking great but keeps my budget in tact!
Treat mildew with Fels-Naptha
Mildew is another thing that can befall not only your outdoor furniture but other areas in your home as well. Again, Fels-Naptha can be used to help clean it.
Wet the area down and spray with a bleach solution that is made up of 2 parts bleach and 1 part water. Let the bleach solution site for 10-15 minutes. Rub the area down with your bar of Fels-Naptha and scrub with a soft scrub brush. Rinse well and the mildew should be gone!
Lubricate squeaky door hinges
The squeaky wheel gets the grease, right? Well, the squeaky door gets the soap. If you have a squeaky door hinge or knob, rub a dry bar of Fels-Naptha on the areas that squeak. Wipe off any excess and the squeaky wheels should fall silent. This is one of the best ways to use WD-40, but if you don’t have any on hand, Fels-Naptha will work well.
Use Fels-Naptha to clean your carpets
One of my favorite ways to use Fels-Naptha is also one that will help you save money around your home. Commercial carpet shampoos are super expensive but Fels-Naptha is super budget friendly.
Just mix 1/2 cup grated Fels-Naptha with 2 gallons of water and heat to boiling. Allow it to cool completely and use it with a carpet shampooer to shampoo your carpets! As with any other carpet shampoo, be sure you check in a hidden are for color fastness.
Easily remove stickers and labels with Fels-Naptha
The list of things thrifty people reuse is pretty big, but a staple item that gets reused is jars and bottles. Those jars and bottles usually have pretty strong labels and stickers on them though and they can be a pain in the rear to remove sometimes. You could buy Goo Gone, but Fels-Naptha can make it even easier.
Rub the seam of the label (where the glue is) or the entire sticker with a dry bar then let sit for a few minutes. Next, soak the jar in a bit of water with a bit of soap melted into it. Once you’ve soaked it for a bit, the label or sticker should peel right off.
Prevent lice with Fels-Naptha
Now before I get into this, I want to remind you again that Fels-Naptha is a known skin and eye irritant. Please be careful if you choose to use this tip and if it harms your hair or eyes, neither Six Dollar Media, Inc. or I personally will be held responsible.
Some folks claim that Fels-Naptha can be used to prevent lice. To use it for this purpose, wash your hair with Fels-Naptha once a week. A much easier method is to add tea tree oil to your shampoo. Add 10-15 drops to each bottle of shampoo and conditioner, shake and shampoo/condition like normal.
Treat minor acne with Fels-Naptha
Have a nasty pimple or zit? Wash the area with the pimple with Fels-Naptha. It will help dry out the oils in the pimple and help it to heal quicker. Rinse well with warm water and be sure to avoid your eyes.
If you would rather avoid using Fels Naptha on your face, consider giving our DIY Acne Mask with Essential Oils a try. It works so well!