Soaprags

[susiestar]

My hobby of sorts lately has been cutting up outgrown clothing and using the fabric for dishrags, dishtowels, and various other uses. I used some knit fabric to cover a couple of little bars of soap as something interesting for the kids.

They have named these cloth covered bars "soaprags". It has been surprisingly well received - thank you no longer fusses over bathing because he doesn't have to touch the "slimy" bars of soap or squirts of body wash. He dropped his bath pouf thingy into the toilet by accident and didn't let us know when we were all at the store. He just tried to get out of showering, lol.

So the kids just brought me some regular bars of soap to turn into "soaprags". I had to put them itno a ziploc as I get things ready because they are making me SNEEZE! Not sure what brand husband got, but wow does it make me sneeze powerfully!

For those with kids who hate soap, this might be helpful. I have found a textured cotton like that used for some polo type shirts or for heavier knits is more popular than just tshirt fabric. They like it to have the texture when it is wet. You could use almost any kind of cotton fabric though.

 

[HaoZi]

I remember Dad used to save up the soaps that got to the point you couldn't really hold them and later (I don't recall how he did it) he would combine all those barely-there bars into one big bar. Those would be great for your soaprags, too. Any way to make them easily re-useable so you could market them?
Wait... aren't there loofahs or poofs that are made so you can put a bar into them?

It's been years since I thought about, but I used to wrap the soap in the washcloth because it was either too slippery or too slimy. Love shower gel, though.

 

[gcvmom]

What a great idea for the sensory-challenged!

 

[Hound dog]

They have these for kids. Aubrey uses them. But I don't think they're that cheap.

Does yours come off the bar when it's been used up or do you just sew in on more permanently Was thinking if you could make it more like a pouch type thing........where it can be reused, you could get it patented before someone else and maybe make some decent money off it. Would be much cheaper for people to have reusable ones they can use with whatever type bar soap they like.

 

[susiestar]

Hadn't thought of that. They could easily be given a drawstring so they were a pouch. the ones that are sold are expensive, at least the ones I have seen. Plus they are ALL with strongly stinky soap. This bar that made me sneeze was an anomaly in our home - we usually buy a generic version of dove or something else that has little smell. This one said hypoallergenic so husband thought it was unscented.

I just did it because the kids loved hte little travel ones. It takes maybe fifteen minutes to make one with them sewn in permanently. Once the fabric is dried it takes maybe five min to take the stitches out of the top and another five to sew another bar in. I also have one I keep with my sewing stuff to stick needles into so they get a bit of soap to make them not stick on fabric. Trick I learned from my mom. That one is a tiny travel bar though.

Next year my mom wants to do a craft booth at a specific show with items that are solutions to problems. These might fit in very well. I just REFUSE to sew them by machine, lol. I HATE sewing machines and they HATE me. Jess is magic with hers, but for me? It will NOT work. But by hand I do well, lol. I even have fairly even stitching - problem from all the years of cross stitching.

 

[confuzzled]

once upon a 100 years ago, this was a girl scout project!

i dont remember the specifics, but i think it involved making an "envelope" of fabric so you could put the soap scraps inside and then it was either a snap or a button with an elastic loop that closed it up (today you could use velcro).

now we just stick the too small piece to the next bar of soap, but i havent been crafty in ages, and anything i made as a girl scout would have been dust unto the earth by now.

more power to you--but dont' do tooooooooo many "rags", my husband is the *king* of t-shirt rags, and umm, 20 or so will do ya. he has *no* idea why his other 80 or so keep getting "misplaced", and why the 20 he does still have dont even look used. :-D

 

[AnnieO]

Yeah - about a month ago when I cleaned out the mudroom, I threw away about 4 laundry baskets of ripped-clothing "rags".

I actually kept about 1...

 

[susiestar]

I do this because I REFUSE to spend money on dishtowels and dishrags. I also HATE using anything with strings trailing, so I am hemming them on all sides. Anything too small to be hemmed is used as a disposable napkin or kleenex. I went through a TON of rags this way during the last two weeks with this nasty virus. But we won't have laundry baskets full, that is for sure.

Mostly I keep doing them because my family will NOT rinse a dishcloth out and hang it to dry. they leave it in a wad with gunk all over it and wonder why it stinks. I won't even wash them when they are like that - too gross. This is the main reason I refuse to buy dishrags/towels.

 

[AnnieO]

Neither will mine.

In fact, it's all I can do to get them to put the sponge in the drainer, much less squeeze it out. I don't even have dishcloths. They gross me out.

 

[susiestar]

I find sponges to be FAR nastier than dishrags. I won't have them in the house - not after doing a homeschool experiment to see what grew on them. Even AFTER soaking in bleach for hours they still have TONS of nasties living deep inside. Plus the bleach makes them fall apart. This is why restaurants are not allowed to use them on tables, dishes, etc....

Sorry. maybe too much information, hope I don't upset you. but sponges are far more likely to grow bacteria than rags. And far harder to clean.

 

[HaoZi]

Get the sponge wet and microwave it for 30 seconds. That kills a lot. Don't do it dry. Dry is bad.