# So . . . who wants to help me experiment with Irish Spring Soap? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679 "2006-09-22T06:58:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 6:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/1 "2006-09-22T06:58:12Z")
My roomie has an unhealthy obsession with Irish Spring soap. She shaves it down and puts the shavings into her bath, she uses it at every chance she gets, and she buys it by the ton. Sadly, she’s gotten me hooked too. That’s beyond the point, though. I’ve done some searching online and found that I can purchase Irish Spring esque oil that has multiple uses, but the real question is what I can do with this actual Irish Spring Soap ('sides the obvious, of course). Can we some how work the Irish Spring into our laundry? Shampoo? Lunch and deli meats 😛 ? Seriously though- any ideas about how we can work Irish Spring into our daily lives- besides the normal body cleansing reasons? This is lame, I know! But I am also the person who did Press and Seal Wrap experiments in my spare time 😃 . It’s science. . . yeah, science. ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/2 "2006-09-22T07:06:53Z")
I have nothing to help you with for the Irish Spring thing, but - I did Press and Seal experiments too. Just so you know you’re not alone. 🙂 ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![Grossbottom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba8739/32.png) [@Grossbottom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grossbottom)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/3 "2006-09-22T13:17:57Z")
Tie some slivers up in cheesecloth and put it in your dresser drawers so the scent permeates your clothing. Or maybe try dissolving a bar of it in some hot water, pour the water into a spray bottle and use it to clean with? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/4 "2006-09-22T13:25:05Z")
[Soap carving](http://www.ivory.com/PureFun_IvoryProjects_SoapCarvingTips.htm), of course! I’m also envisioning some sort of soap shaving art form, perhaps with sorted colors, spray adhesive and a sheet of polyboard. Mosiac-y. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/5 "2006-09-22T15:08:32Z")
Wonderful ideas all around! **tashabot** - I took 16 ounce glasses of red Gatorade and shook em all over the place. It was neat! 🙂 **Grossbottom** - both great ideas! I especially like the cheesecloth one and will def. try it. Do you think we could dissolve it into hot water and use it for laundry? **WhyNot** - (hangs head) We’ve done that already! ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/6 "2006-09-22T15:10:44Z")
Can you melt it down and make a candle out of it?.. Or how about placing it in an liquid potpourri heater to get the aroma?.. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/7 "2006-09-22T15:12:39Z")
[QUOTE=934spe] Can you melt it down and make a candle out of it?.. Or how about placing it in an liquid potpourri heater to get the aroma?.. [/QUOTE] I was actually wondering this myself- - but it’s soap. Won’t some of its soapy properties get in the way of candle or potpourri making? I mean, would I have to somehow seperate the scent oil from the other soapy bits? ---
**Author:** ![Count\_Blucher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Count\_Blucher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Count_Blucher)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/8 "2006-09-22T15:14:10Z")
_realizes that ‘magically delicious’ is from a totally different product and slinks off to another thread_ ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/9 "2006-09-22T15:34:05Z")
Microwave it! Honestly, this is the most awesome thing you can do with soap. It grows legs. ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/10 "2006-09-22T15:59:36Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] I was actually wondering this myself- - but it’s soap. Won’t some of its soapy properties get in the way of candle or potpourri making? I mean, would I have to somehow seperate the scent oil from the other soapy bits? [/QUOTE] It has been many years since I have made soap in the chemistry lab, but from what I recall, it starts out as a hot liquid with all its soapy properties, and then a scent is added. Our always seemed to smell like burnt rubber, so obviously I didn’t go into the soap making business… I wonder if you could melt it down, then extract the scent oils either through a distillation process or even just decanting it off the top/bottom of the melted mess… I am not sure, but I think I am going to be pulling out my “Mad Scientist” stuff this weekend and melting some soap, just to see what happens… I will let you know how it goes… ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/11 "2006-09-22T16:03:07Z")
Is soap flammable? I know it’s part oils or waxes, but there’s that lye part. Or is Irish Spring detergent? Is detergent flammable? So many questions, so few mad scientists replying to this thread! ---
**Author:** ![tashabot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tashabot/32/6250_2.png) [@tashabot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tashabot)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/12 "2006-09-22T16:20:10Z")
What about getting a candle-making kit, with the melting wax, and putting slivers of Irish Spring into it to scent it? Would that work? Can soap melt? If it can, could you melt it and MIX IT with the wax? _is now intrigued_ And Press’n’Seal rocks. Just so everyone knows my opinion of that stuff. 😃 ~Tasha ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/13 "2006-09-22T16:23:17Z")
[Lookie](http://www.sweetcakes.com/product_info.php?cPath=6&products_id=109) what I found… This might be the answer that **DiosaBellissima** is looking for… ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/14 "2006-09-22T16:48:14Z")
**934spe** , I was actually thinking that there had to be some way to be a scientist of badass proportions and melt that bad boy down. Then, like you suggested, I figured we could scoop out all the Irish Springy goodness. Of course, I’d like very much to know the liklihood of, as **WhyNot** pointed out, doing this whole chemistry experiment and blowing up my apartment. As far as the scented oil, I saw that last night. That website expects my poor college student butt to order $25 worth of goods (plus UPS shipping). . . what the h-e-double-hockey-sticks would I do with $25 in scented oils? It’s a last resort, but I may consider it. In the mean time, I have a stockpile of Irish Spring under my sink that makes the US nuclear aresnal look sad at best. 😃 **tashabot** ’s ideas intrigue me. I could dig some Irish Spring candles (also something I could make from the above mentioned oils). If there is a way to mix the soap with the wax. . . that’d rule. Speaking of Press and Seal :D, I had a lipgloss that ripped open at the top. [One of these lil’ guys- it opened at the pinchy part at the top.](http://i3.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/ca/ed/1c_1.JPG) . The dumb thing leaked ALL over my expensive purse. This was me: :eek: :mad:. Anyway, I Press and Sealed that bad boy- 8 months later, not a single leak! I haven’t even changed the Press and Seal! ---
**Author:** ![934spe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/90db22/32.png) [@934spe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/934spe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/15 "2006-09-22T17:36:13Z")
[QUOTE=DiosaBellissima] **934spe** , I was actually thinking that there had to be some way to be a scientist of badass proportions and melt that bad boy down. Then, like you suggested, I figured we could scoop out all the Irish Springy goodness. Of course, I’d like very much to know the liklihood of, as **WhyNot** pointed out, doing this whole chemistry experiment and blowing up my apartment. QUOTE] It can’t be any more flammable than your average meth lab… 😃 Just kidding… I have no knowledge of making any illegal drugs of any kind, so please don’t email me… Try google… The only thing I can think of about melting it down is that the heat from melting the actual soap part (lye and salts, usually from fats) will drive off any oils… It is caputuring these oils that would be the real task… I have captured a natural oil before, for a lab I did involving garlic (I still can’t eat garlic to this day after smelling it super strong for over 2 months, but that is a different story). From my garlic experiments, I can come to the following conclusion: Trying to get oil out is a VERY slow process, and it has VERY low yeild, I think too much is lost to evaporation… As for what to do with $25 in scented oils?.. I don’t know… How about a back massage?.. (I know… I am a manwhore…) ---
**Author:** ![romansperson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/romansperson/32/17100_2.png) [@romansperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/romansperson)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/16 "2006-09-22T17:52:04Z")
Your roommate will be glad to know that Speed Stick is now making a deodorant that is [Irish Spring scented](http://www.colgate.com/app/Speedstick/US/IrishSpring.cvsp). ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/17 "2006-09-22T18:05:26Z")
[QUOTE=romansperson] Your roommate will be glad to know that Speed Stick is now making a deodorant that is [Irish Spring scented](http://www.colgate.com/app/Speedstick/US/IrishSpring.cvsp). [/QUOTE] She’s actually been looking for that stuff, but has yet to see it in a store. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/18 "2006-09-22T18:19:10Z")
Some people hang bags of Irish Spring around their yard to deter deer. I don’t know if this has been empirically validated, so enjoy! ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/19 "2006-09-22T18:22:37Z")
[QUOTE=Shoshana] Some people hang bags of Irish Spring around their yard to deter deer. I don’t know if this has been empirically validated, so enjoy! [/QUOTE] No deer around here- just kit foxes and cats. Lots of cats. Wait, do spiders hate Irish Spring? We’ve got tons of those to rid ourselves of 😃 ---
**Author:** ![devilsknew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4da419/32.png) [@devilsknew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/devilsknew)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2006, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679/20 "2006-09-22T20:59:52Z")
Here’s a tip. I’ve been using Irish Spring soap in combination with **Tag** Green (First Move) Body Spray for Men. It has the same basic overtones as Irish Spring and really takes the whole freshness thing to new levels. I love the combination-- I smell fabulous, like a freshly bathed leprechaun! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-who-wants-to-help-me-experiment-with-irish-spring-soap/373679.md?page=2)