AIBU to return to using liquid soap?

[littlecabbage]

I switched to bar soap about a year ago, in an effort to reduce plastic waste (i.e. the bottles and pump mechanisms that come with liquid soap).

Since then, the cloakroom and bathroom basins have become slow to drain on many occasions. Pouring boiling water down only eases the problem slightly, and I have tried combinations of white vinegar and bicarb of soda (as recommended by t'internet). Eventually I have had to unscrew the pipe under the basin and clear out the clogged soap.

But in the last few weeks, two of my outside drains (that the kitchen sink and dishwasher drain into) became blocked, and I had to pay someone over £100 to unblock one of the pipes. He said it was full of food waste and soap. We are pretty good at scraping plates into the bin, so I suspect it was mostly soap.

Does anyone else get this issue? Surely our grandparents would have always used bar soap? I have ordered a bag of washing soda crystals (again as recommended by t'internet) to use in the basins/sink on a monthly basis, but am worried that if it doesn't work, the outside drains will block again.

Very tempted to return to liquid soap.....AIBU?

Could you reduce plastic waste by buying industrial sized bottles of liquid soap and refilling the pump bottles?

I've used bar soap for years and never had any issues with my outside drains. Sometimes the bathroom sink or shower gets a bit clogged up and slow running but a kettle of hot water and some soda crystals sorts it out. I live in an area with very soft water, I don't know if that makes a difference.

Could you reduce plastic waste by buying industrial sized bottles of liquid soap and refilling the pump bottles?

Yes, I will do this if it comes to it. I used to buy refills rather than more pumps where possible. Where does one buy huge bottle of liquid soap?

I've never had this problem and used soap for years. What soap are you using?

NannyR - we are in a hard water area. I wonder if that is it? Good to hear the soda crystals are useful.

We've used bar soap for years and never had this. Which brand are you using? Choose a good firm one which doesn't disintegrate when you handle it.

Teachermaths I have used several different ones. Currently using some from The Little Soap Company, and another Tesco own-brand one.

I buy bottles from muji then refil using the bags of liquid soap. I grew up using bars and they were scummy though i loved shield soap

I've also used bar soap for a couple of years, no issues here. I also use solid shampoo & shaving bar (both proper soaps, not the detergent bar types). DH is the only one who won't be moved to soap. stubborn

Chitarra I always choose a firm one. I hate it when soap goes all mushy.

Interesting. I've switched to bar soap. Tried refillable eco liquid soap and it was very expensive and variable quality

You can buy big bottles of hand wash from BioD.

Ah - we are in an area of pretty soft water. I bet that helps.

nitgel, where do you get your bags of soap? Are the bags recyclable?

Why is it just me who has this issue?!!!!

I'm sure someone will tell me it's a bad idea but I buy shower gel to refill my liquid soaps - the bottle and lid fully recyclable and I get some fruity scents that I prefer over the mainly floral based ones you get in standard soaps

I just buy a big bottle of bubble bath and decant it into a liquid soap dispenser. Last ages, works out cheaper and uses less plastic than replacing liquid soap bottles every time. It works just as well IMO.

Bit of a X post there.

You could try Splosh- one bottle then you can refill it with concentrated stuff. They are pretty good.

I was wondering if you were using squishy soap!

We're a soft water area, what's water like?

It's more likely to be food tbh. Do you wipe off oil etc?

Amazon do huge bottles of liquid soap.

That's weird, we're on hard water and never had that! I wonder if there's some food bits the soap then sticks to that and it snowballs from there? Having a brief Google seems that soap alone is less of an issue, it's soap sticking together all the other grot making a big lump!

Still, if it's helpful, Splosh do hand wash with a reusable bottle with extremely low plastic (and recyclable) refills? Or maybe have a look at faith in Nature? I know they do massive shampoos?

This happened to our shower after we changed to Pears bar soap. Everything else stayed the same so it was definitely that. We are also in a very hard water area. We went back to shower gel - I think I’ll get soda crystals and give it another go though.

i had this issue with bar soap so switched to buying the 5l bottles of this (made of recyclable plastic) and then refilling x

We have extras same problem with bars of soap! Sinks etc get blocked up very quickly. We are also a hard water area, so that must be the link, but I don’t know how the hard water is causing the issue?

It’s definitely the bars of soap, as I went back briefly to liquid soap and it all cleared.

We have settle on a kind of compromise of liquid soap downstairs and bars of soap upstairs, which has reduced the issue with the plugs and drains to only the upstairs sink. However, I would prefer to just use bars of soap as they work out way cheaper then liquid soap as well as no plastic, so less waste etc.

Can anyone explain why the hard water/soap combination does this?

I switched to using bar soap in the shower. It now clogs up and runs slowly every couple of months. Also a hard water area, but we have a water softener so it shouldn't be that.

Sorry, can't help, but you are not alone.