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?

I use soap in my upstairs sink & it does get a little clogged but I manage to remove the clogs myself by using a long drain brush utensil thing that I bought from eBay. I just poke it down the plug hole with some JIF It always makes me gip as it's gross what gets dragged but it's mostly hair I think.
I use pears soap as it keeps its firm retention until it's so tiny it has to be thrown. I've noticed other soaps turn to mush pretty fast so I stick with the pears soap now.

I don't have the same issue with my kitchen sink apart from the odd clean with drain cleaner to clean it when it gets a bit stinky( use liquid hand wash there )

I live in hard water area too.

It’s quite simple to remove the trap and clean it out yourself, saves the cost of a plumber.

I've got some ongoing issues with slow/smelly drains in baths and showers - I hadn't considered it could be from bar soap.
I'm trying these enzyme sticks www.amazon.co.uk/Ecozone-Enzymatic-Drain-Sticks-Blockages/dp/B00E4NMQ8S and haven't had any problems since I put them in... admittedly it's still early days!
It might be worth a try instead of switching back to liquid soap (I much prefer bar soaps now so hoping to stick with them)

One solution that worked for me is a soap dish that drains- like a wire one. It keeps the soap drier and it lasts longer. Prior to that my soap was going mushy.

I've found that soap clogs my bath plug hold up a bit too. Hard water area but shite, feeble shower that basically trickles.

I've compromised by refilling liquid soap dispensers at refill shops and using that half of the time. At least I'm not creating more plastic waste.

This is what I use OP - do a google search on 'kitchencraft drain cleaning brush'

But be warned .... what comes out ain't pretty

I use splosh liquid soap - you buy a bottle, then you just order refill packs. Therefore, no plastic waste. Smells lovely too

i use every thing solid and organic based,have done for years now

mostly from lush but some off ebay and amazon but thy are not as good as lush
shampoo bars
conditioning bars
face soap bars
moisturizing bars
bubble bars and bath bombs(granted they melt in to the bath then go down the drain as a liquid)
and ive bought a solid dish soap instead of normal washing up liquid

ive never had a issue with blocked drains,i am a very soft water area though

maybe its the ingredients in shop bought soap as its all chemicals really

try a cheap home made soap off ebay or amazon for a while and see if it makes a diffrence

How long are you leaving the soap before you start using it? I leave it in the airing cupboard to "cure" and get nice and hard. It lasts loads longer and doesn't go mushy.

I have soap savers ,Google them,they keep your soap really nice and firm and it never goes soggy.

OP it sounds like your drains just needed doing, especially if there was food down then-sounds like people haven't been good about scraping.

Soda crystals are good as is Mr Muscle drain cleaner in an emergency.

In terms of refills, Faith in Nature, Ecover and Bio-D all do 5l refill bottles; you can also often get 1l bottles of liquid Marseille soap in TK Maxx.

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

Have you considered not pouring PVA glue down the sink :-)

Use Dove, it shouldn't create as much scum if you are in a hard water area. If you are not in a hard water area then it isn't the soap.

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

There are positive metal ions in hard water. They react with the negative ions in the soap and make it precipitate out of solution.

I haven't had blocked drains but I'm faulty certain that I'm buying more plastic add the soap section requires more cleaning product to clean it off!

I live in a v hard water area, and have noticed that the drain from my shower gets clogged up far quicker when we use soap. I've gone back to shower gel. I buy the big bottles of bubble bath from Avon and decant it into hand wash pump bottles.

I feel cleaner with soap, so despite living in an area with water so hard it falls out of the tap in cubes I buy glorious scented soap and suck up the more frequent drain cleaning. :)

I’m using bars instead of liquid. I have noticed the basins need cleaning far more regularly. The drains are running slowly and I had wondered if it was the bar soap. We are in a hard water area.

Wow - I have only now realised that the clogged-up-sink problem I used to have at least once a month hasn't happened for ages. Not since DH started bulk-buying liquid soap and shower gel.

We are in a hard water area, and I used to use Pears soap before DD was born and I delegated the household supplies shopping to DH.

I can't believe I didn't notice the difference it's made to the drains!

Phew, not just me then! Sounds like it is a hard water thing.

We have a fair amount of bar soap in the cupboard to use up, so I’ll trial using washing soda to clean the pipes periodically. If that isn’t working, I’ll switch back to liquid soap, but try to find an eco-friendly solution.

Thanks for all the suggestions, will look into all the soap suggestions.

P.S. I already have soap holders that allow water to drain, so that isn’t an issue.

And to the PP who said to unblock stuff myself - I do sort out the basins myself. It was a length of piping under the patio that was clogged where I had to call someone to diagnose the problem, then power-jet the blockage out.

Another soap user in a hard water area who doesn't get blocked drains.

Are you saying the soap re-solidifies after it's been washed off your hands/body?

How strange!

Are you saying the soap re-solidifies after it's been washed off your hands/body?

Dr Google says: “Due to the 2+ ions contained in hard water, any soap-based products coming into contact with it will solidify, creating soap scum instead of causing it to lather. This can cause a host of problems, not least a build-up of soap residue in pipes that can create blockages and damage to the interior.”

Another bar soap user not experiencing this issue, also in a very hard water area. Pears for handwashing and olive oil based soap for showers. Drains get clogged in the shower but only with my hair. No issues in the sinks at all. Wonder why?

I had this when I lived in a hard water area. It was strange. I was using Nesti Dante soap and spent one memorable Saturday evening unblocking my sink by hand! No such problems (🤞) since we moved to somewhere with softer water.

No you are not being unreasonable. I have never stopped using liquid soap. Bar soap, any bar soap makes my skin dry so I have to use loads of moisturiser which comes in plastic so it’s as broad as it is long

You do need to leave soap for a bit to harden up. We have bar soap upstairs and liquid downstairs for visitors, never had an issue with this.