Fels Naptha Laundry Soap
Between my market garden and working on our 18-acre heavily-wooded property, I come into contact with my share of poison ivy and sumac. Did you know that urushiol, the oil that causes the infamous rash, can stay active on tools and dead branches for up to five years?
The entire poison ivy plant (leaves, stems, berries, and roots) contains this oil. Fortunately, you can usually avoid an allergic reaction if you remove the oil from your skin within an hour or so. Fels Naptha laundry bar soap is the most effective way that I have found to remove the resin from your skin if you know you’ve been exposed.
They don’t advertise that their soap is effective at removing urushiol from the skin, which is interesting since everyone I have talked to who is familiar with this soap always mentions that they use it precisely for this purpose. I suspect that the manufacturer does not want the additional legal liability that comes from directing consumers to use a product directly on their skin. Would I shower with it every day? No, but I don’t hesitate to use it any time that I suspect that I might have been exposed to poison ivy. You should talk with your dermatologist or physician prior to using it if you are concerned.
While Fels Naptha bar soap, as with any other soap, works best in warm to hot water, I always use it with cold water in the shower. Cold water prevents your pores from opening as much, which is the last thing you want to do if you already have urushiol on the surface of your skin.
I have purchased dozens of bars of this soap over the years, but I can count on one hand how many times I’ve actually used it in the laundry room. With that said, it is a very effective stain remover. I use a cheese grater to shred the bar into tiny pieces that will dissolve quickly in the washing machine. I keep a small container in our laundry room and toss some in the washer when I wash my landscaping clothing. It’s surprisingly effective on automotive grease and grass stains.
I wanted to include this review given how well this product works, but I suggest you check your local grocery store first, as it’s probably available for just a couple of dollars per bar there.