Cracked soap.

Could you pare it down or gouge out the yucky bits with a potato peeler. If it bothers you either bin it or put out a fresh bar when visitors are expected.

We’ve found recently that the soap is much softer and lasts for far less time.

Take a nail brush to it and clean the mould out.

You could probably melt it down with some glycerine or something, if you could be bothered, then mold it into shape again.

MOnica it does not have mould in it, throwing out good soap does not seem very economic or eco-friendly.
I will try and split it down the crack and see what happens.
I hate waste.

I find soap rarely cracks these days, unlike years ago, though a bar will not last me for weeks! I also find better quality soap lasts longer.

What I do is start a new bar for use in the bath/shower then when it gets smaller, I replace with a new bar and put the part-used bar on the wash basin. That way, it isn't hanging around for too long.

I also put new bars into my clothing drawers to 'harden' and last longer. It's what my mum used to do, although I have no idea if there's any truth behind that!

A friend just suggested putting the soap in the freezer when you buy it to harden up.

Could be quite funny if DGS thought it was ice-cream, ooops my weird sense of humour.

I think we need a photo.

That would just freeze it, though, not slowly dry it, which is what putting it in your knicker drawer does.

Old and stored soap usually does this, or if it's not in regular use. I've binned it in the past because the scent goes out of it too.

Speaking of soap, I won a box of 3 on Ebay at a brilliant price far less than half price. It's Mitsouko, a lovely smell if you like strong smelling soap, lovely texture too.

When I go out to craft fairs and other such events, I look out for the people who make and sell their own soap. I buy the small tester size soaps from them.

At the Great Yorkshire Show, I bought several little soaps from a local lady. They go into my bathroom, and are used up pretty quickly, the smell delicious too.

I asked DH to buy me a bar of soap when I was without any small ones. He brought me Dove. I don't care for it, so it's been put in the cupboard.

And your point is ???

It is dear old fashioned Nivea

I don’t put new bars of soap in my knicker drawer, I put the little left over bits from the bathroom.
Not much scent left, but somewhere to make a final bit of use for them.

It is dear old fashioned Nivea


I have taken out the 'lines' in soap then soaked it a bit in warm water and remoulded it before now.

Just bought some Wright's Coal Tar Soap for DH to use when he comes in from the garden and I did wonder how long it would be before it gets those grey lines in it.
I love the smell but it's not very feminine.

Wright’s Coal Tar soap always smelled very ‘healthy’.

I used to give him the 'ends' of my nice soap but he always commented 'it's a bit smelly'.
So Wright's Coal Tar should be acceptable.

My grandma used to put her old bits of soap in a sort of wire press that opened on a hinge and had long handles. The press squeezed the bits of soap together to eventually make a 'new' bar of soap, or you could use the handles to swish it through a bowl of hot water to do the washing or the washing up. This must have been in pre-Fairy Liquid days. Ingenious, or what?

I do remember reading somewhere that cracked soap harbours all sorts of germs and you might as well not bother with it if you are aiming to be clean and hygenic. I suppose that sends us back to the use of hand gel, shower gel etc in plastic bottles, but that's not ideal either.

Most of any germs on a soap bar will be ones that you deposited on there in the first place. Soap doesn't work by killing dirt & germs, it works by loosening them from your skin and allowing them to be washed away in the water.

Liquid soap containers can harbour bacteria too and the tops will have bacteria on them from when you press it with dirty hands to get out the liquid. Your washbasin, taps, plug and even your towels will have bacteria on them too - we can't get away from them, they're part of life!

Good heavens- how many decades, centuries even, have people used bars of soap, cracks and all?
We’d be long extinct if we worried about a few germs.

That said, small bars of soap in guest bathrooms or cloakrooms and a fresh bar when guests are expected would be my recommendation.

Well if you're not worried about dirt and germs, why bother with soap at all? Just tell your guests to have a quick splash under the tap and wipe their hands on the towel after they've been to the loo.

I crocheted a little bag to put odd bits of soap in. I use it in the shower. The soap is invisible, but the cotton mesh gets up a nice lather (if you rub it well first). That way no one can see the soap in it and you can put scraps or broken bars in, too.

I used to use Valderma soap. Lovely clean smell and left the skin smooth. I don't see it in shops any more but it can be bought online. I bet it doesn't have the same smell though. Cuticura was another favourite of mine too.