difference between laundry soap and detergent?

Elaina Adolfson: Fels-Naptha, Ivory snow, and Woolite are soaps, most of the rest are detergents. If all else fails, you can grate a bar of fels-naptha. Use less, it makes lots of suds.

Kellie Waycott: Fels Naptha and Zote are laundry soaps in bars. I use fels-naptha when I make my own detergent but also for pretreating stains. Zote can be used in a similar manner if you can find it. Our Walmart doesn't stock it but you might be in a different area where Walmart does carry it. Zote has less chemicals in it than fels-naptha, or so I've read.You can make your own laundry soap by grating a bar of fels Naptha or Zote or any soap bar. I usually use 1 fels naptha and 1 Dove or Yardley soap as I like the smell. Grate these and add them to : 2 cups of washing soda, 2 cups baking soda and 2 cups 20 Mule Team Borax and mix well. Use 2 Tablespoons for each wash or more if the wash is work clothes. You can add Oxi Clean to your white wash if you want. When it comes to laundr! y/cleaning purposes the term soap and detergent are often used interchangeably, and with good reason, as chemically they are similar. Both contain surfactants (substances that reduce surface tension of water), with the difference being soap is made from animal or vegetable fats and oils combined with a strong alkali, whereas synthetic detergents are made from petrol-chemicals. It is the "all natural" aspect of soap that appeals to many, however soap does have it's dark side. Read more at the French laundry site below....Show more

Valentine Willinger: complicated stuff. look into from google and yahoo. that will might help!

Barton Sease: Not really. To begin with, laundry soap comes in liquid or powdered form to allow it to disperse in the washing machine quickly. If you can't find laundry soap in your local grocery store, you just aren't looking in the right section of the store.

Douglass Sarley: I always thought they were interchaneabale. The only differ! ent "soap" I know of is the FelsNaptha.