Does Dr. Bronner soap go bad?

[sansdieu]

I just bought it a month or so ago, poured a bit and put a bit, mixed with water, in a spray bottle. It smells HORRIBLE when I spray it, and makes me tear up and cough like crazy, worse than any chemical cleaner I've ever used. The soap that's still in the bottle smells fine, though. Any ideas what's going on?

[marymoo86]

i would think the water is the problem since it is a month old

[egoldber]

I've used it for months after opening a bottle and never had a problem like that.

[sansdieu]

i would think the water is the problem since it is a month old

They show how to mix it with water to make a spray cleaner on the website. They do add some essential oil - I wonder if it's to counteract the smell?


I've used it for months after opening a bottle and never had a problem like that.

Did you mix it with anything or use it straight out of the bottle?

[jerigirl]

i would think the water is the problem since it is a month old
:yeahthat:

[egoldber]

I mix mine with water in foaming soap dispensers. I refill them every 2-4 weeks depending on the dispenser.

[edurnemk]

I've used it with essential oils and without, it doesn't smell bad at all.

And I stock up on it, so I keep it for months and months, it has never gone bad.

If the soap in the bottle smells fine, IMO the problem is not the soap. It doesn't react with water, either.

Did you use that bottle for something else before? Maybe it has residues.

[ThreeofUs]

I've never had that problem before, either, and I use DrB's in soap dispensers and in spray bottles I keep all over the house. Been doing it for years.

If the soap smelled bad, then I'd say the soap was contaminated - but it doesn't so it's not. Gotta be something else in that bottle.

Honestly, I'd lose the bottle (sounds dangerous!) and get a new, professional style spray bottle from Target.

[sansdieu]

I've used it with essential oils and without, it doesn't smell bad at all.

And I stock up on it, so I keep it for months and months, it has never gone bad.

If the soap in the bottle smells fine, IMO the problem is not the soap. It doesn't react with water, either.

Did you use that bottle for something else before? Maybe it has residues.


I've never had that problem before, either, and I use DrB's in soap dispensers and in spray bottles I keep all over the house. Been doing it for years.

If the soap smelled bad, then I'd say the soap was contaminated - but it doesn't so it's not. Gotta be something else in that bottle.

Honestly, I'd lose the bottle (sounds dangerous!) and get a new, professional style spray bottle from Target.

The bottle is new, previously unused from BJs (multi-packs they sell for professional cleaners), and the bottle didn't smell before (I would have noticed). It is plastic, but aren't they all?

[wendibird22]

Which scent is it? Could you perhaps be reacting to the fragrance?

[ett]

What scent is it?

[ThreeofUs]

The bottle is new, previously unused from BJs (multi-packs they sell for professional cleaners), and the bottle didn't smell before (I would have noticed). It is plastic, but aren't they all?


I hear you. Sometimes, though, bottles you buy (in any store, of any kind, fwiw) have leftover byproducts from production in them. Sometimes dried, sometimes not.

I'm betting the bottle had something dried on the inside and it got rehydrated. I've had that happen in the lab sometimes.

But, if you did put fragrance in the mix, I guess it could be that, too....

[sansdieu]

Which scent is it? Could you perhaps be reacting to the fragrance?


What scent is it?

It's HEMP 18-in-1 baby-mild UNSCENTED (there are a million other words on the label, but I don't have time to read them all). The main soap bottle doesn't smell like anything. Whereas when I spray it, it's so bad it makes my eyes water.


I hear you. Sometimes, though, bottles you buy (in any store, of any kind, fwiw) have leftover byproducts from production in them. Sometimes dried, sometimes not.

I'm betting the bottle had something dried on the inside and it got rehydrated. I've had that happen in the lab sometimes.

But, if you did put fragrance in the mix, I guess it could be that, too....

Eooooooow. Lovely. I'll try another bottle; let it brew for a couple of weeks before I decide I'm totally crazy. (Nope, I did not add any fragrance - just water.)

[ThreeofUs]

Hmmm.... Okay, let's do an experiment.

Take a glass. Put in the DrB's with water. Use your fingers to "spray" on a surface. See if it smells bad to you. (and let us all know, lol!) If yes, then maybe it *is* the bottle of soap - maybe you're sensitive to it for some reason. Or maybe it got filled with DrB's Tea Tree Oil by accident??

[sansdieu]

Hmmm.... Okay, let's do an experiment.

Take a glass. Put in the DrB's with water. Use your fingers to "spray" on a surface. See if it smells bad to you. (and let us all know, lol!) If yes, then maybe it *is* the bottle of soap - maybe you're sensitive to it for some reason. Or maybe it got filled with DrB's Tea Tree Oil by accident??

Empirical science; I like that! ;) I'll try and report back to you.
(I wouldn't confuse Tea Tree Oil scent with anything...)