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Friday, April 12, 2013

Found: ZOTE

pink and white ZOTE
Made in Mexico

Seven years ago I heard about ZOTE and how it could be grated for homemade detergent or used to rub the bar on stains. However, I have never found it in any store in this small town. A few days ago, I found the pink bar and purchased one. Yesterday, the white bar was added to the inventory at the store, so I purchased the white one.
The scent is overwhelming, much like some US detergents. Right now, I am in the midst of a major allergy attack brought on by handling, smelling, and sitting next to the two bars. Of course, my system is overloaded with pollen right now.
ZOTE bars are a whopping 14.1 oz or 400 grams. It is a brick-sized soap bar. NOT kidding. Walmart also had ZOTE soap flakes in bags. The bars are $0.98, not a bad price, I suppose.
I doubt I will ever grate the bar for homemade soap. I doubt I will ever use it to pretreat a garment. So, that is my review. If you have allergies, avoid this. I am suffering right now.
Your turn
Have you ever used ZOTE for a pretreat bar or grated for detergent? Do you find the smell overwhelming? Does the scent cause an allergic reaction? 

13 comments:

  1. I have never used Zote but I have used the yellow laundry soap and grated that and added other stuff to make clothes washing powder. Nowadays I rarely use anything, just water, as we too cannot handle smelly stuff.

    Barb.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Barb,
      You just wash your clothing in water? No soap? The Fels Naptha is too strong too. I just cannot handle the smelly stuff.

      I wash my black pants in vinegar only. Actually, I put the clothes on the rinse cycle and use vinegar, never rinsing it out.

      Delete
  2. Have you ever tried Feels Naptha? It can be used like Zote and have a super strong smell.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oops. I meant it doesn't have a super strong smell.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Stacy,
      That's funny how different people perceive things. To me Fels Naptha smells horrible. It takes my breath away, stops up my head, and makes my nose run while my sinuses hurt. The ZOTE is so strong in the house that I am thinking about returning it. I cannot think of any reason to keep it unless I keep it for stain removal, sort of like a stain stick. I ripped the wrapper as I was open the wrapper, so I cannot take it back.

      Delete
  4. I have noticed that most of the cleaning products that you see in Mexico are highly scented. Apparently a strong smell indicates clean. (It is a cultural thing.)

    While I'm not a fan of laundry products with a lot of perfume I do like scented candles. I like spicy scents like cinnamon but not sweet smelling ones like vanilla.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scented candles are dangerous for health. I cannot stand scented candles--sinus problems, allergies.

      Delete
  5. We dont have Zote Soap here in NorthEast Ohio, so I bought some from ebay. I made laundry detergent out of it using 1 bar, 5 gallons of water and some borax. We love the homeade laundry detergent and I enjoy the smell. Thank goodness neither hubby nor I has had a reaction to it, because we have alot more soap left (I bought 6 bars and we still have 2 1/2 gallons of detergent left from the first batch!)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Sparing,
    I am glad it works out for you. The scent was just overbearing to me. I will have to use something like Ivory that has a milder scent. I am suprised it is not in your area. Of course, i could not find it until one day in Walmart there was a huge section of the bars and flakes. Often, just sleeping on other people's sheets makes me ill. sigh

    ReplyDelete
  7. Iam having an allover breakout over my whole body right now and it is TERRIBLY itchy and miserable. I came across this googling zote allergies - I've just made some homemade laundry soap and I think it's the zote that's making my skin break out. (I've made homemade laundry soap before, but not with Zote) I've always had sensitive skin but NEVER had an allergic reaction. Just ordered some more tide. :-(

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jessica,
      I would be itchy all over and miserable if I put Zote in my laundry detergent. Tide would make me break out, too. I hope you solve your problem soon.

      Delete
  8. You can use zote to catch catfish and the smell is citronella (lemngrass oil) which will help keep mosquitoes away...im thinking about switchin as i use straight lye soap right now

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Scbsmith,
      So, the scent of Zote is citronella? I am going to check into this. I took the Zote back as it was unopened. Ha! I will keep that in mind about the catfish bait. Thanks.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.