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Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar and Stain Remover is a reliable laundry pretreater for removing oily stains. It is also a major component in most homemade laundry detergent recipes.

What's Great About Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar and Stain Remover

• Effective in removing oily stains.
• Can be used to make homemade laundry detergent.
• Readily available on most laundry store shelves and online.

What's Not So Great About Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar and Stain Remover

• Does not remove all stains.

 

The Fels Naptha Laundry Bar Story

Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar is a product that has graced laundry rooms for more than 100 years. Originally developed by Fels & Company of Philadelphia around 1893 as an off-shoot of Fels & Co. begun by Lazarus Fels and his son Abraham in Baltimore in 1866. The Fels family moved to Philadelphia, where another son Joseph Fels started the new firm. Joseph's younger brother Samuel Simeon Fels was that company's first president and held the position until his death in 1950.

The original formula contained napthalene, a benzene petroleum-based solvent. Napthalene was great for removing stains but quite harmful to the user's health. Napthalene is a primary ingredient in mothballs Acute (short-term) exposure of humans to naphthalene by inhalation, ingestion, and dermal contact is associated with hemolytic anemia, damage to the liver, and neurological damage. 

Today's formula contains no napthalene.

The laundry soap bar is now produced by Henkel an international company that produces adhesives, cleaning products and personal care products around the world.

Laundry and home care products are the cornerstone of Henkel’s success. In 1876, Fritz Henkel founded the company Henkel & Cie in Aachen, Germany. The company’s first product was a laundry detergent based on sodium silicate, named "Universal-Waschmittel" (universal detergent). Persil powdered detergent was introduced in Europe in 1907. Persil was the first to phosphate free detergent in Europe in 1986 with a liquid formula following in 1987, a concentrated powder (megaperls) in 1994 and finally single dose capsules around 2012.

Many familiar United States brands - Purex, Loctite, Soft Scrub, Dial Soap, Right Guard, Soft 'n Dri - are products of Henkel.

Persil is a highly rated heavy-duty detergent that has long been sold in Europe and entered the U.S. market in 2015. Purex is a mid-priced line of laundry products including liquid laundry detergent, single dose laundry detergents, laundry detergent powder, liquid fabric softeners, dryer sheets and Purex Crystals in-wash scent booster. The Purex and Persil products are manufactured by Dial Corporation of Henkel North America based in Scottsdale, Arizona. Other Henkel laundry products include Magic Release, Purex color safe bleach, Zout, 20 Mule Team Borax and Sta-Flo Starch.

Fels Naptha Laundry Bar Product Review

Here's a list of product ingredients:

• Soap (sodium tallowate* and sodium cocoate* (or) sodium palmate kernelate* and sodium palmate*)
• Water
• Talc
• Coconut acid*, palm acid* or tallow acid*
• PEG-6 methyl ether
• Glycerin
• Sorbitol
• Sodium chloride
• Pentasodium pentetate and/or tetrasodium etidronate
• Titatium dioxide
• Fragrance
• Acid Orange (CI 20170)
• Acid yellow 73 (ci43350)

*contains one or more of these ingredients

Fels-Naptha is most effective on oil-based stains like make-up, chocolate and body soil. To use, wet the stained area, rub it with the bar of soap and allow the product to sit for one minute or more and then wash as usual.

It is also effective for removing poison ivy resins from clothing that has been exposed. And, you can use Fels-Naptha as an ingredient in homemade laundry detergent by shaving or grating the bar.

I have used Fels-Naptha to remove oily stains and it still works today. It is not effective on every type of stain. It is best to check instructions on removing specific stains because soap can actually set some stains making them difficult to remove. However, Fels-Naptha deserves a space on your laundry room shelf.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.