Fels-Naptha

Last updated
Fels-Naptha
Fels-Naptha melbatoast917.jpg
Product type Laundry detergent
OwnerSummit Brands
Introduced1893;131 years ago (1893)
Markets United States and Canada
Previous ownersFels & Company (1893-1964), Purex Industries, Inc. (1964-1985), The Dial Corporation (1985-2003), Henkel (2003-2022)
Website https://summitbrands.com/

Fels-Naptha is an American brand of laundry soap manufactured by Summit Brands. The soap was originally created in 1893 by Fels and Company.

Contents

It originally included the ingredient naphtha, effective for cleaning laundry and urushiol, an oil contained in poison ivy.

History

The original Fels-Naptha was developed by Fels & Company of Philadelphia around 1893. Its predecessor Fels & Company, was established by Lazarus Fels and son Abraham in 1866 in Baltimore, Maryland, but unexpectedly failed after some period of success. [1] The Fels family moved to Philadelphia, where another of Lazarus' sons, Joseph, started the new firm and incorporated in 1914. Joseph's younger brother Samuel Simeon Fels was the new company's first president and held that position until he died in 1950. [2]

In the early 20th century, the company prospered based on sales of Fels-Naptha. Both Joseph and Samuel used their new wealth for philanthropy.[ citation needed ]

In 1964, the company was sold to Purex Corporation for $5 million. [3]

The Greyhound Corporation acquired the consumer products business of Purex (which included Fels-Naptha) in 1985 and was combined with Greyhound's Armour-Dial division, forming The Dial Corporation. [4] In December 2003, Dial was sold to Henkel for $2.9 billion. [5]

In September 2022, Summit Brands acquired Fels-Naptha from Henkel. [6]

Use

The soap comes packaged in paper similar to bar body soap and is most often found in the laundry section of a supermarket or grocery store. It is intended for the pre-treatment of stains by rubbing the dampened product on a soiled area prior to laundering. The manufacturer claims it to be most effective in removing chocolate, baby formula, perspiration, and make-up. [7]

It was often used as a home remedy in the treatment of contact dermatitis caused by exposure to poison ivy, poison oak, and other oil-based organic skin-irritants where they have touched the skin but not yet inflamed the area. [8] When the soap contained its namesake naphtha, washing the skin directly with the soap helped remove urushiol, the allergen associated with poison ivy. As with other strong detergents, the revised formulation retains this capability.

According to the manufacturer, about 1/2 of a bar of Fels-Naptha grated and added to a wash cycle helps eliminate residual stains. [7]

Fels-Naptha is also a common ingredient in DIY laundry detergent recipes.

Fels-Naptha, when combined with Neatsfoot oil, is commonly used in a primitive method of tanning animal skins. [9]

Health considerations

In its 2007 material safety data sheet, [10] Dial Corp. states that Fels-Naptha can irritate the eyes and, with prolonged exposure, the skin. [11]

Fels-Naptha once contained naphtha, a skin and eye irritant. According to the ingredients list on the Fels-Naptha website, it is no longer included in the soap. [7] Instead, it now contains terpene hydrocarbons. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

Naphtha is a flammable liquid hydrocarbon mixture. Generally, it is a fraction of crude oil, but it can also be produced from natural gas condensates, petroleum distillates, and the fractional distillation of coal tar and peat. In some industries and regions, the name naphtha refers to crude oil or refined petroleum products such as kerosene or diesel fuel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urushiol</span> Oily mixture of organic compounds

Urushiol is an oily mixture of organic compounds with allergenic properties found in plants of the family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendronspp., Comocladia spp. (maidenplums), Metopium spp. (poisonwood), and also in parts of the mango tree as well as the fruit of the cashew tree.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White spirit</span> Petroleum-derived clear, transparent liquid

White spirit (AU, UK and Ireland) or mineral spirits (US, Canada), also known as mineral turpentine (AU/NZ), turpentine substitute, and petroleum spirits, is a petroleum-derived clear liquid used as a common organic solvent in painting. There are also terms for specific kinds of white spirit, including Stoddard solvent and solvent naphtha (petroleum). White spirit is often used as a paint thinner, or as a component thereof, though paint thinner is a broader category of solvent. Odorless mineral spirits (OMS) have been refined to remove the more toxic aromatic compounds, and are recommended for applications such as oil painting.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armour and Company</span> Former American company

Armour & Company was an American company and was one of the five leading firms in the meat packing industry. It was founded in Chicago, in 1867, by the Armour brothers led by Philip Danforth Armour. By 1880, the company had become Chicago's most important business and had helped make Chicago and its Union Stock Yards the center of America's meatpacking industry. During the same period, its facility in Omaha, Nebraska, boomed, making the city's meatpacking industry the largest in the nation by 1959. In connection with its meatpacking operations, the company also ventured into pharmaceuticals and soap manufacturing, introducing Dial soap in 1948.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sunlight (cleaning product)</span> Brand of laundry soap and detergent

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henkel</span> German consumer goods company

Henkel AG & Co. KGaA, commonly known as Henkel, is a German multinational chemical and consumer goods company headquartered in Düsseldorf, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis</span> Medical condition

Urushiol-induced contact dermatitis is a type of allergic contact dermatitis caused by the oil urushiol found in various plants, most notably sumac family species of the genus Toxicodendron: poison ivy, poison oak, poison sumac, and the Chinese lacquer tree. The name is derived from the Japanese word for the sap of the Chinese lacquer tree, urushi. Other plants in the sumac family also contain urushiol, as do unrelated plants such as Ginkgo biloba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henkel North American Consumer Goods</span> American company

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dishwashing liquid</span> Detergent used for cleaning dishes

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dial (soap)</span> Brand of soap and body wash

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Purex (laundry detergent)</span> Brand of laundry detergent manufactured by Henkel

Purex is a brand of laundry detergent and laundry-related products manufactured by Henkel North American Consumer Goods and marketed in the United States and Canada. Purex is one of the most widely used laundry detergents in North America. Its original product, Purex Bleach, was a major competitor to Clorox bleach. The brand name is also used for a line of in-wash "fragrance booster" products called Purex Crystals. The Purex Crystals brand was originally launched as an in-wash fabric softener product.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tecnu</span>

Tecnu is an over-the-counter skin cleanser manufactured by Tec Laboratories, a pharmaceutical company based in Albany, Oregon. It is intended for use by humans and furry pets after topical exposure to urushiol, the active ingredient in poison oak, poison ivy, and poison sumac. Tecnu is made from deodorized mineral spirits, water, propylene glycol, octylphenoxy-polythoxethanol, mixed fatty acid soap, and fragrance.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Fels</span>

Joseph Fels was an American soap manufacturer, millionaire, Georgist and philanthropist.

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References

  1. "Fels & Company". Hsp.org. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  2. "Samuel Simeon Fels Papers, 1889-1985". The Historical Society of Philadelphia. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  3. Rosden, Evelyn (2000). The Philadelphia Fels, 1880-1920: A Social Portrait, page 194. Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press. ISBN   9780838638231 . Retrieved 20 March 2018.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  4. Evans, Heidi (22 February 1985). "Greyhound to buy Purex's consumer division". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  5. Neff, Jack (15 December 2003). "Henkel acquires Dial Corp for $2.9 billion". AdAge. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  6. "Fort Wayne Company Acquires Two Laundry Products Brands". Indiana News. September 16, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 Henkel. "Purex Laundry Detergent and Fabric Care Products". Purex.com. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  8. "Fels Naptha Soap". Archived from the original on 2013-05-09. Retrieved 2013-06-29.
  9. A., Randy (5 November 2012). "Use your Brains: Tan your Hide". Off The Grid News. Retrieved 30 November 2018.
  10. 1 2 "Material Safety Data Sheet: MSDS L-101 : Revision 9" (PDF). Whatsinproducts.com. Retrieved 2016-09-28.
  11. "Fels-Naptha Heavy Duty Laundry Bar Soap-07/24/2007-Old Product". Whatsinproducts.com. Retrieved 2023-05-04.