Irish Spring is… pretty unmistakable. The neon green bar and the scent that somehow smells like “clean” and “your Grandpa’s bathroom”? There’s definitely a vibe. You smell it once and now it is locked in forever.
Most people just think of it as, like, classic shower soap. Nothing great. But apparently it has all these other strange, useful purposes around the house that no one ever talks about unless you randomly fell into an internet black hole of facts or you have a neighbor that grew up with 14 practical uses for everything. Seriously, it is unreasonably versatile.
1. Patch Small Holes
This may sound very strange, but bear with me. If you gently rub a bar of Irish Spring Soap over a small hole, the soap will act like a sort of caulking. Then, all you have to do is dab some paint over it!
2. Soothe Bug Bites
You know that moment when a mosquito bite is that tickle and then suddenly it’s unbearable, and you’re scratching like a lunatic in the middle of a conversation? Yeah. Here’s a weirdly specific but oddly effective trick: take a bar of Irish Spring, get it a little wet, and rub it right onto the bite. don’t rub it aggressively; just enough to coat it. THEN (this is important!), forget about it. Let it dry.
I don’t know why it works (the ingredients? menthol? magic?), but when it dries, the itching usually just… stops. Or at least calms down enough that you aren’t about to rip your skin off. It’s one of those things you wouldn’t think to try unless someone tells you, but once you do, you’ll definitely remember it the next time you’re covered in bites and about to lose your mind.
3. Eliminate Stinky Shoes
Simply cut up a bar of Irish Spring Soap into pieces, then place the pieces in your shoes overnight. In the morning, they will be deodorized and smelling fresh.
4. Deter Deer
If your garden is being eaten by deer, just stock up on some Irish Spring Soap. Deer absolutely detest the smell, so they’ll be sure to steer clear. Find out more about this simple method to deter deer.
5. Repel Pests
Deer aren’t the only things that Irish Spring Soap keeps away. If you grate the soap and sprinkle the shavings in your garden, other pests (like bugs, squirrels, etc.) will stay away as well.
6. Unstick A Zipper
If you’re wrestling with a stuck zipper, just rub some Irish Spring Soap along the zipper’s teeth. The soap will help the zipper to unjam and glide more easily.
7. Deodorize The Laundry Hamper
When the laundry starts piling up, the laundry hamper tends to become a bit smelly. Simply place a bar of Irish Spring Soap at the bottom of the hamper to keep stinky laundry smells at bay.
8. DIY Car Air Freshener
To make your car smell clean and fresh, place a bar of Irish Spring Soap inside a Ziploc bag, then place the bag under a seat in your car. This is an effective and cheap way of making your car smell nice. The soap’s strong scent can help to mask odors and leave your car smelling clean and fresh.
9. Deodorize Suitcases
Suitcases tend to trap smells very quickly, especially when you’re traveling. To keep your belongings and your suitcase smelling fresh, place a bar of Irish Spring Soap in one of the inside compartments.
10. Unsticks Doors
If a door in your house keeps getting stuck in its frame, rub-down the edge of the door, the frame, and the hinges with Irish Spring Soap. The soap will help to keep it opening and closing properly.
11. Repel insects
This one is sort of legendary in my family. My mom is convinced Irish Spring is the key to a bug-free world. I mean, if someone even mentions mosquitoes, she somehow brings up Irish Spring. And honestly? She could be right.
All you do is take the soap, grate it (a cheese grater works) and lightly sprinkle it on places where bugs come in—window sills, door frames, garden beds, anywhere you sit outside and continuously slap your legs every five seconds. The fragrance is super strong, and for some reason, bugs just… hate it.
I don’t know the science behind it, and I am not suggesting it will substitute bug spray or anything, but if it is good enough for my mom—and this is a person who isn’t easily convinced—there’s probably something behind it.
12. Keep mice away
All right, this may sound weird until you actually try it—but mice hate the smell of Irish Spring. Who knew? If you’ve got a basement, attic, garage, or wherever those little buggers tend to sneak in, you just stick a bar (or a few chunks) of soap in those places. That’s it. No more traps, no poison, no creepy glue boards—just soap.
Something associated with the odor totally repels them. It’s not a forever solution by any means, but people swear by it as an extremely low-effort way to attempt to deter them from setting up shop. Plus, it’s WAY cheaper than a lot of the other alternatives out there, and at least you’ll basement will smell like aggressively minty soap instead of… whatever basements actually smell like.
13. Freshen up your closet
You can also use Irish Spring soap to freshen up your closet. Simply place a bar of soap in a cloth bag and hang it in your closet. The soap’s fresh scent can help to keep your clothes smelling clean and fresh.
Irish Spring is one of those things you’ll likely smell before you ever see it—it’s got an unmistakable, almost obnoxiously fresh smell. The odd part is that it is not only used as a soap in the shower. Yes, it’s soap, but people have used it for a whole bunch of stuff around the house that actually work.
Use it to repel insects (I am not exactly sure why insects seem to hate it, but they really do), or shave off a piece to put in your closet or car if the smells have gotten a little funky, wherever you might have a stale smell. Some have even said that it works on stains. It’s inexpensive, it lasts a long time, the fact that it does more than one job is kind of commendable (more than what you can say can for most of the other stuff currently under your kitchen sink). Try out a couple of the weird little things you can do with Irish Spring, and you might even find yourself using a bar just to use it for these non-shower applications.
