Marseille soap is a traditional French soap that people use to pre-treat stains and to hand-wash or machine-wash laundry. This guide sets out what the product page for our Marseille soap cube says about using it, what a university extension's stain guides say about common stains, and what we have not tested.
For other uses of the soap, see our 10 everyday uses; deodorant and sweat marks have their own guide, how to remove deodorant stains.
The cube's ingredient list reads Sodium Olivate, Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride and Sodium Hydroxide, and its product page says it has no added fragrance, preservative or optical brightener.
For stains, the product page says to wet the area, rub the moistened cube on it, leave it about 10 minutes, then rinse or machine-wash. That is the product's own direction, not a tested result.
We found no study of Marseille soap on laundry. Of the nine University of Georgia Extension stain entries we read, only the blood entry names bar soap; the rest start with other products.
Check the care label and pretest a hidden spot. For delicates, the product page says to dissolve a little grated soap in cold water, soak gently without agitation, then rinse in clear cold water.
How Does Marseille Soap Clean Laundry?
Our product page says the cleaning agent is sodium olivate, saponified olive oil: the soap molecule that lifts oil and grime off fabric and carries it away in the rinse. It says the cube is cooked with water, sea salt and lye in the old cauldron method, and that the lye is fully spent when the olive oil becomes soap.
It is a soap rather than a synthetic detergent, and we found no study measuring how it cleans laundry: a Europe PMC search on 2026-09-24 for Marseille soap with stain or laundry returned 12 results, none about Marseille soap or removing stains.
The page also says there is no added fragrance, preservative or optical brightener. That is a statement about ingredients, not a cleaning-performance result.
How Do You Use Marseille Soap for Laundry?
Our product page gives three methods: rub the cube on a stain, dissolve grated cube into a liquid detergent, or use diluted soap for delicates. The steps below follow the page; neither we nor any study we found has tested them.
Method 1: the cube on a stain
- Wet the stained area: Dampen the fabric where the stain sits.
- Rub the moistened cube on it: Work the cube directly onto the stain until it foams.
- Leave it about 10 minutes: That is the time on our product page.
- Rinse or machine-wash: Repeat if the stain persists.
Method 2: a liquid detergent from the cube
- Grate and dissolve: Grate about 20 g of cube into 1 L of hot water and stir until dissolved.
- Let it sit, then dilute: Add 1 L of cold water and mix until smooth.
- Use it per load: The product page gives no per-load amount, so we can't either.
The page says this liquid is low-sudsing and suits standard and HE machines; we have not tested that. For delicates it says to dissolve a little grated soap in water, that the soap dilutes best in cold water, and to soak gently without agitation before rinsing in clear cold water.
What Does a Stain Guide Say About Common Stains?
University of Georgia Extension's stain guides start most stains with a commercial pre-wash stain remover or a detergent, and of the entries below only blood names bar soap. They apply to washable items, so read the care label and pretest a hidden spot first.
| Stain | What the UGA guide says first |
|---|---|
| Blood | Treat immediately, since stains set by heat are hard to remove. Rinse fresh stains in cold running water and rub with bar soap or liquid detergent, then rinse and repeat. |
| Coffee or tea | Sponge or rinse promptly in cool water, then pre-treat with a detergent containing enzymes, or rub in a liquid heavy-duty detergent or a paste of granular laundry detergent and water. |
| Wine | Sponge or rinse promptly in cool water, then pre-treat with a commercial pre-wash spot and stain remover or a liquid laundry detergent. For a fresh wine stain it also says to sprinkle on table salt immediately. |
| Ketchup or tomato | Apply a commercial pre-wash spot and stain remover, then launder with a heavy-duty liquid detergent. |
| Grass | Treat both sides with a commercial pre-wash spot and stain remover, wait 2 minutes, then launder with a bleach that is safe for the fabric. |
| Butter or margarine | Treat with a pre-wash spot and stain remover, then launder. |
| Ink | It gives different steps by ink type, and for felt-tip and stamp-pad ink it says to treat while fresh, because laundering may set the stain. |
| Deodorant and sweat | The UGA deodorant entry starts with undiluted hand dishwashing liquid and its perspiration entry with a sodium perborate soak; see our guide to removing deodorant stains. |
The cube's own stain direction (Method 1 above) is general: our product page does not say which stains it suits, so treat it as untested.
Featured in this guide
Traditional Olive Oil Marseille Soap Cube
Olive-oil Marseille soap cube. Ingredients: Sodium Olivate, Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Hydroxide. Sold in 300 g and 600 g.
Shop now → ✓ 30-day money-back guarantee · Free shipping over $75What About White Clothes?
We found no test of the cube on white clothes, so we can't say how well it keeps whites white. Our product page says it has no optical brightener, so it does not add that brightening effect.
UGA's entries for coffee, tea, wine and grass all include a bleach that is safe for the fabric in the wash, which is a separate step from anything our product page describes. Whichever product you use, read the label and never mix bleach with another cleaning product: Health Canada says bleach reacts with ammonia and with acids such as vinegar.
How Does the Cube Compare With Liquid Laundry Detergent?
We have not tested the cube against our Eco Laundry Detergent or any other detergent, so we can't rank them on cleaning. Their product pages describe them differently.
| Marseille soap cube | Eco Laundry Detergent | |
|---|---|---|
| Format | A solid cube you rub on a stain, or grate and dissolve | A 3.6 L liquid detergent |
| Machines | Page says the dissolved liquid is low-sudsing and suits standard and HE machines | Page describes a standard-machine formula with a fuller suds profile; a separate HE variant exists |
For the detergent against conventional brands, read Eco Laundry Detergent vs Conventional.
What Should You Look for When Buying Marseille Soap?
Read the ingredient list and the product page rather than relying on the name. Ours reads Sodium Olivate, Aqua, Glycerin, Sodium Chloride and Sodium Hydroxide, and the cube is made in France by Savonnerie Alpilles.
Marseille soaps differ. Our Authentic Marseille Soap bar is a palm and palm-kernel oil soap base that lists Parfum across more than thirty scents, so it is a different product from the cube, which the page says has no added fragrance. If you want a laundry soap with no added fragrance, look for Parfum or Fragrance on the label.
FAQ
How much Marseille soap do I use per load?
Our product page gives a recipe, about 20 g of grated cube in a total of 2 L of liquid, but no per-load amount, so we can't give a dose. We found no test to base one on.
Will Marseille soap leave a residue on fabric?
Our product page says the low-sudsing lather rinses clean rather than leaving the residue some high-suds soap recipes do. We found no independent test of that.
Is it safe for delicate fabrics?
Our product page gives a delicates method: dissolve a little grated soap in cold water, soak gently without agitation, then rinse in clear cold water. We found no test on wool, silk or linen, so read the care label and pretest a hidden spot.
Can I use it in an HE washing machine?
Our product page says the dissolved liquid is low-sudsing and suits standard and HE machines. We have not tested it in one, so check your machine's manual.
Should I add white vinegar or baking soda to the wash?
Our product page calls for neither, and we found no test of them with Marseille soap, so we don't recommend adding them. If you also use bleach, never combine it with vinegar: Health Canada says bleach reacts with acids such as vinegar.
Can it remove sweat and deodorant stains?
We have not tested it. UGA Extension's deodorant entry starts with undiluted hand dishwashing liquid; see our guide to removing deodorant stains.
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