Homemade Laundry Detergent

[rubysrider]

I know of several people who are making their own laundry detergent and love it. They've told me it saves them a lot of money but doesn't take very long to make and is really easy to do. One person is my cousin who has 5 children and they are a one income family and she says the money savings is amazing. I'm seriously considering doing this myself. If anyone here is interested I can get her recipe and post it here.

Anyone here make thier own laundry detergent?

[Diamond_Y]

My grandsons are allergic to many detergents, so I'd be very interested in something that might be less harsh and more natural than what's availabe on the store shelves.

[TDH]

I would be very interested in seeing a recipe for it too. Does it work with high efficiency washers?

[rubysrider]

Here's a recipe I found on the net and I called and verified that this is the one my cousin uses too.

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Bar of soap (my cousin uses Ivory)
1 Cup Washing Soda-(this is not the same thing as baking soda)
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Add Borax and Washing soda to soap and mix well with a wire whisk or electric hand mixer until powder is dissolved.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap mixture. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)


This is the recipe I plan on using when I can buy the ingredients. (hubbys truck broke down yesterday and has to be fixes ASAP)

ETA: TDH: I have a HE Front loader washer/dryer and this is supposed to work in them too.

[divinemisselle]

How cool is this?! I'd love to try it! Thanks so much for posting the recipe.

[azhorselover]

Very interesting, Thanks. I dont think I have ever seen "washing soda" can you explain or where to get it?

[Orchid]

I was just reading about homemade laundry detergent the other day. Supposedly you can find "washing soda" in the regular detergent aisle at many stores.

[rm185western]

I've never looked for it over here, but always kept washing soda when we had a lot of dogs. One lump of washing soda, about the size of a thumb tip, can be used in an emergency to make a dog vomit.

[divinemisselle]

Further thought: where can I buy washing soda?

[Red Gate Farm]

Anyone who makes this and uses it, please post results.

Did it take a lot of time to make?

Was it smelly?

How well does it store?

Compared with your present laundry detergent, how does this compare for:
- general washing
- getting stubborn stains out
- white and bright clothes
- cuff and collar stains

Does your rinse and spin cycle get all the soap out?

How do your clothes feel after using this process?

[divinemisselle]

Originally Posted by Orchid

I was just reading about homemade laundry detergent the other day. Supposedly you can find "washing soda" in the regular detergent aisle at many stores.

Nevermind, Orchid posted as I was typing.

[rubysrider]

I read on another site that washing soda-which is Sodium Carbonate- can be found in the pool chemical section at Wal-Mart.
Baking soda is Sodium Bicarbonate. Just be sure to read the label on the package.
Some of the ladies I have talked to have found the washing soda at their local grocery store.

[Shiloveshorses]

Question- How is this for folks with sensitive skin. Shi itches so much from detergents, soaps and such. I am interested in making this as long as it won't make her itch.

[divinemisselle]

I haven't made it yet, obviously But I would say that for her, to be careful of which bar soap you choose to use. Make sure it's one she doesn't react to already when she bathes. Since the soaps that I make are hypoallergenic, we could use any of those bases. I'm thinking Oatmeal.

[Shiloveshorses]

The soaps you make are amazing. I have used it for the last several baths on her and she didn't itch at all afterwards. She was so amazed, she hated baths because she associated it with itching, now she loves them because no more itchies. So I can see using them in the laundry detergent and it will smell delicious.

[rubysrider]

[quote=Red Gate Farm;1582536]Anyone who makes this and uses it, please post results.

Did it take a lot of time to make? Only takes a few minutes

Was it smelly? Only if you use a fragranced soap or add the essential oils

How well does it store? It stores well, just be sure to stir or shake before use

Compared with your present laundry detergent, how does this compare for:
I'm going by word of mouth here as I haven't made mine yet
- general washing Works good but doesn't "suds up" like the kind you buy
- getting stubborn stains out- a friend of mine told me it took the ink out of her grandson's t-shirt without pretreating
- white and bright clothes- My mom is trying it out on her whites and towels first to see how they look. I'll let you all know what she finds. She is VERY picky about this
- cuff and collar stains- I haven't asked about this yet

Does your rinse and spin cycle get all the soap out? I would think it would be better than store bought kind because it doesn't have all the extra chemicals.JMO
How do your clothes feel after using this process?-I don't think there's any difference.

[rubysrider]

For those of you who make homemade soap, I have a friend who makes Lye soap and that is what she uses for the bar of soap in the recipe. She is the person who washed her grandson's t-shirt and it took out an ink stain without pretreating.
This is just my opinion but I think for a person with sensitive skin, making this detergent would be great because there's no added chemicals. I could be wrong but I think Ivory is one of the mildest bars soaps on the market.

[Mav2007]

I watched an episode of 18 kids and counting on TLC and they make their own soap. I know one of the ingredients they added was 20 Mule Team. It's a powdered laundry booster that can be found at any store usually up on the top away from the more mainstream cleaners. I have seen washing soda next to it, not sure what the difference is between the two, but I have seen them more frequently in grocery stores, than in Walmart type stores.

My mother used to make her own soap for use on laundry stains, but then she found a bar called Fells Nafta(spelling?). It only cost a dollar and works just as well. It can be found usually in grocery stores.

[rubysrider]

Originally Posted by Mav2007

I watched an episode of 18 kids and counting on TLC and they make their own soap. I know one of the ingredients they added was 20 Mule Team. It's a powdered laundry booster that can be found at any store usually up on the top away from the more mainstream cleaners. I have seen washing soda next to it, not sure what the difference is between the two, but I have seen them more frequently in grocery stores, than in Walmart type stores.

My mother used to make her own soap for use on laundry stains, but then she found a bar called Fells Nafta(spelling?). It only cost a dollar and works just as well. It can be found usually in grocery stores.

20 Mule Team is Borax. The full name is 20 Mule Team Borax It's been on the market for many, many years. My mom says my granny used it when she was a kid.

Isn't it kinda cool how we're starting to do things that our grandparents and greatgrandparents did every day?

[divinemisselle]

Fells Naptha would be a great addition to this laundry soap recipe as well! Super stuff for stains!

Isn't it kinda cool how we're starting to do things that our grandparents and greatgrandparents did every day?

Yes it is! Just goes to show that some things are timeless.