I get these "ideas" at time. They don't always make a great deal of sense, but that doesn't seem to matter. I seem to become "obsessed" or "possessed" by an idea. One of my recent "wild ideas" was to make our laundry detergent. Several years ago, Lori had photos on her blog of making her own laundry detergent. I had never heard of anyone doing this nor had it ever occurred to me that this could be done. So the first step was to "Google" homemade laundry detergent. The site that interested me the most was "10 Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipes. " There are recipes for liquid soap and powdered soap. Liquid soap tends to make a mess all over my laundry area (couldn't be that I make the mess:) so I choose one of the powdered soap recipes.
Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe #4
2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try the other bar soaps listed at the top)1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
- Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
- Use 2 tablespoons per full load.
Recipe #4 seemed to fit my needs. All three ingredients that I needed were located at my local grocery store. I wasn't able to find the Fels Naptha Soap so I substituted Ivory Soap.
Perhaps the most difficult part was finding a container for the freshly made laundry soap. This jug was originally purchased for lemonade. When I was cleaning the basement, I purchased cat litter for the paint cans I needed to put in the trash. I purchased this one because it had such a nice bucket that I could recycle. It may work when I make bigger batches, but it was too big for the 3 batches I recently made.
Instead, I'm using it to store the opened boxes for borax and washing soda.
11 comments:
I'd love to hear the cost comparison. It looks like something I'd do if the price were right.
My best friend does this all the time! I keep saying I'm going to try it, but haven't yet. I look forward to seeing your cost analysis.
She blogged about her laundry soap making here...http://kasilou.blogspot.com/2011/06/laundry-detergent.html
I sang the praises of Fels Naptha soap for many yrs. when kids were playing baseball/softball. For those horrible dirt stains from sliding into base I would grate the Fels into a container of water, add those dirty uniform pants and let soap over night. The following day I would put them into washing machine with that same water and the end result would be a snow white uniform.
My husband started making our own powdered laundry detergent several years ago. We were just astonished at how clean our clothes were with so LITTLE detergent. We really couldn't believe that just 2 tablespoons per load was sufficient so we each (separately) decided to add just at pinch more. :-) We laughed at each other when we both confessed. :-)
Instead of the Fels Naptha soap, my husband uses Zote brand soap that he gets at a local Hispanic grocery store. Dead cheap and very effective.
Two of our daughters who are in college make trips back to the old homestead to get new supplies of Dad's laundry soap. They won't use any other. :-)
I've been making our laundry soap for several years now. I have to say that the only time I have not been satisfied is when I used Ivory. I do really like Octagon, but my locally owned grocery store that stocked it went out of business due to Wal-Mart moving into town. I couldn't find anything but Ivory for a while, so I looked up the ingredients in Fels Naptha and Kirk's Castile (two other good options, but when I could find them I thought it too pricy) and made my own. I used 16 oz. lye dissolved in 32 oz. water, palm oil (aka Spectrum's Organic shortening) and cocoanut oil. I grind up 63 oz. (= 9, 7 oz bars) of the resulting soap, and add it to one whole box of Borax plus one box of Washing Soda (that way there aren't any leftovers to spill or store.) My homemade soap is not less expensive than the no-longer-readily-avaialable-to-me Octagon, but less than the too-pricy Naptha and Castile. The Octagon has several oil-based ingredients, and mine is completely vegetable based, which I like.
All this to say when you can't find what you want, think outside the box and make it yourself! I now know my laundry soap is more than safe for our ground, and since that ground grows our produce, it is in my best interest to be careful.
I don't use any fabric softener either. Instead I use white vinegar in the rinse which treats bad smells and helps soap wash out (softens.)
I've been making our laundry soap for several years now. I have to say that the only time I have not been satisfied is when I used Ivory. I do really like Octagon, but my locally owned grocery store that stocked it went out of business due to Wal-Mart moving into town. I couldn't find anything but Ivory for a while, so I looked up the ingredients in Fels Naptha and Kirk's Castile (two other good options, but when I could find them I thought it too pricy) and made my own. I used 16 oz. lye dissolved in 32 oz. water, palm oil (aka Spectrum's Organic shortening) and cocoanut oil. I grind up 63 oz. (= 9, 7 oz bars) of the resulting soap, and add it to one whole box of Borax plus one box of Washing Soda (that way there aren't any leftovers to spill or store.) My homemade soap is not less expensive than the no-longer-readily-avaialable-to-me Octagon, but less than the too-pricy Naptha and Castile. The Octagon has several oil-based ingredients, and mine is completely vegetable based, which I like.
All this to say when you can't find what you want, think outside the box and make it yourself! I now know my laundry soap is more than safe for our ground, and since that ground grows our produce, it is in my best interest to be careful.
I don't use any fabric softener either. Instead I use white vinegar in the rinse which treats bad smells and helps soap wash out (softens.)
I make my own soap. 4 bars of Fels and 4# box of the washing soda, 4# box of the 20 Mule Team Borax, 4# box of Baking soda. Mix it all together and I have learned to sell half for the amount I have in cost. Walmart has the ingredients and it is always available. If I need to spot treat something I use the generic liquid soap for Dawn. We have allergies and this works for us. Chris
We made powdered laundry detergent in the early 80's when I could get the grease from the local bakery. It was quite a project! We loved the smell of the laundry though.
Haven't yet tried the laundry detergent as we are using the liquid and I love my homemade soap! The part I like best is that I've found I don't now need fabric softener! I have added some melaleuca oil to the mix and it smells wonderful. We tried using our bath soap once rather than the Fels Naptha and didn't like that--so now it's Fels Naptha all the time!
Your recipe looks so much easier than the lye, grease mixture I used to use! Kudos to you for stepping out of the Tide paradigm!
I think I will just buy mine.
my Walmart has free buckets in the bakery department--3 sizes with lids. I do like homemade soup.
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