homemade powder laundry detergent

[Wife of a Cheesehead]

Does anyone make their own laundry detergent? I saw this recipe on a yahoo group I'm in.

2 c. Borax
2 c. Washing Soda
1/2 c. Baking Soda
1/2 c. oxyclean (optional)
1 grated bar of soap (your choice)

You have to experiment with how much to use in a load. I guess 1 tsp or more for bigger/dirtier jobs. One lady said she spends about $17 every 2 months with this recipe (vs. $26/month before).


One person even said they make this recipe w/o the bar soap and use it in their dish washer.

Another uses 2 TBSP Ajax liquid soap for their laundry.

Does anyone use these, or make their own to save money? How do you like it?

[NoLongerInLebanon]

ETA: I found the Fels Naptha at Meijer (as well as the WASHING soda.) I bought a container at Walmart for the soap. It said it was a cereal container, but it's perfect for this. It's a tall, square shaped, container. I also grate the soap to it melts faster.

I've been making my own liquid soap for awhile. What I use is similar to that one.

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax.

The Soap: The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha. It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle. The other options for soap are Ivory or another brand called, Zote. Any of these will work. I use my own homemade soap and find it works quite well and I do have this for sale in my Country Store. (http://crystalscountrystore.com/laundryroom.htm) If you use Ivory or your own homemade soap you will need to use the whole bar.

Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda. They are not the same thing. Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate). It is a white powder. Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders. The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store. Many people have a hard time finding this locally. I know you can purchase it on-line, even through Amazon.com. I would also suggest asking your grocery store manager if it would be possible for the store to get it for you.

Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. It is a white powder. It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Team. It comes in a 76 oz. box. You should be able to locate this in the laundry detergent aisle. Again as with the washing soda, if you cannot find it ask you store manager or look online.

The Recipe
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/chore51.gif
Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

**A few things to note about the soap**
~The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.
~The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.

[Heavensake]

BORAX. That scares me. I can remember finding an old CPR book that belonged to my grandpa, that had some stuff written in it about Borax. As a teen and finding this i asked what it was all about. It seems that as a baby i would scream as my mom gave me a bath if she used a certain baby soap that back then had borax in it. If she used a differant soap then i was fine.

Later my grandpa heard on the news about Borax causing brain damage in some babies. Ok just had to say that. Being as tho you are washing clothes with it and not washinga person then it should be ok.

I saw the Duggars on tv making their own laundry soap a while back.

[waterlogged]

I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now. It saves us a ton of money but, it does involve a little effort. The recipe I use is:
1 cup arm and hammer washing soda
1 cup borax
1 bar Fels-Napatha bar soap (I grate it with a cheese grader - hence the effort - the smaller you grate it the faster it melts/disolves
1/2 cup Oxyclean - Optional

I use 2 tbsp per load... we have a huge tub on our washer.

For Fabric Softner - I use straight vinegar. I add essential oil for scent. The vinegar rinses all the soap out of the closthes and leaves them softer becasue they don't have the residue. I still buy dryer sheets to combat the static.

[Wife of a Cheesehead]

I have been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now. It saves us a ton of money but, it does involve a little effort. The recipe I use is:
1 cup arm and hammer washing soda
1 cup borax
1 bar Fels-Napatha bar soap (I grate it with a cheese grader - hence the effort - the smaller you grate it the faster it melts/disolves
1/2 cup Oxyclean - Optional

I use 2 tbsp per load... we have a huge tub on our washer.

For Fabric Softner - I use straight vinegar. I add essential oil for scent. The vinegar rinses all the soap out of the closthes and leaves them softer becasue they don't have the residue. I still buy dryer sheets to combat the static.


Where do you buy the Washing Soda at? Do you get it here in town or somewhere else?

[waterlogged]

I was buying everything in the laundry isle at Kroger .... the last time I looked I was looking for the Fels-napatha bars and Kroger quit carrying them. At one time, they carried all the ingedients, now I just order it all online. I think they still carry either the Borax or Washing Soda locally (Marsh, Kroger, or Walmart.. I can't remember which. The last time I ordered I got like 6 bars of soap, and the large boxes of washing soda and borax... everything but the bars of soap will last about a year.

[SnortWhenILaugh]

I did this for a while. I liked that it was cheap, didn't take me long to make, and lasted a while. I never did find washing soda here in town, I always got it in Indy at either Kroger or Marsh.

I ended up switching to Arm & Hammer Baking Soda Laundry Detergent. I bought a giant box of it at Super Walmart for like $15 over 2 months ago, and I'm still using it. (I'm doing laundry for 5 while my mom stays with us temporarily.)

When I did use the homemade stuff, I always used plain vinegar in the rinse, because I'm a huge vinegar fanatic plus I wanted to keep the washing machine from getting all gommed up.