Her recipe seemed easy enough, and the ingredients were very inexpensive. I couldn't believe the savings! So, I started on my own journey of homemade laundry detergent. I put it on my Facebook status that I was going on this adventurous journey, and I couldn't believe the responses of people who were already doing this very thing. They came from every walk of life and from all over the country. Some had slightly different recipes. Some put essential oils in their laundry detergent for extra cleanliness and some scent. Some were powdered. Some were gel.
I tried the first recipe I found. It was a gel recipe with no oils added. Very simple. It lasted forEVER! I loved that. I just didn't feel like it got my family's clothes completely clean. (Besides being a pastor, my husband gets our living expenses from construction work. We have a garden, and I have four very active children. We needed a STRONG laundry soap.) So I tried a powdered kind in a different recipe. It worked a little better, but I still wasn't happy. I was using twice the amount that was recommended, and I still didn't think it was working as good as store bought detergent.
In desperation, I started tinkering around with the recipe until I found a combination of ingredients that I like. I still have incredible savings, and I have a detergent that cleans our clothes. It is powdered, but I'm going to experiment next time I make a batch and try a gel version. I'll put what I'm going to try in my experiment below as well so that you brave souls might try it. ;)
Homemade Laundry Detergent
3 cups Borax
3 cups Baking Soda
2 cups Washing Soda
2 bars of Fels Naptha (grated)
Mix all ingredients together and store in a sealed tub ( I use an old gallon ice cream container). Use 1/8 cup per load. Your clothes will have no fragrance from this recipe when they come out of the dryer.
This detergent is good in regular washing machines and High Efficiency washing machines. We have a septic tank and use the powdered version, but we always wash in warm or hot water. If you wash in cold I would recommend a gel version. You should be able to find all of these ingredients on the laundry isle of your local Walmart. Fels Naptha is like a bar soap. The others are all powders. This is what your laundry detergent should look like when it's done.
Homemade Laundry Detergent (Experimental Gel Version)
3 cups Borax
3 cups Baking Soda
2 cups Washing Soda
2 bars of Fels Naptha (grated)
Paint Stick (Optional. All you really need is something long enough to stir in a 5 gallon bucket)
5 gallon container
In a large (ish) type pot (maybe around 6 quarts or so) fill mostly with water and put over medium heat. Add Fels Naptha. Heat until it's dissolved but not boiling. If you boil it you'll have suds everywhere. While you're waiting for your Fels Naptha to dissolve, pour 2 gallons of warm water in a 5 gallon container. ( I just used a bucket) Stir in your remaining ingredients until mostly dissolved. Add melted Fels Naptha with the hot water. Stir. Add enough warm water to fill the bucket. Stir. Let sit over night. Stir again in the morning. Use 1/2 cup per load
Fels Naptha Substitutes: Zote, Ivory Soap. If you use Ivory I would recommend using 3 bars instead of 2 because they are much smaller than Fels Naptha. I have never used Zote, but I have seen it recommended on the Web.
Cool Science Experiment:
In our previous batch we used Ivory Soap. Instead of grating it we found a cool way for the kids to help with the laundry soap and learn some science. First I cut one bar of Ivory in 1/2. I put it on a plate and let the kids punch in 2 minutes on the microwave. We microwaved our Ivory soap, and it turned into an Ivory CLOUD! AWESOME! Be careful when taking it out. Sometimes it could be pretty hot, so we let it cool for a bit. The kids shaped their soap like clay for a while, but then when it was completely cooled it would break down into flakes perfect for our laundry soap. What does this teach them about science? Hot air expands. It's a great visual. Because Ivory soap is filled with air bubbles when the air inside gets to a certain temperature, it has to make more room for itself. Thus the Ivory Cloud. Our house and microwave smelled like Ivory Soap the rest of the day. That's not a smell I prefer, so that's why we went with the Fels Naptha this time instead.
Kitchen Tips:
Buy a grater solely for the use of grating your soap. It's extremely hard to get off of the grater. Then, put everything you use for making your detergent into it's own pot or a storage bin along with the recipe. That way you have everything you need the next time you need to make a batch. :) Experiment with it and make a recipe of your own that you like.
If you want some scent with your laundry detergent you have some options. I use a liquid fabric softener. Some of my friends use essential oils. I've heard DoTerra is a good brand. You only need about 1 drop per gallon. You'll have to find an essential oils dealer in your area or go to a craft store. I've also seen commercials for "laundry freshness boosters". All this is is an extra scent to add. You should be able to find it on your laundry isle.
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