I've been making my own laundry soap for awhile now and am sold on the cost-effectiveness and the efficiency of never running out of laundry detergent.
I haven't worked out exactly how much the soap costs per load but I'm saving a bundle.
I have a front loading machine and the clothing rinses clean and for those that are sensitive to fragrance, it seems to be just fine.
I know there are many variations out there some liquid and some dry.
I'd love you to offer your recipe in the comment section and then everyone can try different recipes.
- 1 sunlight bar grated into a medium saucepan
- 4 cups hot tap water
- 1 cup Washing Soda
- 1/2 cup Borax
- 1 five gallon pail
- Melt the Sunlight bar over medium heat, stirring the whole time.
- Dump it into a 5 gallon pail and add the Washing Soda and the Borax. Stir well.
- Add hot water to the pail to come to a few inches to the top of the pail.
- Stir well. ( I use a broom handle)
- Let sit overnight and give it a good stir. It will jell a bit.
- Fill empty laundry soap containers.
- For my front load washer, I use 1/4 cup.
- For top load washers, you will use closer to 1/2 cup.
You will need to experiment with your loads. Dirty loads need more detergent than light loads. I use it on my dirtiest farm laundry and on my delicates with equal satisfaction.
I,too, have a front loading washer and had begun to notice that my clean clothes didn't smell clean, so in addition to liquid laundry detergent, I have now been adding a scoop of borax and what a change! Clothing is now once again fresh and clean. I am not sure what washing soda even is,but I will certainly try your recipe.
ReplyDeleteThanks girls for a wonderful blog!
washing soda can be found in the laundry isle next to the Borax- OR you can make it by taking your baking soda- and baking it for 1hr. @ 400 degrees. (It changes the alkaline levels in the baking soda) I prefer to do this- bc it costs less for A 4LB. BOX of baking soda- compared to a 3LB. box of washing soda (only by a cpl dollars- but still-a penny saved is a penny earned)Happy Washing!
DeleteMaking laundry soap is an easy, really fairly quick process.....once you have the soap grated ;).
ReplyDelete1 bar Fel-Naptha soap, grated
6 c waater
cook on low til dissolved....almost 30 min.
3/4 c. washing soda
3/4 c. borax
when soap is completely disolved, turn up heat to almost boiling and add. stir til disolved completely.
4 c. very hot water...put into a 2 1/2 gal container. Stir in soap mixture well.
1 1/2 gal cold water...add and stir. Let sit and cover, but not tightly. It stays better if it can "breath". Jels upon sitting and cooling.
I'm interested in learning about the sunshine bar.
Love your blog and the variety you share!
I have used this recipe for about ten years. I grate the soap in my Cuisinart food processor. After it gels, my husband uses a paint-mixing attachment on his power drill to really break up the gelled clumps.
ReplyDeleteFELS NAPTHA LAUNDRY SOAP
Water
Fels Naptha Soap bar, grated 1 2/3 bars
Washing Soda 1 1/4 cups
borax 1 1/4 cups
Preparation Method
Measure 15 cups of water into a cooking pot. Add grated Fels Naptha laundry soap. Cook over medium heat until dissolved. Stir in: Washing soda, Borax. Stir until it thickens like honey. Remove from heat. Pour 10 cups of hot water into a 5 gallon bucket, stirring in the thickened soap mix. Stir and mix until well blended. Fill remaining container with water and blend well. Cover and set aside for 24 hours. It will gel up.
Use ½ cup for each load.
I am going to give this a try after reading different recipes for the last couple of years. I do have a question, the 4 cups of hot water specified in the recipe...is that added to the grated soap, while you are melting it? And then more hot water to just about fill the 5 gallon bucket?
ReplyDeleteI hope I've got it right..
Thanks
Niki
My recipe is very similar but I use bar Ivory Soap. And I did figure out my cost per load when I started making the soap. I knew how much my ingredients cost, so that was the price I started with then divided by how many loads I got out of that first batch of soap. Each load cost 1/2 of .01, yep, 1/2 cent per load. I'll never go back to commercial soap full of water and junk fillers.
ReplyDeleteMy recipe is identical to yours and we love it. I usually use Zote or Fels Napfta. I have never heard of Sunlight.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this!
Debbie
I to have been using this recipe but I did notice after about 4 months my whites became dingy is there something I'm doing wrong ?? I use about a 1/2 a cup in a top loading wash load .
ReplyDeleteI had used this too for the past several years. I used Ivory bar soap, but still it was the same thing. However, my washer went out and we bought a new High Efficiency washer, top loader, no agiator inside. I thought this soap would be perfect. But lately I noticed the blacksmith's clothes just weren't coming clean, the white no longer looked crisp. I had to go back to store bought detergent. The washer said it needed high efficency detergent only. wish I had seen that first.
ReplyDeleteI use bleach with all my whites and wash in hot water. No problem with dingy clothing. I also use the homemade soap in my high efficiency washer...no problems there either as homemade soap is low in suds.
DeleteIf you have hard water, laundry detergent can "build up" in you clothes, just like your shampoo can in your hair, or soap scum on your shower.You usually just need a temporary switch to "break" the build up, then you can return to your homemade detergent. The other possibility is build up from dryer sheets, if you use those. For this, wash your laundry and then dry it WITHOUT using dryer sheets for a couple cycles. you should notice fluffier towels, and cleaner laundry after the softener residue gets washed out.
DeleteIt may not have been your soap! my mother has a top of the line top loader that sounds similar to the one you described. It doesn't clean as well as my econoline front loader!
DeleteJust wanted to say that I have been using this recipe for a few a years. My whites too after some time were just terribly dingy. I read awhile ago over at www.grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com about mrs. stewarts blueing liquid. I found it at my local grocery store in the cleaning aisle. It comes in a tiny little blue bottle. It was almost $4 for the little bottle but I wanted to give it a try. I have not used bleach in over 6 months now and have only used about 1 teaspoon of the liquid. This bottle will easily last a few years. (I have 6 kids #7 on the way so I do alot of laundry). You add 4 drops to a container of cold water stir and pour into washer. It brightened up my dingy whites and anything new that I have bought that is white keeps looking like the first time I wore it, This stuff is AMAZINGGGG!!! There are also some recipes that you could use for homeschooling like making a crystal garden. If you search Mrs. Stewarts blueing liquid the website has a ton of info on it. This is going to be #1 on my list of best and frugal things bought and used in 2010. Good Luck all Michelle frugalredneck.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteI had trouble with it not getting greasy spots out of the clothes..
ReplyDeleteSo this is my recipe...
1 bar of Fel-Naptha
Enough hot water to dissolve the grated soap
3 cups of washing soda
3 cups of Borax
1/2 small bottle of Original Dawn dish soap
Dissolve all but the Dawn in hot water in a 5 gallon bucket then filling it most of the way.
Then mix in the Dawn. I add Eucalyptus essential oil too about 3 tablespoons.
This is more gel like due to the dish soap.
I figured the cost at one time and I cant remember what it was though. The 5 gallon bucket last at least 2-3 weeks and we do a lot of laundry!!! Probably close to 2-3 loads a day and most of the time more.
what a great idea!! my grandma used to make homemade soap too - nothing cleans clothes better!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I have a front loading machine and always thought I had to use the HE detergent...now I'm going to try your recipes. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteI make mine dry and in small amounts. 1 cup of washing soda, 1 cup of borax and 1/2 bar of Octagon bar soap. The Fels Naptha bothered my husband. He is very sensitive to smell so I tried the Octagon and it smells really good and doesnt bother him. So if there is anyone out there who is sensitive to smells try the Octagon. I had to go to a small family owned grocery to get it.
ReplyDeleteI have been using homemade soap also and love it!
ReplyDeletemy recipe is easy also
1 bar grated fels-naptha or Ivory
2 C. washing soda
1 C. borax
1/4 C. dawn dish soap
5 gal bucket
in medium saucepan boil 4 cups of water,to rolling boil. remove from heat add grated soap, stir and let sit until completly disoloved (about 10 min) In 5 gal bucket add 3 gal of hot tap water, stir in borax and washing soda until disoloved. Mix in saucepan of disoloved soap and then the dawn dish soap. use right away or let sit overnight. stir to break up jelly mixture and stir every few days. use 1/4 Cup for each load.
I've been using Ivory bar soap in mine... I had read the ingredients of Fels Naphtha, it seemed harsh- I started making my own soap earlier this year, I love it!
ReplyDeletethe recipe I'm using came from a blog: 1 bar Fels.naphtha or Ivory bar soap, 1C washing soda, 1/2C borax. Grate bar of soap add to hot water, stir until dissolved and melted. Fill 5gal pail 1/2 full with hot tap water add melted soap, washing soda and borax. Stir until dissolved. Let set over night. I leave mine at 1/2 stregnth, **The recipe calls for filling the pail all the way full with water {I don't though, I leave mine at 2x strength}. The mixture is quite gelled, I use 1/4 - 1/2C depending on the type of load (top loading machine).
I've been looking at a different type of soap other than Ivory, I'll have to go to a grocery store next time up to BC and check out sunlight bar soap.
Back in 2008 I calculated the cost to be around 1 cent per load!!! My recipe is about the same....only less water, so mine may be more concentrated....which that is a tip if things aren't getting clean- you can adjust the recipe.....some areas have really HARD water and they may need more umph/kick to their batch!!! Come check out how it was calculated and just plug in the amounts you pay for your supplies. There's also a powered recipe and some other fun and frugal tips!! I still use and love the homemade laundry soap!! Here's a linky :)
ReplyDeletehttp://nannamanna-moxie.blogspot.com/2008/12/laundry.html
A poster remarked that her whites were becoming dingy... I've been soaking mine, warm water, and 1/4-1/2C, 15-30 min. depending on how dirty the load is; I run the prewash cycle, then a 6 minute wash adding more soap to this this final cycle. {this load includes my Hubby's and boys white socks that are always very dirty} Our whites have never been whiter!!
ReplyDeleteI have never really thought about making my own soap so thanks for posting this. With 5 kids aged 1-7 and a farmer husband, we have LOTS of laundry - this could save us a bundle!
ReplyDeleteWhat is washing soda?
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely going to try it. I hadn't thought of this before. I live in the US, but haven't seen Sunlight bar soap. I think I'll use Fels-Naptha or Ivory. I have a friend who has 3 kids and a farm. She's always looking at ways to save money. I'll definitely be passing this on to her!
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to a post I wrote last year, sharing my recipe on my blog:
ReplyDeletehttp://southbreezefarm.blogspot.com/2009/07/laundry-soap.html
It's dry/powdered and can be made in a food processor. I have been doing a X5 batch, and it lasts this family of four several months!
I do enjoy making my own laundry soap as it doesn't take long and with my sensitive skin specialty soap is pricey for us on a fixed income. For the cost of one of those bottles I have enough supplies to make many, many batches of soap! I do add vinegar when I wash as our water is so hard you can knock someone out with it!
ReplyDeleteCan you tell me where you get your Arm & Hammer washing soda? I can't seem to find any around my area. Perhaps I'm going to the wrong stores.
ReplyDeleteDon't worry if you can' find any washing soda- its SO simple to make! Just take your baking soda (any brand will do-its all the same) anyway- bake your baking soda on a cookie sheet- at 400 degrees for 1hr. it changes the alkaline of the baking soda-which changes the chemical makeup- tada washing soda! Happy washing!
DeleteWhat a great idea! Just wondering if this soap can ever go 'bad' or moldy?
ReplyDeleteI've been making my own laundry soap for a few years now and I love it! Here in my part of New Mexico we have very hard water so I had to really play with the formula so I use 1 bar Fels Naptha or Zote soap
ReplyDelete2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
1 cup oxy powder
10 gallons of water
My husband is a heavy equipment mechanic and it gets his uniforms nice and clean. The oxy powder really brightens my whites.
Target, Kroger, Martin's/Giant Foods usually carries both 20 mule Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. The Fels Naptha is hard to find so I order it online as www.soapsgonebuy.com.
ReplyDeleteHere is the recipe we use. The tide with bleach works wonders in it.
ReplyDelete1 1/2 bars of Fels Naphta soap
2 c. washing soda
2 c. Borax
2 c. tide with bleach OR Clorox 2 (color safe bleach)
Grate Fels Naptha soap. Heat and dissolve in 1 gal. water. Remove from heat and stir in washing soda and borax. Mix well. Pour 2 1/2 quarts HOT WATER into a 5 gal. bucket (or half it and put into 2 - 2.5 gal buckets). Add Fels Naptha solution and Tide, stirring well. Fill bucket/s with cold water. Stir until mixed together. Ready to use in 24 hours. Use 1/2 -3/4 c per load. Increase for heavily soiled clothes.
My laundry soap doesn't have to be cooked.
ReplyDelete1 cup grated laundry soap(in San Antonio I buy ZOTE)
1/2 cup borax
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda
I grate the soap with a Cuisinart food processor, but I used to do it with a blender. Then I mix it in the food processor, following the above recipe, to a fine powder.
I usually use 2 ZOTE bars at a time. This will last me 2-3 months. You use 1 T for small/medium loads; 2 T for large/extra large.
What is 1 T.... have not seen that measurement before.
DeleteOne Tablespoon!! Also seen as tbsp!
DeleteWhen using measures in cooking,
Deletecapital 'T' means tablespoons small't'means teaspoons
This is awesome! I have never made homemade laundry soap before. I almost out of my "pre-made" stuff and I have 2 bars of Zote soap (that I've been wondering what I am going to do with).
ReplyDeleteI have been making my own laundry supplies for a couple years now here is a link http://kathyinozarks.multiply.com/photos/album/40/Making_a_5_gallon_batch_of_Laundry_Soap there is a recipe for my liquid soap, dry soap, fabric softener, and bleech recipe. my liquid soap is pretty similiar but for the grated soap I use Kirks, the fels is way to harsh for me, but I do use in my dry recipe for my husbands very greasy mechanic clothes as a pre soak, and then wash on heavy cycle with the liquid soap. I have very hard water and I have a front loading HE machine. since my homemade soap does not make lots of suds it works perfect in my machine. and ,my fabric softener recipe uses vinegar and baking soda so the clothes come out clean and soft. I would never go back to buying expensive store products again.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am wondering about any changes in your septic system using these soaps. I have a front loading machine too. What about suds? linda
ReplyDeleteI pretty much use the same basic recipe. We don't have Sunshine soap here that I've been able to find, so I've used Castile soap. I also saved a couple of my old liquid laundry detergent bottles, rinsed them out well, and store the liquid soap in those. I'd like to try the powdered version though. That seems like less work! LOL How much soap per load of laundry do I use for the powdered variety?
ReplyDeleteI use a non-phosphate eco-friendly liquid bought at a healthfood store that says 60 loads per bottle, but I use half as much as recommended, and get 120 loads. It costs a bit more, but I believe saves on polluting our drinking water. I wish everyone would use less polluting options. We end up paying so much for still inadequate water treatment systems.
ReplyDeleteSharon
Stephanie - I use 1/4 cup of the dry laundry detergent. I have a front loader and it doesnt soap up very much at all. It gets the clothes clean though and I never have a problem with dingy whites. Hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteI read on a blog somewhere that if you have hard water to add baking soda and salt to help soften the water. So far this seems to be working. I use the dry mixture and use Fels Naptha. I like the idea of using Dawn in the liquid mixture as that would help with grease spots. I also use white vinegar in a second rinse.
ReplyDeleteI have had a front loading washing machine for 11 years already. I am on my second set of machines because with the first one, I blew some important, expensive part, due to the fact that I was not using HE detergent. At that time (eleven years ago) HE detergent was not very common and i definately did not know of how important it was. I would be careful to research this homemade detergent before using it in my front loader, because I have no desire to replace my machines again.
ReplyDeleteMy recipe is for dry detergent.
ReplyDelete1 box Borax (76 oz)
1 box Super Washing Soda (55 oz)
2 boxes Baking Soda ( 2lb. each)
3 bars of Fels Naptha or 2 bars Zote
Grate the bar soap, add all ingredients and mix together well.
Keep in covered container. Use 2 TBS. for large load, add more for heavy dirt or work clothing.
Then I use white vinegar in the rinse, about 1/2 cup to large load. This makes the clothes so soft! (And no they do not smell of vinegar!) I have really hard water and do not have a problem with the products dissolving. Also you can add a few drops of essential oil in the scent you choose if you want more fragrance. I like it just the way it is, smells clothes-line fresh. If you have really soft water you can eliminate the extra Baking Soda. You can add bluing to the rinse cycle. Too, you can use any homemade soap bars or for sensitive skin you can use Ivory or Castile soap. I don't think it cleans as well as the Fels though.
For those of you who have hunters in the family eliminate the Fels and this works great for hunting clothing, no phosphates, no scent!
If you are making a dry version of the laundry soap add as much oxyclean as you do of borax and washing soda. My whites stay white. I don't think it would work in the liquid version but you could just add some to each load. Also soaking for 30 minutes makes a huge difference on greasy stains.
ReplyDeleteWow! Adding Oxi-clean in that amount would be too expensive! That defeats the purpose of frugality in my opinion. (Might as well use store bought.)
ReplyDeleteThanks, Lovella! It's on my list to try to do this. i need to find the bar soap to grate and then I'll be good -- oh, and the washing soda too.
ReplyDeleteI presoak whites in a 5 gallon bucket that has a lid. I add 1 small bottle peroxcide and 3 scoops of oxy clean. My whites don't become dingy anymore.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an easy task to make. I would probably make some to save money.
ReplyDeleteWOW - this is very detailed with excellent instructions. There are three great recipes for laundry detergent and many "hints and tips" in a free book you can download from thriftytimes.com.
ReplyDeleteWell done - and "yes!" it saves money.
I love this recipe of yours.It's the one i use.Thanks so much. Patricia
ReplyDeleteI haven't had to add the oxyclean, but I think if you add the oxyclean to only the white load you will still be ahead dollars and cents wise because of the savings you'd have with the rest of your laundry. I use the dry version of this recipe and only use 2 Tbsp. per load. So if I follow the advice of the one post I'd add 2 Tbsp. Oxyclean to my white load.
ReplyDeleteLOVE this! You can bet I'll be making my own shortly!
ReplyDeleteI have used about 3 batches of the dry/powder version (with Sunlight soap) & I've noticed that it seems to leave "bleach spots" on my bright colours. I've got at least a half-dozen ruined t-shirts and an equal amount of ruined bath towels! My machine is a front-loader. Now I'm using what I have left on the dog's towels.
ReplyDeleteHas anyone else had this problem?
Thanks!
We too have been making our own laundry soap for several months. It works great and things are generally whiter for us as well. I noted that a lot of people use Ivory soap in their recipes but grate the bars into the recipe. I found a site on the Web that gave us the great idea (and it works very well!) of microwaving the bar of Ivory soap. Make sure it's in a very large container as the bar soon expands to at least 10 times the original size. Pop it in for about a minute and watch the action! Then it is very easy to crumble into the remainder of the ingredients and then add the hot water and stir well.
ReplyDeleteit's nice to find this site. I will be trying this laundry soap recipe. I'm wondering, though, does it work equally well in cold water does anyone know?
ReplyDeleteI use it with cold water...well, mostly cold. I let first start the washer with warm and then switch it to cold later, just because in the winter our water gets very cold. In the summer, the water is tepid so running cold has not been a problem. The clothes come out clean.
ReplyDeleteI did start doing one thing different though. Rather than just leave the soap at a grated size, after I grate it I then put it in my Ninja blender/chopper and the soap comes out the same size as the soda wash and borax...fine. I also use half of the borax it calls for and substitute the other half with oxiclean. The whole batch comes out equally fine size and my whites are whites.
I did notice when I first started making the laundry soap w/o the oxiclean that my whites were getting gray creap. Not anymore.
Thanks Lovella....I now have a full bucket of laundry soup....I'll be sharing some of it. It has a nice mild clean smell to it. I'll still add oxy clean to whites, but I am going to like this!
ReplyDeleteI've used this recipe twice already and late in the second batch, my husband started getting a rash, so we're making all kinds of changes and one of the changes were making is to the homemade laundry soap. I've been introduced to Dr. Bromner's Magic Soaps; we use the lavender hemp pure-castile soap and it smells amazing and is great for sensitive skin. the rest of the recipe stays the same :)
ReplyDeleteAfter a bit of research on the internet, I've come up with this combination for powdered laundry soap. Because different brands of bar soap vary widely in size, I prefer to weigh rather than measure the ingredients. So, first grate your soap as finely as you can. I use bars of Linda soap, which weigh 270 gr. Then, using a weigh scale, measure out 270 gr each of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, AND baking soda. After weighing each ingredient, dump it into a lidded rubbermaid container with your grated soap. Then weigh out 1-1/2 x the amount (305 gr) of 20 Mule Team Borax. Dump that into your rubbermaid bin as well. Mix this all together with your hands, breaking up any clumps in the powder. Use 2 Tblsp for each load, or 3 Tblsp if its a very large or dirty load. The addition of baking soda is very handy if you live in a hard-water area like we do. So, the key is to use whatever brand of laundry soap is available to you, weigh it after grating, then the same weight of washing soda & baking soda, then 1-1/2 x the weight of borax. That's it. We have a front-loading HE washer, and have been washing in cold water only with this mixture with good results. Its cheap, lasts a long time, is easy on the environment and your skin as well if you're sensitive to additives.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of puting dawn in the liquid, I make both dry and liquid. I definately wanna try the sunlight bar, saw it today and should have grabbed it! But I make 1 gallon at a time, all I do is: melt grated soap in half gallon water on medium, till it disolves. then add 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, 1/2 c of baking soda for hard water, then 1/4 cup of dawn dishsoap for those grease spots. dissolve this stir lots! get it to a boil, remove from heat, add another half gallon cold water and stir well. leave it sit for a day, put in containers!! thats it, use half cup and I usually add 1 tblsp of the dry stuff
ReplyDeletealso I don't like the ivory it separates from the water, so you really have to shake it, and it gets too clumpy, I like the dove, its awesome and its a quarter moisterizer in it for sensitve skin and eczema
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the Dove soap for making my own homemade laundry soap! Some people say that you shouldn't use it because of the moisturizing cream but I found that it is the BEST soap I have used so far. It rinses well and my laundry is soft. Clothes come out clean. We have used the unscented soap and added lemmon oil and that was the best I ever made. I just wish Dove was cheaper...sales help. I have tons of Zote because I was told that was the best. After time I find it leaves a fat residue on my laundry...
Deletemy mothers added bluing liquid to make the brightest whites
ReplyDeleteI am in Canada. I get Fels Naptha Soap at Wegman's in New York State. I can't find it in Canada, but we live close to the border. You can also get it online. Also, I have not found washing soda in Canada, but easily in the Grocery stores in the U.S. Interesting tip about making washing soda by baking!! I have also made this with a bar of Sunlight soap-works well. I grate 1 bar Fels Naptha soap on the finest side of my four sided chhese grater. Then I mix it in a large coffee can with 1 c. borax and 1 C. washing soda. I put 1 heaping large soup spoon into the detergent compartment of my HE front loader. Since there are no suds, I believe it is safe. I ran out of my mix, and bought some liquid Tide. Surprisingly, the clothes did NOT smell as nice as my homemade soap made them-we all agreed the homemade soap seemed to clean better. My husband works with powdered lime and sludge from water treatment plants. This recipe cleans those clothes wonderfully. I have not tried the liquid yet, as I don't really want to store a 5 gal. pail, although I believe I would get more loads per dollar that way. Now I need to find bluing...
ReplyDeleteI'm in Canada too. Can't get Fells (though I remember my mom using it when I was young), but Washing soda is readily available next to the Borax. I just bought a box and noticed the label looks different and has "so clean!" In large letters across the box.
DeleteCan I use This homemade soap with cold water (dry or the the liquid type))
ReplyDeleteI live in Canada and have hard water and a high eficiency front loader - any ideas
ReplyDeleteShirley, you may want to try adding vinegar. It takes off hard water deposits for shower heads, coffee makers etc. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteHi. I have a 1 and a 3 yr old and use a nappy bin. Can I use this recipe as a presoak and then in my wash also. Just I find napisan and other brands of oxibleach very expensive and I go through a container a week as I use reusable nappies. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteHello! I made my first batch of homemade laundry soap, yesterday! I let my food processor do all the work, for me, using the regular blade, and I love the results! (I figured that using the grating blade on the Zote bar, might create cream, rather than the powder that I was desiring.)
ReplyDelete1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
1/3 (4.5 oz) bar soap, diced
Or
1/3 - 2/3 cup dish detergent, or liquid castile, or Dr. Bronner’s
Use 1-2 Tablespoons, depending on the soil level of your load
I processed the diced 1/3 Zote bar, with the regular blade, in my food processor, and added the powders. This created a large grained, but dry, powder.
I had seen someone's post concerning their fears of fouling their food processor with such products. They felt the necessity of purchasing a separate processor for this purpose, as they would not want to use it for food, afterwards. My thought was - this is soap! Wash it off! :) You end up with an extra clean food processor! (If using dish detergent, however, I would advise you to wash or rinse it, right away, though, as the mixture hardens quickly.)
After I finished off the Zote bar, I began thinking about the waxy substance that must be in the bar of soap, and the difficulty in rinsing that from the clothes. (I will have to be using extra vinegar, in the rinse, until my almost nine months’ worth of soap is gone!)
So, I made 3 more batches, replacing the 1/3 Zote bar, with 1/3 cup of dish detergent. I may increase that to 2/3, next time. This concoction created a non-sticky, grainy cream, which I spread on cookie sheets to dry, mixing, occasionally, so I did not end up with rocks! Although it didn’t take long, at all, I was impatient and returned the batches, one at a time, to the processor, which seemed to speed the drying. It also ground it very fine, which, I think, will improve the dissolvability of the ingredients. Each batch was spread out, again to make sure it was dry. Doing three batches at a time, the first was dry, by the time I was done with the third batch.
Then, I decided I wanted to weaken the waxy substance in my original mix, as well as grind it very fine, like my second mixture. Adding one cup of each mixture to the processor, I combined the two batches, and ended up with only a few tiny grains of soap, amongst all the powder. I was quite pleased with my first and second batches of soap! Except for the tiny grains of Zote, the soap seems to dissolve in both, hot water and tepid water.
I've purchased "Linda laundry soap" is this similar to Castile soap? Also I have a HE washer and I've read that lots of suds can ruin the machine, does this recipe create lots of suds??
ReplyDeleteI've never used LInda laundry soap so I'm not able to comment on it. I was wondering about what would make this HE safe so I checked to see what other sites say about it. My recommendation is to do a search on what others say and make your decision based on that. This website has lots of information to get you started. On website with similar detergent, she says that by definition it would be considered low suds. http://wellnessmama.com/27059/diy-laundry-detergent/
DeleteThis is nice. Thanks for sharing with us. This is good to know
ReplyDeleteCleaning Products in Chennai