Making laundry soap DIY

!±8± Making laundry soap DIY

Talk about saving money making your own laundry soap is easier than I thought. I took longer but that is just my style I move at my own pace. I did as told I grated a bar of fels-naptha soap, then I added to very warm water cooked on the stove careful not to bring to a boil about 15 min it was diluted added to a bucket of warm water then added the .5 cup borax and the 1 cup of super washing soda. After that I filled the rest of the bucket with water then covered. I have saved some liquid soap containers to blend this with water and I plan to be well on my way to saving money and great smelling clothes.

Making laundry soap DIY

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Three Easy Ways to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent Using One Simple Laundry Soap Recipe

!±8± Three Easy Ways to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent Using One Simple Laundry Soap Recipe

Making your own homemade laundry detergent is a great way to save money, support the environment and reduce your exposure to unhealthy chemicals. It's also a lot easier than you might think. With a few basic ingredients and a simple laundry soap recipe, you're ready to get clean and green!

Why Make Your Own Homemade Laundry Detergent?

Commercial detergents often contain harsh chemicals, toxic ingredients and harmful synthetic fragrances. Homemade laundry soap cleans just as effectively, and since it's made with natural cleaning ingredients, it's easier on your clothing, your skin and the environment.

Store brand detergents also cost a lot more than homemade laundry soap. Today, a 32-load bottle of a popular laundry detergent costs .99 at Amazon.com. That's 28 cents per load. Homemade laundry soap costs about 2 cents per load. Think about how many loads of laundry you do per year. The savings can really add up!

Commercial detergents can cause skin rashes and asthma attacks in people who are sensitive to the toxic ingredients. Far fewer people experience allergic reactions to homemade laundry detergents. Even if you're not allergic to commercial detergents, you're doing your health a favor by not exposing yourself to the chemical cocktails present in many brands.

How to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent

You need a 5 gallon bucket for this laundry soap recipe. You might try asking a restaurant for their empties (fat for deep frying comes in huge buckets.) I got mine from my local bulk food store.

Ingredients

4 cups hot boiled Water 1/3 to 1 natural Soap Bar (see the directions below for tips) 1 cup Washing Soda (NOT baking soda - see below) 1/4 cup Borax One of the Essential Oil Blends below (optional)

Directions

Grate the soap bar using the fine side of your cheese grater. I use pure vegetable glycerin soap bars, and many web sources suggest using Fels Naptha or Ivory soap. The stronger your soap bar is, the lumpier your laundry detergent will be. I use a whole bar of vegetable glycerin soap, but only 1/3 of a Laundry Soap bar such as Fels Naptha.
Combine the soap flakes and hot water in a large saucepan. Stir over a medium-low heat until the soap is melted.
Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of very hot water. Add the melted soap, the washing soda and the borax. Stir until all the powder is dissolved. Note: Washing soda is made from Sodium Carbonate and is not the same as Baking Soda. You can usually find washing soda in the laundry area of your department store or ask for it at a pool store. It will be in the water softeners section.
Fill the bucket to the top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
Next morning, stir the essential oils into the laundry soap. It will be a watery gel with lumps in it - this is fine. Just give it a good stir. I use a potato masher to break up the lumps.
Transfer your homemade laundry detergent into clean used laundry bottles.

Shake the bottle before each use to dissolve any lumps of gel that might have formed. Use 1 cup per load for top-load washing machines, and half a cup for front-load washers. This recipe makes enough for 45 top loads or 90 front loads.

Handy Hint: I also use this homemade laundry soap recipe to soak stains out of my tea towels and whiten my whites. I just leave them to soak in the detergent for about a week, and they come up beautifully, with no wear and tear on the fabric.

Essential Oils for Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipes

Power up your homemade laundry soap with one of the following essential oil blends. Not only will they make your clothes smell nice, but they have antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties - great for killing germs while washing out dirt and grime. If you're exceptionally sensitive, you can leave out the essential oils - you'll still get a good laundry detergent with strong cleaning powers.

Lavender Essential Oil Blend

40 drops Lavender 30 drops Lemon 20 drops Clove

Citrus Essential Oil Blend

30 drops Grapefruit 30 drops Orange 30 drops Lemongrass

Tea Tree Essential Oil Blend

40 drops Tea Tree 30 drops Lemon OR Lemongrass 20 drops Palmarosa

Expanding Your Green Cleaning Repertoire

Homemade laundry detergent isn't the only natural cleaning product you can make to save money, safeguard your health and support the environment. Look for recipes for dishwashing detergent, floor cleaners, stain removers and cleaners for every room in your house. Once you try a few of them, you'll never go back to store brands again!

Three Easy Ways to Make Homemade Laundry Detergent Using One Simple Laundry Soap Recipe

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Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

!±8± Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

When I first read about making homemade laundry soap, I was excited but skeptical. Would it save me any money? (Yes!). Would it take a lot of time? (About 15 minutes per batch). Would our clothes look clean and smell good? (Yes!) Would it cause problems for our washing machine? (No).

After reading numerous sites, I decided to take the plunge! We purchased three ingredients at a total cost of under .00. These will make 8 batches of liquid laundry soap, at two gallons per batch.

What you need:
1. Soap (You need one bar per batch). We chose Ivory. If you use Fels Naptha, you will use less, about 1/3 of a bar.
2. Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (Available in the laundry area)
3. 20 Mule Team Borax (Available in the laundry area)

Step One: Shred, chop or shave your soap into small pieces. (Go ahead and do all the bars at one time, storing each bar into bags for use later.

Step Two: Measure and start heating water. You will need 6 cups of water heated to melt the soap in a sauce pan. It will bubble and rise, so get a deeper pan. Add the soap and water to the pan.

Step Three: Once the soap is all dissolved, you stir in half a cup of Borax and half a cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda. Stir over the heat until it is all dissolved.

Step Four: Remove from heat and pour into a large bucket. Use a three gallon bucket (or larger)

Step Five: Add four cups more of hot water to the bucket and stir until well blended.

Step Six: Add one gallon plus six cups of cold water to the mixture. Mix well. Let sit for 24 hours.

Store it in your old laundry soap bottle or other plastic container for easy pouring.

Ready to use! I used 1/4 of a cup because I have a high efficiency (HE) machine. Most would use half a cup. It looks like a liquid gel.

If you want a scent other than the soap smell, you can add 1/2 - 1 oz of essential oils. We generally do not do this. It smells great just like it is.

This has very low suds, so if you open the washer and look you will not see a lot of suds. This does not mean it is not working, but this is why it is safe for HE machines.

Based on us using liquid Tide from Sam's Club, I estimate that I used to spend 8 cents per load (I use half as much as the bottle recommends). Using my homemade soap I will spend half a cent per load. It takes less than 15 minutes to make. I do still use dryer sheets.

When I became interested in learning about making homemade laundry soap, I saw several sets of directions on different websites and looked around for the most commonly used ingredients and instructions. Once I decided to try it, I took pictures along the way to share for people just learning like me. http://www.homemaking911.com/2008/02/02/make-your-own-laundry-soap/

Make Your Own Laundry Detergent

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