Monday, February 15, 2010

Homemade Laundry Soap

By popular demand, I'm posting my recipes for laundry soap (or laundry "soup" as Trusten calls it).

Original Liquid Laundry Soap (this is what I used to do):
~5 gallon bucket
~5 gallon paint stir stick
~3-4 gallons Hot water
~1 cup "Washing Soda" (also called "sodium carbonate" or "pH increaser")
~1 cup Borax
~Plain Ivory soap bar (we buy them in bulk at Wal-Mart on bottom shelf)
**or if you want to use this on Cloth Diapers, use Fels Naptha (sold at WalMart), Ivory causes build up on cloth dipes, so DO NOT use it!

--Grate Ivory soap bar (or Fels Naptha bar) into small non-coated pan. Put just enough water in pan to cover the soap flakes. Heat on low until dissolved.
--While soap is cooking, fill 5 gallon bucket with 3-4 gallons of hot water.
--Add to the bucket of hot water, 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of Washing Soda.
--When the Ivory flakes are dissolved, add those to the bucket as well. Stir.

*If possible, stir every hour as it cools, thickens and "gels up". If you leave this over night, it will be solid and very hard to "break up".
*Store in bucket or pour into old detergent containers for easier access. Use 1 or 2 cups for a full load of laundry.
*Washing Soda can be found in the laundry aisle or by pool accessories.
*Recipe may need to be adapted to hard/soft water by adding less/more of the Borax and Washing Soda.

Powder Laundry Detergent (this is what I currently use):
~1 Ivory soap bar or Fels Naptha soap bar
~1 cup Borax
~1 cup Washing Soda

--Grate soap bar.
--Add grated soap bar, Borax and Washing Soda to a container.
--Mix up and use 1-2 Tablespoons per load.

*Optional~Add 1 cup of Oxi Clean to mixture
*Optional~Use a jar to premix solution in water, before adding to wash
*Again, you can use this on cloth diapers if you use only Fels Naptha


More "homemade" recipes to come!!!

8 comments:

The Blackley Tribe said...

Thanks for the repipes Grace. I look forward to trying out the powder one soon!

Grace~The Mommy On the Bus said...

Great! The powder one is super easy, that's why I use it now...it saves me time!

Unknown said...

Wow! We have too much in common its eerie! I also have made my own laundry soap. Thanks for finding me. We should totally be close friends. Looking forward to hearing from you again.

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for these recipes! I am excited to try the powder one also :)

So you haven't had any problems with build up or absorbency issues using the fels naptha soap? I read that that can cause problems with cloth diapers. Also, do you use the oxiclean?

Btw...if you got a wierd email from me today, disregard it. Someone hacked my email and facebook pages. Also, if you could send me your email address again (to babymachine09@yahoo.com) I would appreciate it. They also wiped out my contact list in email :(

Kara said...

I am totally giving the powdered a try when I run out!!

On another note, how far are you from Pittsburg, KS. We should totally meet at Prairie State Park in the Spring/Summer and see some buffalo and have a picnic :)

Mallory's Personal Shower said...

Bri~ I've heard that using Fels Naptha is probably fine for prefolds but for pocket diapers that have fleece or suedecloth (or materials that are more prone to getting build up) it's not safe to use.

I strip my diapers about once every 3-4 months, so that helps considerably if there is any build up that I dont know about!


Kara~ Where the buffalo roam! :) I'd love that!

LAURIE said...

Thank you for stopping by AT THE WELL today and leaving me a comment on my post about boundaries. I love, LOVE, love this post about homemade laundry soap! What a blessing during such hard economic times. - blessings!

Mama Laundry said...

Grace -

Thank you so much for linking to the Laundry Detergent Recipe Round-up!

You laid out your recipe so well-it's great!

(And I recognize your sweet family pic from MOMYS! :) )

-Lauren

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