I have seen this recipe all over the internet, some with slight variations, many just the same. One of the most common variations, is where the person adds some essential oil to give it a scent. But seriously, essential oils can be VERY pricey, and that kind of defeats the purpose of the economy factor in my book. I have been using this for a few years now, and am very happy with it.
To start, you will need a 5 gallon bucket (nothing fancy, recycled/reused is fine! Just start with a clean one.)
Then you will need....
1 cup Borax
1 cup Super Washing Soda
2/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha soap, or 2 bars of Ivory soap.
Grate the soap into an old pot.
Add about 8 cups or so of water, and put the pot on the stove.
Heat the pot with medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the soap dissolves.
Add in the Borax and Washing Soda
Continue to heat and stir until the additional ingredients are dissolved. DO NOT let this come to a boil!!! If it boils over, you will have a HUGE mess! Just be patient, and use the low/medium heat.
Pour mixture into the bucket, and gradually add enough water until the mixture comes to about 4 inches from the top of the bucket. Stir it up well, and then put a lid on it and leave it alone. After a day or so, you will have a thick jelly substance.
Use it just like you would any other detergent. I use 1/2 to 1 cup per load, depending on how dirty the wash is, but usually around 1/2 cup.
4 comments:
Do you have a front-loader washing machine? I would love to do this but have a front-loader and don't know if it's safe to use this soap in it.
I did this about 5 years ago. I purchased the washing soda and Fels Naptha from soapsgonebuy dot com. Thanks for the reminder. It felt great to make and use such an inexpensive laundry detergent that worked. The Fels Naptha also worked great as a pretreater alone (just wet the bar and rub it on the stain). I'll have to google to see if anyone uses this with an HE front loader washer as I have one of those now.
I made the laundry soap. It turned out good and smells so good! Can't wait to use some on washing day.
Email me and let me know if you moved closer to me in Mount Airy. I would love to meet you. I think our boys are the same age.
Char
I have a HE machine and this works fine. I have started pouring some into an old shampoo bottle, so I can easily shake and pour into the washing machine. (less mess for the kids)
I also use 1 bar ivory and 1 bar of zote and 1 cup vinegar in mine. I have also added a few drops of essential oils for fragrance, or this go round, I added 1 cup odo-ban. My son and hubby work in plants and come home with horrible smelling laundry and this is working.
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