Homemade laundry detergent
Today Matthew and I made our first batch of homemade laundry soap. We found a blog that uses a recipe from a book (not sure which book) and decided it was easy enough and we would give it a shot. It takes a fels-naptha bar, borax, and, super washing soda. Oh and water of course. You will also need a 5 gallon bucket with lid to mix in. And if you don't want to use pans or grater after having the fels-naptha in it then an extra pan and grater. We also grabbed a 5 gallon stir stick from Walmart.
First step is to grate the entire fels-naptha bar into the pan (or bowl then transfer to pan). It will look like cheese. Them fill the pan with just enough water to cover the soap. Heat while stirring until completely dissolved. While that is going measure one cup of super washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax into the clean bucket. After the the soap is dissolved pour into bucket and stir until soda and borax are dissolved. Now add hot tap water until the bucket is full and mixx together well, add lid and let sit over night.
Next morning simply pour into old detergent bottle or a container with spout. Only fill half full and then add water the rest of the way and you have your homemade laundry detergent! The blogger did say that it will be a thin gel compared to what we are used to from the store but they have been using it for almost a year and say it works great on stains and smells fresh due to the citrus from the fels-naptha bar. The book says that as a large family it lasts them 3 months and the blogger said almost a year for a family of 3. We will let you know how it works for us. The sources also say to use a cup a load and we are going to experiment with just a normal measure from the cap on the detergent bottle.
Now the best part... The cost!
~5 gallon bucket @Walmart $4.14
~Borax box @Walmart $3.38
~Super washing soda @walmart $3.24
~Fels-naptha bar @walmart $0.97
~5 gallon stir stick @walmart $0.28
So the initial cost is $12 plus tax and the next batch you make will only cost you $0.97 for the fels-naptha bar!! Just FYI in our local Walmart the three laundry ingredients were right next to each other close to the fabric softeners and oxiclean type stuff. The bucket and stir stick were in the paint department. As with everything else so far we will keep you posted on the results. Enjoy!!
xoxo
Quick side note: the toothpaste is still a favorite and we are still on the first batch. We are low but for both of us using it I believe it has gone pretty far! :)
First step is to grate the entire fels-naptha bar into the pan (or bowl then transfer to pan). It will look like cheese. Them fill the pan with just enough water to cover the soap. Heat while stirring until completely dissolved. While that is going measure one cup of super washing soda and 1/2 cup of borax into the clean bucket. After the the soap is dissolved pour into bucket and stir until soda and borax are dissolved. Now add hot tap water until the bucket is full and mixx together well, add lid and let sit over night.
Next morning simply pour into old detergent bottle or a container with spout. Only fill half full and then add water the rest of the way and you have your homemade laundry detergent! The blogger did say that it will be a thin gel compared to what we are used to from the store but they have been using it for almost a year and say it works great on stains and smells fresh due to the citrus from the fels-naptha bar. The book says that as a large family it lasts them 3 months and the blogger said almost a year for a family of 3. We will let you know how it works for us. The sources also say to use a cup a load and we are going to experiment with just a normal measure from the cap on the detergent bottle.
Now the best part... The cost!
~5 gallon bucket @Walmart $4.14
~Borax box @Walmart $3.38
~Super washing soda @walmart $3.24
~Fels-naptha bar @walmart $0.97
~5 gallon stir stick @walmart $0.28
So the initial cost is $12 plus tax and the next batch you make will only cost you $0.97 for the fels-naptha bar!! Just FYI in our local Walmart the three laundry ingredients were right next to each other close to the fabric softeners and oxiclean type stuff. The bucket and stir stick were in the paint department. As with everything else so far we will keep you posted on the results. Enjoy!!
xoxo
Quick side note: the toothpaste is still a favorite and we are still on the first batch. We are low but for both of us using it I believe it has gone pretty far! :)
Here's a couple side notes. Laura uses the same recipe for laundry soap, but leaves it dry, she's gonna give me some to try, I haven't yet. She also said that baking soda is abrasive, so I guess long term use could wear your enamel, howver that's all the old timers used to use so IDK. Glad you've found some things that work for you though.
ReplyDeleteIt is abrasive but that is why you use small amounts and only brush once a day. Some people were using it in between to make the store bought go farther. It's like everything else... Use in moderation. I didn't know there was a dry version. I did find a mix from a local farmers market that was dry but I wanted to make my own so did this one. Let me know how the dry works for you.
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