anyone else make their own laundry detergent?

[worm761]

i have been reading alot of threads lately about the rising cost of laundry detergent or the sizes changing but still charging the same amount. my son has psorriasis so he needs the hypo-allergenic type of soap. i, too, have sensitive skin so can only use certain types of soaps. i found a recipe earlier this year for making your own laundry soap. it didn't cost much so i thought hey why not give it a try? i think it cleans really well. i haven't had a stain set since i started using it. i bought all the stuff to make it in march, maybe februaury. spent like 12 bucks. and i am still using the same ingredients! haven't had to buy anything else for it yet. there are some down falls. i make the powder version because i don't want to spend the amount of time involved in making liquid soap. i just quit a job where i was gone from the house about 70 hours a week, so i just didn't have the time. also there is no scent. i know i can buy something to put scent into the load but just haven't. i have a new recipe for fabric softner (liquid) and i know i can just add a few drops of essential oils to that for scent. so that is what i am plannig to do. just out of curiosity, does anyone else do this? or anything similar?

 

[mommytobug]

I would love to know the recipe. We have skin issues and we choose no scent, so sounds like yours would be perfect for us.

 

[mistymouse5001]

I have never heard of this! I would like the recipe for making this. I know vinegar is a natural softener.
Please share!

 

[magiclj]

I have never heard of this! I would like the recipe for making this. I know vinegar is a natural softener.
Please share!

Here is a web site that has several recipes. I have not tried it yet, but plan on it when my current stash gets low.


http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

 

[loveabargin]

I have been doing it for several months and I really like the smell on mine, it's a clean smell. I use Ivory soap, so that's what it smells like. When I dry the clothes I use a dryer sheet in every load, so that enhances the clean fresh smell.

Here's a link to the recipe:
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

A few words to the wise: I've made this recipe 4 times and it works great, HOWEVER, it DOES NOT "suds" up, nor does it "gel" as the recipes says it will in 24 hrs. I use the Ivory soap b/c I couldn't find the other locally (I didn't check online though).

I use vinegar as my fabric softner in a Downy ball, works great, no vinegar smell at all!

I also just found a recipe for diswasher detergent online...works great!

 

[worm761]

the recipe i use for laundry soap is very easy to double or what not.

laundry soap:
1 cup borax
1 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate)*
1/2 cup laundry booster (like oxyclean)

put in airtight container and shake well. use 1 tablespoon per load.

fabric softner:
2 cups white vinigar
2 cups baking soda
4 cups water
5-6 drops of essential oil for scent

combine ingredients slowly and carefully over a sink. the baking soda WILL fizz. pour into bottle and shake. i cannot tell you how much of this to use because i just eyeball it. i have a squeeze bottle and use that. but i think it will work in a downy ball. been thinking of buying one of those.

sodium carbonate is NOT baking soda. it is sometimes called washing soda but can be very hard to find in the store by that name. if you go to the pool chemical section of your store you want a pH balancer. look at the ingredients, one of them is 100% sodium carbonate. i forget the name because i put it in a different container when i get it home. this was the single most expensive part of making my own soap. good luck!

mommytobug: neither one of us has had a reaction to this soap. i break out in hives/rashes and small sores if i use the wrong soap so i was very scared to try this. but i love it!

loveabargain: what is your recipe for dish detergent? i tried one i had (50/50 mix borax and washing soda) and it didn't seem to get the grease off of anything. so i gave up and went back to buying it.

 

[Mouseless2Long]

I use vinegar as my fabric softner in a Downy ball, works great, no vinegar smell at all!

Will the vinegar take care of static too?

 

[loveabargin]

Will the vinegar take care of static too?

yep. no static at all...

 

[fkj2]

Does anyone have a cost comparison for make your own? I'm curious. How much does this save? How does it work with really TOUGH stains.

 

[stacielee]

i have been reading alot of threads lately about the rising cost of laundry detergent or the sizes changing but still charging the same amount. my son has psorriasis so he needs the hypo-allergenic type of soap. i, too, have sensitive skin so can only use certain types of soaps. i found a recipe earlier this year for making your own laundry soap. it didn't cost much so i thought hey why not give it a try? i think it cleans really well. i haven't had a stain set since i started using it. i bought all the stuff to make it in march, maybe februaury. spent like 12 bucks. and i am still using the same ingredients! haven't had to buy anything else for it yet. there are some down falls. i make the powder version because i don't want to spend the amount of time involved in making liquid soap. i just quit a job where i was gone from the house about 70 hours a week, so i just didn't have the time. also there is no scent. i know i can buy something to put scent into the load but just haven't. i have a new recipe for fabric softner (liquid) and i know i can just add a few drops of essential oils to that for scent. so that is what i am plannig to do. just out of curiosity, does anyone else do this? or anything similar?

I make my own laundry detergent, fabric softener, and dishwasher detergent; here are the recipes I use:

Fabric Softener
6 cups of water
3 cups of vinegar
2 cups of hair conditioner

Mix and store. Use the same amount you would normally use.

Laundry Detergent
1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

For light load, use 1 tablespoon.
For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons.

Dishwasher Detergent
Mix together equal amounts washing soda and borax; put 2 tablespoons in dishwasher dispenser. You can also use 1 tablespoon vinegar in the dispenser that would normally be for Jet Dry.

 

[kc10family]

I love this idea! How Fabulous!
I will be trying this!

 

[bumbershoot]

When my son was in diapers, we used cloth. When I couldn't find a store detergent that didn't make me sneeze, didn't make the fabric wick or actually cleaned the dipes, I ran across:

small handful of washing soda (Arm and Hammer does make it just like baking soda, it's in a much bigger box with a slightly different color than their b.soda box, and I always found it near the laundry detergents)

+

about 10 sprays of Simple Green

Done.

Worked beautifully. Absolutely NO smell, no stains, just clean diapers. And then I used it on some clothing, and it worked great there, too.

 

[eatatmidnight]

Are any of these safe for high efficiency washers?

 

[worm761]

stacielee~ that is the recipe i first came across but can't use the fels naptha soap. that is where my skin sensitivity is. so i use laundry booster instead. and i had the same recipe for dish detergent and didn't feel it was getting all the grease off. do you have that problem? what do you think i did wrong?

 

[carol1231]

Wow, I never even thought of making my own laundry detergent! Is it really a lot less expensive, or do you do it because it helps your sensitive skin?

 

[addicted2dizney]

Wow! This is amazing! I am going to give it a try... I have been pushing myself to not buy as much stuff and cleaners are such a big $$$ item. The big gallon jug of vinegar has helped out soooo much with my household cleaning! The price of fabric softeners is killing me so I will give this one a try for sure! Has anyone put the vinegar in the fabric softener reserve in their machines or just used the Downy Ball?

 

[stacielee]

Are any of these safe for high efficiency washers?

Yes, I have an HE washing machine great. It actually makes much less suds which is what you want in an HE machine detergent.

stacielee~ that is the recipe i first came across but can't use the fels naptha soap. that is where my skin sensitivity is. so i use laundry booster instead. and i had the same recipe for dish detergent and didn't feel it was getting all the grease off. do you have that problem? what do you think i did wrong?

I've also read that you can use Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote, instead of the Fels Naptha. The only problem I've ever had with my dishwasher is that the water sometimes is not hot enough. So we turn on the kitchen faucet FIRST until the water is hot, then turn on the dishwasher (turn off the faucet). That gets the hot water running in the pipes. I also have a hot temperature button on my DW that I sometimes use if the dishes seem a little more dirty than usual.

Wow! This is amazing! I am going to give it a try... I have been pushing myself to not buy as much stuff and cleaners are such a big $$$ item. The big gallon jug of vinegar has helped out soooo much with my household cleaning! The price of fabric softeners is killing me so I will give this one a try for sure! Has anyone put the vinegar in the fabric softener reserve in their machines or just used the Downy Ball?

I have an HE washing machine so I just put the vinegar in the drawer dispenser; I use the recipe I posted on the clothes and just vinegar on towels and sheets, which I wash in HOT water.

 

[stacielee]

Laundry Detergent
1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

For light load, use 1 tablespoon.
For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons.

I forgot to say how to grate the soap. The Fels Naptha soap comes in bars, like regular soap. I first grate it in my food processor, then put the blade in and run it for a little while until it's very fine.

 

[worm761]

carol1231 - i started doing because it was cheaper. take the cost of one container of the laundry soap you use. and figure out how long it lasts for you. now i was buying at least on container of laundry soap a month. i spent $12 (about but $15 max) on the stuff to make this. that includes a container to keep it in. i didn't have anything on hand. that was back in late february early march. i have made a few batches. and still have more supplies left. probably won't have to buy any ingredients for at least another month or so. part of what used up some of my supplies was my sister being here for a month with her two kids. that doubled the amount of laundry done in my house. i also wash my uniforms separately from all other clothes. the smell from the restaurant tends to go into the other clothes. though i have noticed it doesn't do it with this soap. anyway i guess i am saying that i will have spent less than $30 for an entire years worth of laundry soap. so worth the expense to me.

hope i helped!

 

[DizneeMommy]

Interesting! May have to try this. . .my skin is getting more sensitive as I get older!