Home Made Laundry Soap

[xanphylus]

I haven't had any issues with the powder. All I use is 3 TBS of it and sometimes some vinegar. I use the recipe of 1 cup of each of the borax, fels and soda. Maybe it has to do with the water?

 

[JFrey4240]

Finally got all the ingredients to try this. Mixing it up later tonight...

 

[rszdtrvl]

I have been using my liquid detergent for a little over a month and am loving the $$ savings!

I have had no issues with clothes not getting clean.

I gave some to my mother, and she got irritated skin. But my sensitive skin DH and DS have no issues with the homemade laundry soap.

I still have a ton of it in the bucket.

I have probably saved about $15+ so far. I am always doing laundry!

 

[Hardy]

sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I am running low on detergent and am really looking at making my own. I am on a septic system, and we have very hard well water. I'm wondering if it is realistic that I could really use just a couple of tablespoons of detergent for our clothes (I usually do pretty large loads in cold water, with a standard top loading washer)? Or is the liquid a better choice, I was looking at the Duggar family liquid recipe and it mixes that recipe 1/2 and 1/2 with water....could I just use 1/2 the amount of soap and do it that way or does that cause some sort of washer problem?

I'd love to hear from those who have used this recipe and how it worked for them.
Here's the recipe copied:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda*
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

 

[cantwait101]

I follow that recipe just about to the T and have never had a problem with the septic. We have extremely hard water as well but put in a water filter due to the clothes getting very discolored. Try Emergency Essentials for the bucket and screw top lid (gamma seal lid) I use both and it works out amazingly well!

 

[williamson_ja]

I follow that recipe just about to the T and have never had a problem with the septic. We have extremely hard water as well but put in a water filter due to the clothes getting very discolored. Try Emergency Essentials for the bucket and screw top lid (gamma seal lid) I use both and it works out amazingly well!

This may sound like a weird question, but how/where did you put the water filter? We have extremely hard water also, but not well water. Is there somewhere we can put a filter in that would help? My dh and son's white shirts come out pretty dingy already. I would LOVE to use a cheaper detergent like this though!

 

[cantwait101]

We do have a well so the water filter is hooked up as the well water comes into the holding tank in the basement. I would recommend talking to a plummer and seeing if they have any ideas on what kind of water filter would work for your situation. Good luck!

 

[kerolina]

How much do you think you could save each year if you no longer had to buy laundry soap? Beyond the financial savings you could reap, there are some serious health benefits as well. Virtually all laundry soap on the market today is a petroleum-based detergent, the vast majority containing dyes and perfumes that can aggravate allergy problems. After all, when you lay your head down to sleep at night, you have your nose pressed up against pillows, pillowcases, and sheets all washed in these chemicals. If you think this can't cause problems, let me tell you about my son.

 

[williamson_ja]

I've been using this stuff for over a month and have been very pleased with it. I also have a daughter with allergies and this seems to give her no problems at all. Before, we were buying the allergen free sort of detergent from the store. Love it! Can't tell you how much money it saves us!!

 

[tonilea]

I made my own laundry soap for several months. Unfortunately, my whites (though clean) began to look dingy - even if I used bleach.