Need your BEST homemade laundry detergent recipe for COLD water!

[pjlla]

I've made my own detergent since the beginning of the year and I am struggling to find just the right recipe for me. There are SO MANY in Pinterest, but it is hard to know just which one to use.

I've made powdered with the borax, washing soda, and Fels Naptha. Super easy to make and seemed to clean well, but didn't dissolve well in the cold water and I found undissolved crystals on my clothes. Plus the Naptha seemed to sit on top of the mix in the jar, no matter how well I shook it up and it always felt like I wasn't using a balanced blend.

I made a paste style with those same ingredients (called Mom's Best Laundry Sauce on the blog where I found it). It was a GREAT space saver because it ended up being just two large mason jars of detergent instead of big jugs. It worked really well to clean, but again did NOT dissolve in the cold water. I was forced to stir it into a cup of hot water before dumping into the washer, every time. If I didn't dissolve it pretty thoroughly I would find it on clothes after the washer ended.

Most recently I made a more liquid style with those same three ingredients. It was still pretty thick and wouldn't readily dispense from the spout on my jug until I thinned it with more water. It cleaned well and dissolved much better than the previous two.

Time to make another batch today (I ran out yesterday), but as I searched Pinterest I also discovered two things....

#1. You do NOT need to use the Fels Naptha... apparently nearly ANY bar soup would work. REALLY??? This would be GREAT, since my DH is a frequent hotel visitor and is constantly bringing home hotel soaps! I have a large jar of unwrapped soaps decorating my bathroom and it would be delightful to have a use for some of them. But would they really work as well as the Naptha? That stuff is the bomb for cleaning stains!

#2. Apparently borax is not the healthiest ingredient. I did some reading and found that it can be somewhat toxic in large portions. Since my family is wearing clothes washed in this every day, it definitely made me stop and think. Has anyone else ever heard this about borax?

Anyhow, I am now on a search for the PERFECT, cheap, homemade laundry detergent recipe. It needs to wash well in cold well water (good water though... not too hard or too soft), clean my clothes well, not be a PITA to make or store, and obviously not be TOXIC.

I have a regular top load washer, but DD uses a front loader at school, so a recipe we could BOTH use would be great!

Anyone have a recipe to share???? TIA!......................P

 

[hsmamato2]

I believe Borax is pretty safe,and one of the cleanest things you can use,considering it's basically a straight mineral from the ground, it's toxic if you want to eat it by the spoonful but.... I think you can use any soap, and I am subbing here looking for the same thing,since I use cold water too...

 

[dward1961]

powdered with the borax, washing soda, and Fels Naptha.

I use this same recipe, however I first grate the Fels Naptha with a cheese grater and then grind it in a spice or coffee grinder. When it is in power form it mixes better with the borax and washing soda.

I have been doing this for about 2 years and I use cold water, no issues, everything is clean.

Hope this helps!

 

[pjlla]

FWIW, here is a link to a website that talks about the question of borax toxicity. It kind of put my mind to rest about the issue.

http://www.crunchybetty.com/getting-to-the-bottom-of-borax-is-it-safe-or-not

I believe Borax is pretty safe,and one of the cleanest things you can use,considering it's basically a straight mineral from the ground, it's toxic if you want to eat it by the spoonful but.... I think you can use any soap, and I am subbing here looking for the same thing,since I use cold water too...

That's what I have always believed/thought about borax but some stuff I had seen recently lead me to believe that I had cause to be concerned.

powdered with the borax, washing soda, and Fels Naptha.

I use this same recipe, however I first grate the Fels Naptha with a cheese grater and then grind it in a spice or coffee grinder. When it is in power form it mixes better with the borax and washing soda.

I have been doing this for about 2 years and I use cold water, no issues, everything is clean.

Hope this helps!

That is what I did as well, but I just wasn't getting it to all dissolve in the washer.... very disappointing, since this was BY FAR the easiest detergent to make! Maybe I'll give it another try? And I may make powdered for DD, since she doesn't need to wash in cold at college.

Thanks to you both for chiming in!!..............P

 

[stacielee]

powdered with the borax, washing soda, and Fels Naptha.

I use this same recipe, however I first grate the Fels Naptha with a cheese grater and then grind it in a spice or coffee grinder. When it is in power form it mixes better with the borax and washing soda.

I have been doing this for about 2 years and I use cold water, no issues, everything is clean.

Hope this helps!

I do the same, and only use cold water to wash. Although in Arizona the water is never really cold.

I first grate the bar with my food processor then put the chopping blade in and chop it up. Then I add the powders and let it all mix together for a while, until it's really fine. I've never had them separate after doing that.

 

[wiigirl]

Going to have to try that....

 

[Hisgirl]

I also have been using homemade laundry soap for years.
I use 1/2 bar of grated Fels Naptha, grated on a very small grate hole
1 cup baking soda
1 cup arm and hammer washing soda
1 cup borax
a few spoonfuls of downy scent crystals
a few scoops of oxy clean.

I use 3 Tablespoons per load and it dissolves fine in cold water.

 

[pjlla]

Ok... you've all convinced me to try the powdered version one more time! I'll throw it into the food processor with the regular blade after I shred the soap, which hopefully will help it dissolve better and stay mixed better! Off to make a batch.... and I'm gonna try using hotel soap, since I am out of Fels Naptha. I'll do a load tonight and let you know if it dissolved okay.

Thanks again for the help!.................P

 

[piglet50]

I also have been using homemade laundry soap for years.
I use 1/2 bar of grated Fels Naptha, grated on a very small grate hole
1 cup baking soda
1 cup arm and hammer washing soda
1 cup borax
a few spoonfuls of downy scent crystals
a few scoops of oxy clean.

I use 3 Tablespoons per load and it dissolves fine in cold water.

maybe a stupid question, but do you do anything special to clean the grater or food processor after working with the soaps, borax, and washing soda so it is okay to use with food later, or do you just wash them really well? or, do you have a separate older grater or processor just for this?

I want to make this in the dry form, and will use it in cold water, so I want to make sure it's ground up really well.

thanks for the original post and any answers to my questions.

 

[pixiewings71]

I do the powder recipe, I use 1 bar of Fels Neptha, grated finely with a cheese grater that is used at Olive Garden for Parmesan cheese. LOL Seriously, it works great. I don't have a food processor or I would use that. I mix the FN with 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of Borax, I use 1 Tablespoon per load and wash only in cold (and it gets cold here) and I've never had a problem with it not dissolving. I use a grater that is only for grating this soap but if I didn't have a separate one I would simply wash it in the dishwasher before using it for food.

 

[sarahk0204]

I like the liquid recipe that you cook. That works the best in cold water for me.

 

[auntmeme7577]

A word of caution on the hotel soap. I travel for work too and had a bunch of it, decided to replace the Fels with the hotel soap. It did not dissolve well, it left a film in my washer and my clothes.
Good Luck with it, I switched back to Fels.
I do use a homenade fabric softner made of vinegar, cream rinse and water. I've been making it for 6 years now and it works great and has saved me a ton on the commercal stuff.

 

[WDWorBUST]

I have used one I got from cheapskate monthly - I always have to refer back to it, but its water, borax, washing soda, and liquid dawn. I believe it was 3/4 cup of the powders dissolved in 1 just a bit less than a gallon of water and then add in the dawn. Seems to work pretty good-but I use it intermittently with regular detergents. I would google it to make sure I got the ratios right.

 

[pjlla]

Made a big batch of powdered detergent last night with borax, washing soda, and grated hotel soaps. Also added some baking soda, since part of this batch is for DD and she washes a lot of smelly workout clothes and pool towels. After grating the soap in my food processor I put all of the ingredients together in a bucket and then put it all in the processor with the blade. It made a nice fine well-mixed powder. I did two loads (one light, one dark) in cold water. They are both on the clothesline now. They felt fine and smelled fine. I will have to see how they look when they are dry to make a final assessment, but so far so good...no undissolved powder in the washer or on the clothes. Thanks for the input ........P

 

[ElenaRN]

Instead of grating the Fels Naptha, try putting it in the microwave. It gets all disorted but then you can crumble it down to a powder.

Way easier than grating.

 

[DawnM]

Wow!

What a great tip! I have never heard this before.

Now, OP, I have only made the liquid. The grated soap does not melt enough in cold water and you may end up with splotches of soap on your clothing with the grated.

Fels Naptha is the best because of the way it dissolves. It is made to clean clothing, not bodies.

The moisturizing agent in regular soap leaves a film on clothing.

Instead of grating the Fels Naptha, try putting it in the microwave. It gets all disorted but then you can crumble it down to a powder.

Way easier than grating.

 

[englishteacha]

I made detergent with a body soap once. It left oily spots on the clothes because it had moisturizers in it. I'd use Fels Naptha or Ivory if I were to do it again, or I noticed Big Lots had Zote, another bar soap for clothes. Big Lots usually has Sun detergent in giant jugs for $5-6 for 100+ loads, so I buy that now rather than making my own. I found it was getting impossible to find the ingredients for homemade laundry detergent locally, and I was wasting time and money trying to find them when I was out.

 

[figment52]

maybe a stupid question, but do you do anything special to clean the grater or food processor after working with the soaps, borax, and washing soda so it is okay to use with food later, or do you just wash them really well? or, do you have a separate older grater or processor just for this?

I want to make this in the dry form, and will use it in cold water, so I want to make sure it's ground up really well.

thanks for the original post and any answers to my questions.

I always figured that I wash it with soap and water after I use it with food so as long as I clean it well after I grate the soap it should be no different that washing with dish detergent.

Has anyone tried storing the homeade powder and just dissolve it in some warm water before adding it to the washer when needed? it does take a couple minutes but it still would take up less space for storage.

 

[pampam]

I make the liquid detergent, using borax, washing soda and bars of soap from WDW. I put it through my meat grinder, and it becomes a powder. I put these 3 ingredients (usually in equal amounts) together into a pail and seal it well. When I need to make a batch of soap, I mix some in warm water, and pour it into large liquid honey containers. By the time I go to use it, it has congealed into a glop that is not liquid, not a solid, but something like a sloppy gel. I find by doing this, it desolves easily in cold water. I pour 1 glug, from the glop into my washer, as it is filling with cold water. It desolves just fine. My clothes are cleaned quite well. I've been doing this for years, and have never had a complaint about my laundry.

 

[rszdtrvl]

I just use the Duggar's recipe for liquid soap. The Borax, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, Zote or Fels Naptha bar soap (grated).

For DS's cheer uniform and clothes, I use Tide Pods. It is very important that his uniform stay beautiful and clean!

The homemade laundry soap recipe works good for us.