Homemade Laundry Soap

Homemade Laundry Soap

You can save a ton of $$ making your own laundry soap. It's quick, it's easy, it makes a bunch, and your clothes are naturally clean with no phosphates so you are also helping the environment. The initial investment is around $10 and by the time you've made your soap, it costs around $1 per 5 gallon bucket.

This is what is needed:

• Washing Soda - Arm & Hammer sells it in a box on the laundry isle. It's also called soda ash or sodium carbonate. If you cannot find Washing Soda, then go to the pool supply isle and get a product called PH+.If you want the Arm & Hammer brand, you can call: 1-800-524-1328 and give them UPC code: 33200-03020 and ask where you can buy it locally. If there is no local merchant that carries it, you can order it directly through the customer service representative.
  
• Borax (found on the laundry isle)
• Pure Soap. You can use Fels Naptha, Ivory Soap, Castille Soap, or Glycerin Soap.
  
• Essential oil (Optional) - the most common oil used is pure lavender for scent

The Recipe:
1 cup of washing soda (sodium carbonate)
1/2 cup of Borax
1 bar of grated soap (Fels Naptha, Castille, Glycerine etc.)
(optional) 12-15 drops of lavender

I reserve the supplies I use for soap making for just that and I do not use these supplies for cooking food.

Use a cheese grater to grate one bar of soap. Place the soap in a sauce pan with two cups of water until melted, stirring occasionally. Once the soap is completely melted, add the washing soda, and borax and stir until the powder is dissolved. Pour into a 3-5 gallon bucket and add warm water until it's full. The smaller bucket will be more concentrated and the larger bucket will be more diluted. Add 12-15 drops of essential oil for scent (optional).

Let sit for 24 hours and the solution will gel. It will be gloopy, it's supposed to be.

For a smaller bucket, use 1/3 cup per load. For larger bucket, use 1 cup per load.

This recipe is perfect for high efficiency washers as there is no sudsing agent added so note that your clothes will not sud with bubbles when washing. Suds are added for visual purposes in detergent and do not clean your clothes. They just give the illusion that they are cleaning your clothes. Suds are not needed.

I have found that this laundry soap does a great job removing grease, oil, and blood stains. If something is particularly grimy, use spray and wash pre-treatment before washing. (I have not needed to do so thus far)

To make this detergent pourable, use a pourable container and fill half with water and half with detergent and use 1/2 cup per load.

The pictures:












When using Fels Naptha, it comes out a gold color. Fels Naptha smells so good, no essential oil is needed for scent.



If you have children in your home, do not take your eyes off of this grated Fels Naptha. It smells wonderful and looks like cheese.... nuff said!