How Do You Make Homemade Laundry Detergent?
I love making my own detergent! It’s easy–only 3 ingredients– and a real money-saver! I think it costs me about ten cents a load. I also believe it is better for the environment. I don’t like the liquid version — too gooey and messy. If you do laundry in cold water (also a money-saver!) then you can just mix your homemade detergent with a cup of hot water before you add it to the machine. This is a low-sudsing recipe– works great with front-loading machines. No need to buy the special (expensive) detergent the manufacturers recommend.
Here’s the recipe I use:
1 bar of Fels Naptha soap (old-fashioned laundry soap), grated with a cheese grater
1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
I simply mix the three ingredients together and store it in a plastic container with a tight-fitting lid. Old margarine containers work great! I keep a measuring tablespoon in the container with the detergent.
Fels Naptha is a laundry soap; you should wear a mask while grating it. It is also great for pretreating stains on clothes. I just wet the fabric and rub a bar of Fels Naptha on the stain. Wait for about a minute and then add it to your washing machine. Don’t use baking soda; use washing soda. It’s found on the detergent aisle in most grocery stores.
Making homemade laundry detergent is easy and environmentally friendly. Just follow these few simple steps. Step 1 Use the knife to shave the soap into small pieces. Then place 5 cups of water into the pot and heat the water on the stove. Step 2 Place soap into pot and begin stirring until the soap melts. If the water begins to boil, turn the stove off to prevent it from bubbling over. Step 3 Place 3 gallons of hot water into the 5-gallon container once the soap has melted. Step 4 Pour the melted soap mixture into the container of hot water. Stir. Step 5 Add 1/2 cup of washing soda. Stir until the soda dissolves, and then add 1 cup of Borax. Stir until dissolved. Step 6 Add fragrance, if necessary. Add a few drops of essential oils from your favorite scent. Step 7 Cover the container and set it aside. Let it sit overnight so it can cool and gel. The detergent will not gel uniformly; it may appear watery and clumpy.
If you are concerned about what chemicals are hiding in commercial laundry detergents, you can make your own. Four simple ingredients are all it takes. And depending on your previous detergent, you can save about 30 cents per load of laundry.Difficulty: EasyTime Required: 15 minutesHere’s How: • Using a regular cheese grater, grate a bar of pure soap – Ivory, Kirk’s Castile or Fels Naptha soaps. One 5.5 ounce bar will make about one cup of flakes. • In a large, resealable container, combine 1 cup soap flakes, 1 cup baking soda, 1 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate, and 1/2 cup borax. Washing soda is caustic to the skin and you should wear rubber gloves. • Mix ingredients well. Keep dry. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load of laundry.Tips: • Washing Soda is manufactured by Arm & Hammer – Church and Dwight.
