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UPDATED: Making Homemade Laundry Soap |
9 Comments |
| By Matt Mayer in Conservation, Green Living, Green Sites, How To | September 14, 2007 | ||
Last night after cooking supper I decided to cook up a batch of laundry soap. A friend had sent me the recipe for homemade laundry soap a while back and I’ve been anxious to try it since. I followed the recipe shown here (if you check the comments there is even one for a dry laundry soap.)
First things first, I got some water boiling and started to carve up the bar of soap. We used 
Caress, which I don’t recommend, the smell was overpowering. And it reminded me of my grandmother too much. If you purchased a bar of eco friendly soap you’d be in even better shape. Or a local bar of soap would be good too.
After the soap has boiled and melted into the hot water you po
ur it into your large bucket and mix it up. Then stir in one cup of washing soda.
After that’s finished you can stir in your borax (if you are using it) and you let it rest and cool overnight. Then it’s ready to use. Click over to the link for more information about the specifics.
The author estimates that the cost of this soap is 3 cents a gallon. Now that’s a big savings! Give it a try today!
UPDATE: I wanted to add today, that we’ve been using this since it was made and it works fantastic. I have two little boys at home and this gets out the stains just fine. Our clothes are just as clean as they’ve ever been.
I also came across this article today about more natural cleaning supplies.
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Angela said,
I’ve been looking for a recipe for natural laundry detergent. I’m using the new Tide with Baking Soda, every trip to the store for detergent is an annoying one. This will certainly simplify things
Marie Suzanne said,
It seems in today’s world that everything we do has to do with a scent of some sort.
Do you ever think what we must all smell like to other people… you have a deodorant, shampoo, soap, laundry soap, dryer sheet, toothpaste perfume and hair gel… all those are scented in one way or an other and they do not always go together… So I love the idea of making my own laundry soap and picking out the scent or no scent that I would like to have for the end product! Also I have hard water so I can modify the recipe to adjust for it so I end up with cleaner clothes..Thumbs up for this web site and all the articles. Marie Suzanne fromhttp://dailyweeder@yahoo.com.com
LG Adam said,
I’m going to give this a go at the weekend if I get chance – I’ll let you know how it goes!
Matt Mayer said,
We’ve actually used it and can’t see any difference in our clothes being clean. Next time around I’m going to purchase a local bar of soap and use that. It’s raise the cost a little, but I think the scent will be better and it will be more earth friendly that way.
Good luck all!
Jenn @ Frugal Upstate said,
I use the recipe for powdered laundry soap-you just grind up and mix the soap, borax and washing soda-then use 1TBS per load. Way easier than the whole boiling thing-and it takes up a lot less room.
mememine69 said,
Are any of you panicking enviros old enough to remember phosphate in soap more than 20 years ago? It was banned before the IPCC was formed if that gives you a better perspective.
Back then the suds from phosphate in our rivers was commonplace and no I’m not suggesting it was good. It was banned, things are better so relax.
The real stupid part is that so-called “natural” and “organic” slug bait for the garden is. ………………Phospahate.
Allie’s Answers » Blog Archive » Tip of the Day - Take the Stink Out of Laundry said,
[...] Ecover, Eucalan, or Dr. Bronner’s products are a good way to go, or make your own laundry detergent. If you’re an April fresh scent junkie, don’t worry, you’ll adjust. After a [...]
Laundry Detergent said,
Ever tried soap nuts as a natural laundry detergent? If you boil the nuts down, you can get a highly concentrated natural cleaner.
Shelley Hall said,
Do you have to use the borax? Could washing soda and possible some hydrogen peroxide be used alone?