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Homemade laundry detergent recipe, altered I've been making the most of this hot, summer-like October weather by hanging out lots of laundry. Today I washed up a few big things for the new baby (like the bumper pad for the crib, which is annoying BUT keeps a newborn safe(r) from toddler fingers!) and tomorrow, if I'm energetic enough, I'm hoping to wash bedding. :) When it's not too hot or too cold outside, I love to fold the laundry into the basket as I take it down. It gives the children extra time to play outside, and keeps wrinkles to a very minimum. And it helps keep piles of unfolded laundry off our couch. ;) Anyway, I've been meaning to write about altering the homemade laundry soap recipe I use. First, Headmistress, zookeeper has a lot of notes about the laundry soap recipe here on her blog. Also thanks to her, I found this page (look at the very bottom!) which has an interesting bit about optical brighteners found in commercial laundry detergents. Now, about my recipe alteration. The laundry soap recipe calls for bar soap, borax, and washing soda. Bar soap (like the Ivory I was using) tends to leave a scum on the top of the water, and honestly, I'm not really sure how essential the bar soap is to getting clothes clean. So, I made the homemade laundry detergent without any bar soap -- just washing soda and borax. This resulted in a clear liquid. I made the recipe double-strength (1 cup washing soda, 1 cup borax, and 2 gallons of water) and I use 1/3 cup for each load of laundry. Now, keeping in mind that I have only been using this altered recipe for a couple months (not really long-term in my opinion!), here is my opinion: I think it works just as well as the recipe that includes the bar soap! :) Our laundry smells fresh and clean, and even though it seems practically impossible that a little washing soda and borax cleans clothing so well, it does! (Actually, I think the water and agitation of the washer does a lot of the cleaning!) For Joshua's (very dirty) work clothes, I had been using 1/2 cup of homemade laundry soap and 1/2 capful of commercial detergent. With this altered recipe, I'm using 1/3 cup of my homemade detergent and 1/4 capful of commercial laundry detergent, with good results. :) One note about this detergent: Washing soda is rather harsh, so never put it directly onto your laundry. (I know this from first-hand "how did this fabric get a hole in it while I washed it?!" experience.) Just to be on the safe side, I start running water in the washer, add my detergent, and then start adding the laundry. :) I think warm or hot water gets laundry the cleanest, but I try to find a frugal middle ground on water temperature. Diapers get cold water and one hot or warm rinse (sometimes with vinegar). Joshua's work clothes always get warm wash water. Our whites (underwear, socks, dishrags, etc.) get a hot wash. Most other loads get washed in cold water. Also, if you're like Crystal, who wants soap bubbles in the washer, then I suggest using about 1 tablespoon of commercial laundry detergent along with the homemade. It'll bubble nicely (and maybe even smell nice, if you buy a kind with scent!). :) I'm pretty used to our clothing not having any scent after laundering, but I do like how it smells after being in our dresser drawers! :) I make our laundry detergent too ... but I make it in powder form (I've always liked powder best). We use Fels Naptha in ours, as I didn't really care for Ivory. It's nice to know, though, that in a pinch -- if for some reason I can't get any Fels Naptha, making it without will still work too! Brandy Thanks for this! I just used my last bar of Ivory and wasn't looking forward to needing to buy more. Good to know I don't need it! I was everything except diapers in cold water. What does hot water do for whites? I never noticed much of a difference.  I guess I just feel like washing certain things (especially dish towels, wash cloths, dish cloths, etc.) in hot water helps get them extra clean! It also seems like our white loads contain the dirtiest items (like socks!). I don't have any scientific backup, the hot water just makes me feel better when it comes to whites! ;) Try putting a drier sheet in the drawer. May sound crazy to make your own soap, but honestly it works. And, if you watch Wal-mar.com and other "freebie" offer sites you can get enough for no cost! Otherwise a little pot pouri [difficult for guys, of course] or a drop or two of aftershave on a clean rag. I have a 13 year old boy--I know SMELLS!! lol...... Hi! I just found your site while looking for thoughts on hanging out laundry in winter. I have been hanging my laundry out all summer on my wonderful rotary dryer and I am wondering how long I can get away with it. I guess I will try it and see! Today is one of those "is it or isn't it going to rain" days so I hung out a load with fingers crossed -- I hate it when I decide not to hang my laundry and then it doesn't rain all day! I was going to say I ALWAYS fold my laundry as I take it off the line -- I figure I'm handling everything one piece at a time, why not just quickly fold it before putting it in the basket? That's one of the things I love about line drying, it actually gets things folded instead of having them hang around unfolded for days, which is what happens when I dry in the machine! There's not much point in hanging things up carefully so they don't get wrinkles, and then letting them sit in the basket for days. Anyway, I love all your reasons for line drying; we moved into a house with a beautiful backyard last winter and I really enjoy the time I spend out there with the children in the quiet, hanging out my clothes. It's very restful and satisfying! On the other hand I take my clothes off the line after the girls are in bed, so I put on my ipod and listen to music while I'm doing it. The woman lip syncing and dancing while she's taking down her laundry? That's me. Amy I make liquid laundry soap, using the same basic recipe. However, I've been using my own, homemade soap, grated. I used to use a real recipe, but now that I've got the knack, here's what I do: I have a big canning kettle that I fill with water. Into it goes 3 cups grated soap, 1 cup washing soda, and 1 cup borax. I heat it until it's all melted and combined. While it heats, I have two large buckets (one's 2.5 gal, the other I think is 5 gal) that I fill half way with water. After the soap mixture is melted, I dump it into the buckets. Voila! Liquid soap! (After it's cooled, I put the soap into old commercial soap bottles.) Frankly, I think it's kinda fun to make the soap. My fiance thinks I'm crazy, but that's okay ;) I used to use the liquid recipie for detergent and I thought it cleaned great. I had better results with grated ivory than fels naptha. My son used to ride motocross and he would get red clay dirt stains I.f youre not familiar with red clay we are from the south, eveeryone here knows how bad it stains. I quit using it because I saw a blog somewhere where someone said their white clothes became dingy from long term use. Do any of you know much about this? One theory about the not-so-bright whites is that the commercial detergents contain optical brighteners (see the bottom of this page for more info). In my experience, our whites become less-bright after repeated washings partly because of mineral build-up from the water we use. For the most part I don't worry about it -- I sometimes do things like adding vinegar to a hot rinse (to reduce soap or mineral build-up), or spreading my whites in the grass for some natural oxygen bleaching. :) Could vinegar be added directly to the detergent recipe as a softener rather than waiting till the rinse cycle? I don't sit around and watch the washer. So if it doesn't go in at the start, it doesn't go in. I don't know how effective vinegar is when added in the initial wash cycle. Vinegar helps rinse out the soap suds... and as a fabric softener, I'm not sure if it works if it's been completely rinsed out afterwards. When vinegar is added to the rinse water, it breaks down the remaining soap suds, and (obviously) doesn't completely rinse out of the clothes, since it's in the final rinse water. I usually have to set the timer if I want to remember to add something to my washer during the rinse cycle! The washer's in the basement and I'm horrible about remembering to listen for the rinse cycle to start. :) I use a Downy ball. They last forever so it's a one time purchase and they go in at the beginning of the wash cycle. I'm enjoying reading your blog having gotten here through a search for homemade scouring powder. I have been using just my own homemade soap to wash clothes. I rub a bar across a grater and then add some baking soda and add white vinegar to the fabric softener compartment and that's always worked out well. I tried once long ago to make my own liquid detergent and just started doing this method to save time. I might try this if I end up running out of soap (happens sometimes since I make all of my own!!) Kate I am wondering if vinegar can just be added to the fabric softener compartment in the washer? I always add vinegar to my laundry during the rinse cycle. At home I have an old twin tub so while it's on the spinner side I put about 1/2 cup vinegar in about 4 cups water and rinse all the clothes with it. I love the clean smell after. When I'm using a regular machine (like at my mother's) I put the vinegar in the rinse compartment and it does the same thing. I have terrible allergies to fabric softeners so this combined with my dryer balls helps keep my clothes soft and fluffy. Hope this information helps! Will the liquid laundry mixture clean with only borax and washing soap, leaving out bar soap?? It would be runny, but will it clean? Dabbo Post new comment |
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I make my own as well and it looks like we use the same recipe. I used Ivory at one time and I didnt like it made the clothes dingy looking to me. Then I tried octagon it was fine better than ivory. Then I found Zote soap and I love this you only use 1/3 bar and I really like the results. I will have to try your way as well to see what I like. But for those who want to use a soap zote works and so does octagon. The Fels Naphta I can't find here and the zote was a surprize find. Octagon I can find in several stores.
erika