Homemade detergent...

I use the powdered recipe using my own homemade lye soap. I use 1 scoop of oxy wash and 2 (oxy wash)scoops of powdered soap in my front loader washer. I've got hard water also. I use vinegar in the fab softener thingy and bleach with my whites.

I grate the soap then put all in the blender so it's pretty fine.

The only place we could find Fels Naptha was an hour from here at Schnuck's. My brother lives near Evansville, IN where it was at and he picked it up for me and brought it the next time they came to visit. I haven't been able to figure out how much to use to keep it from spotting the clothes, though. Any ideas?

I use the same recipe that Cheryl posted (post number 10 in this topic).
Dawn

Laurie;

Sorry! Laurie - do the clothes smell of vinegar at all when they are done?

niki

Great thread! I am going to make my own laundry soap this weekend - if I can find all the "ingredients".

What about fabric softener? Does anyone have a recipe? I prefer using the kind you add to the rinse cycle rather than dryer sheets, but a recipe for either would be great!

TIA

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"I won't have washing soda in the house because it is toxic and I have small children. "

Just in case anyone was wondering....here are the warning labels of both the washing soda and the borax that I copied off my boxes:

Borax: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN Contains sodium tetraborate decahydrate. Avoid contact with eyes. Do not take internally.

Washing soda: KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN Contains sodium carbonate. Avoid contact with eyes.If contact is made, flush with water for 15 minutes. If swallowed, give milk or water. Contact a physician.


IMO- which isn't too knowledgeable...seems to be that they are pretty equally harmful...but really can't imagine a child eating either one of them on purpose anyways.....but there is always ONE who has to do what no one else would, right?

Nevermind about the fabric softener recipe. I did a google search and everything I read suggested putting some vinegar in the rinse cycle, so I am going to try that. I have a feeling that won't do anything for static cling, but can't hurt to try

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I bought a bar of Lirio soap at a dollar store that sells lots of mexican items. It is a large bar the size of Fels Naptha but only $1 per bar. After using Lirio for one batch of soap I liked it so well that when we went back to that store I bought a dozen bars of the soap. I found washing soda at WalMart last year and bought all they had. When we came home I poured it all into a five gallon bucket. We don't have little ones around so I wasn't concerned about storing it. I use vinegar in the rinse instead of fabric softener.

How much do you use of this mixture for an average size load?

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# Washing Soda - or SAL Soda is sodium carbonate decahydrate, a mineral. Washing soda cuts grease, removes stains, softens water, cleans wall, tiles, sinks and tubs. Use care, as washing soda can irritate mucous membranes. Do not use on aluminum.

Yeah Wahing soda is considered non-toxic

I would also like to add that if your goung the non-toxic route avoid
fels naptha

NGREDIENTS: Cleaners, soil and stain removers, chelating
agents, colorants, perfume.
CAUTION: EYE AND SKIN IRRITANT. Avoid contact with
eyes and prolonged contact with skin. FIRST AID: Eyes:
Flush thoroughly with water. If irritation persists, call a
physician. Skin: Rinse thoroughly.

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Ehh, whatever.

Has anyone tried making a more concentrated version of this recipe???...that takes up only say 2 gallons instead of the 5? I was wondering if I could divide up all the ingredients except the water into 2 jugs and then add the water and use way less per load??? But I don't know how much to use per load to start with...??? I really want to try this but I don't really have room for 5 gallon jugs....anone have any insight? Thanks!

Made detergent for the first time last week and used the 1/2 c borax & 1/2 c washing soda recipe. Put it in milk jugs... Big mistake. It sets up kinda like Jello, and is the devil to "pour" out of the jug. Next time, I'll make it in a bucket w/a lid...

-Joy

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-Joy

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The reason a lot of people do not recognize opportunity is because it usually goes around wearing overalls looking like hard work. --Thomas A. Edison

Have you tried making the powdered version? 1 cup Fels Naptha, 1/2 cup Washing Soad and 1/2 cup of borax. You only use 2 tablespoons instead of the 1/2-1 cup of the liquid stuff. Store in an airtight container and you are off and running. The powder dissolves almost instantly and it doesn't take a great deal of time to grate the soap. I use an old cheese grater.

I made this today! I had bought a bar of Fels Naptha years ago to make this detergent recipe with, but never got 'round tuit; the bar disappeared at some point and I couldn't find it in our local grocery. However, DD sent me to the store last night for Ivory - she needed it for school to make a soap carving! And it only came in a 3-pack, priced on sale for $1! Hm...

I used the recipe from soapsgonebuy.com, but since I know Fels-Naptha is a large size bar I used the whole bar of Ivory. It has since set up into 2 gallons of thick gel in a cat litter bucket. I did one load of laundry today before it set up, and that seems to have cleaned my clothes perfectly well, but I don't know how easy it'll mix in after it's set up.

I told my hubby about it last night and he kind of did the eye-roll, "okayyyyy...." thing, not getting it. He didn't understand how it could be cheaper, considering all the ingredients that go into it. But you can make LOTS of the stuff with those ingredients. I priced it out as follows:

Ivory Soap: 35 cents...................... 35 cents
Washing Soda: 55 oz. / 2.29................. 1 cup / 32 cents
Borax: 76 oz. / 3.39..................1/2 cup / 18 cents

TOTAL: 2 gallons --- 85 cents!!!!

That is less than 1.5 cents per load!

If this stuff works as good as everyone claims - and my first load seems to indicate that it will - I am never buying laundry detergent again. Heck, I'll even make a bucketful for my mom. People would have to be CRAZY to buy laundry detergent.

Now, I wonder...what if you used different soaps? Really nice smelling soaps? Hand-milled soaps? I imagine there's some kind of chemical reaction involved to make it set up like it does, but if any soap will work, you could really go crazy customizing your laundry experience.

In fact, you could make homemade, custom-scented laundry detergent as a Christmas gift. How 'bout that?

Anyway, I do have a piece of advice. Kind of a "duh" moment -- you might want to use an old pot to cook the soap in. I used my regular pot, and though I washed it reallllly well after, I boiled pasta in it later this afternoon and my pasta salad had a soapy aftertaste. Oops!

Question: Do you use hot water with this? Does it matter? I almost always wash in cold water, 'cause, well, I'm cheap. But if this homemade laundry detergent only really works well with hot/warm water, it'd still be worth it to pay to heat the wash water vs. storebought detergent in cold water, wouldn't it? I mean, the savings are DRASTIC.

Regarding the softener -- I prefer to use dryer sheets than add to the wash water unless I'm hanging the clothes on the line. But 1/2 or even 1/3 of the standard size dryer sheets work just fine, so I just snip them up in pieces! For adding softener to the wash water, I've used vinegar in a Downy ball for years. Works fine. And no, the laundry doesn't smell like a salad.

One more thing-- would this stuff make a good all-around cleaner too? Say, to scrub a bathtub/shower stall? I saw somewhere that washing soda cuts hard water scale. My glass shower stall is looking pretty grungy; I thought I'd have to scrub it with vinegar - I know vinegar works, but not *that* great, still needs repeat applications and a lot of elbow grease. I'll try it tomorrow.

Sorry to hear about the soapy pasta but congrats on making your first batch! I have wondered about the same thing as you about adding soaps that are fragranced. I have been toying with the idea of trying Irish Spring in place of the bar soap. However, I plan on making the powdered version instead of the liquid as it will be easier for me to store without having to purchase containers.

Thanks for the reaffirmation that adding vinegar to the rinse cycle won't make it smell like a salad!! One (me) tends to be concerned about these things

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I made my own detergent for the first time again since moving and building.
I have a front load machine and was actually surprised there weren't
more suds (use use the dry version which we like). Is it still cleaning if
we can't see the suds?

Also, i used to put vinegar in my old washer for the rinse with my new machine do i put it where it says softner (for the rinse cycle). Also will
vinegar do any harm to the rubber seals and stainless inside of the washer?
I used to use 1/4 cup per load. We do approximately 8 loads a week (i have boys) - will that much vinegar a week/month/year harm my septic system? Never had one of those before.

Has anyone tried other scented soaps with the powdered version? I do the method with soap, borax, washing soda.

I don't think it's supposed to make lots of suds. Mine doesn't either, I use the powdered in a front loader and it cleans just fine. I use a scoop of Oxy clean with mine as well and warm water. I have hard water.

I do put the vinegar in the softener place, up to the line. I never thought about the rubber seals or the septic, but I've not had a problem and been doing this for two years.

I use my homemade lye soap in place of the fels naptha AND I use cold water...no problems so far!