I've made the powdered forms of laundry soap and I like them except for the grating, powder flying while blenderizing and getting in my lungs, as well as having to wait for the powder to dissolve in the wash water. I've made the liquid and I like those except for the separating issues and the large quantity needed for storage.
My sister recently gave me a recipe for a no grate, no clump, really easy and quickly made and unbelievably cheap laundry detergent that I really love! It only requires only 2 Tbsp. Dawn, 1/3 cup washing soda, 1/4 cup borax and hot water for a gallon of laundry soap.
I have gone through a batch and it works. You still need to pretreat, but I have really been amazed by this DIY product. Men's greasy overalls may need some of your other heaviest duty detergent. But I am comfortable using this for 98% of my washes and the results are very good. If something is really filthy, I use baking soda and vinegar along with my detergent.
It probably is less than $.25 a gallon, but I am not going to do the math! ;)
Hope this blesses you as much as it has blessed me!
P.S. I have a top loader and I don't know if it works for front loaders. I would suggest you make a 1/2 batch and try it out.
Source: Beverly at The Make Your Own Zone Site, she has great recipes and tips: http://www.themakeyourownzone.com/2013/10/homemade-laundry-soap-made-dawn.html
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I can't say anything about your laundry detergent, but I would like to point out that if you are using baking soda and vinegar in the same wash cycle, you are wasting money. They cancel each other out, as they are a base & an acid, and when you mix them, you get carbon dioxide, salt, and water. Adding baking soda to the detergent mix you have will boost the cleaning power, but I suspect if you add vinegar, you will lower the cleaning power, as you have quite a few bases in the mix - washing soda, Dawn detergent.
Thank you, Louise, for taking the time to inform me about vinegar and baking soda. Usually, I add the vinegar to the rinse.
But I will think about not adding them together in the future!
Blessings! Carla
Sounds like a good idea; think I'll try it. How much detergent do you use per load?
There is an ingredient in commercial laundry detergents yours does NOT contain, and that is enzymatic cleansers. That is the ingredient that really removes organic issues like food, body oils and perspirations, blood, etc. I've gone the homemade route and store bought is better, and cheaper in the long run. If you want to save money you can always use less product than what's recommended on the bottle (most people use too much anyway).
As someone who has a washer/dryer located in a built in closet (adjacent to my kitchen), cooking odor can get into the front load washer & also through the fan of the dryer. Since odor is carried through tiny droplets of some type of vapor (ie moisture such as steam or grease), it is not something one wants in the laundry area. Also considering that odor contains actual particles, who want that accumulating inside a dryer?
Vinegar in addition to baking soda is one of the best known odor removal compounds that I have encountered. this is why it is recommended to use one after the other in your drains, garbage disposal and any other location where organic odor is found. There are several recipes available, one that is used to unclog a drain uses boiling water. Therefore, I am not sure why the last person recommended not using them together. Again the combo of baking soda followed by vinegar will fizz & bubble up through your drains which only means that it is working as it should be. Follow with a long rinse of running water and all odors should be gone.
I have tried some of the products you shared here. Quite good, washes very well, but I find the price to be more than high.
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