Homemade HE Laundry Soap

I am looking for a recipe for homemade soap for use in a HE front loader washer.

By freda from Kingman, AZ

Answers:

Homemade HE Laundry Soap

I use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile, or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing soda and borax can normally be found in the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost: approximately $2.

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap
Ingredients:

• 4 cups hot tap water
• 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup borax

Grate the bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Fill a five-gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda, and borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover, and let sit overnight to thicken. Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (It will gel.)

Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per two gallons; add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

Top-load machine: 5/8 cup per load (approximately 180 loads)
Front-load machine: 1/4 cup per load (approximately 640 loads)

Powdered Laundry Detergent
Ingredients:

• 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
• 1 cup washing soda
• 1/2 cup borax

Grate soap or break into pieces and process in a food processor until powdered. Mix all ingredients. For light load, use one tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons. Yields: three cups detergent (approximately 40 loads).

Inexpensive fabric softener recipes:

Recipe No. 1:
Add one cup white vinegar to rinse cycle.
Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.

Recipe No. 2:
1 container of name-brand fabric softener and 4 inexpensive sponges, cut in half. Pour a whole container of softener into a five-gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice (two parts water to one part softener). Add sponges to softener/water mixture.

When ready to use, wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet. (01/06/2011)

By Kevin

Homemade HE Laundry Soap

Just use 1 TBS Dawn dish soap or Ivory liquid. It is cheap and cleans great! (01/03/2011)

By bkvander