Homemade Laundry Detergent

I have read different articles on how to make laundry detergent, and tried our own recipe last week. I used Fels Napa bar soap, grated it up, put it on the burner with water covering it until it melted. I then added a box of baking soda which I had diluted using a quart of hot water. I put them together and added two gallons of water and let them boil together for awhile.

We cooled it down and put it in 2 one gallon bottles. It looks like it separates, but we shake well before using and add one cup to each load of laundry we are doing. I was amazed at how bright and clean our laundry has become.

After reading others instructions about having to use borax or laundry soda, I am questioning why. This has worked really great for us and hopefully by going "green" we can save money.

By Denise from IL

Answers:

Homemade Laundry Detergent

Quite frankly, adding borax and/or washing soda are just different recipes. You can only use grated soap, or can add table salt. The amount you use depends on your washer capacity, the hardness of your water, how diluted you make the recipe, and how dirty your laundry is.

Personally, I prefer the recipe with borax and washing soda since I can only use 1/4 cup per load, making it cheaper for me to make. I also use regular bar soap slivers left over from our shower bars or small motel bars. I've even used homemade soaps. I remember decades ago, my grandfather making homemade soap from used fats and cooking oils, then grating it for laundry soap. This isn't a recipe set in stone. You can make it with whatever you have or can find. It still works amazingly well. (02/20/2010)

By susan

Homemade Laundry Detergent

We use the Duggar family recipe 1 fels-naptha bar grated and put in saucepan with hot water (about 4 cups) stir slowly (to avoid bubbling) until soap melts. Fill a 5 gallon bucket 1/2 way with hot water, add melted soap mixture, 1 cup washing soda (not baking soda, though washing soda is made by Arm and Hammer too and is the brand I use), and 1/2 cup borax. Stir until dissolved, then fill the bucket to the top and stir again. Cover and let sit over night. We have empty laundry detergent bottles we fill with 1/2 water and 1/2 soap mixture.

We used to mash the soap gel in a bowl 1st with a masher or use a hand mixer. Now we dilute it by taking half the bucket of concentrate and putting into a 2nd bucket and filling each half bucket with half water and using a mixer then we have 10 gallons. It works great! You can add 20-40 drops of essential oils once cooled for fragrance, but we think it smells great without it! The whole 10 gallons cost less than 2 bucks. (02/20/2010)

By amy