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
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
How do I keep my homemade laundry detergent from clumping? I melt the soap all the way down. It clumps and is not creamy at all.
Thanks.
By jennifer from Shelbyville, KY
I just use the powder instead of cooking it down. For the same reason. I didn't like the clumpiness.
Obviously, homemade doesn't have the additives in it that keeps it from thickening and in liquid form. The bar soap is a solid, and that's why it solidifies when the liquid is cooled. I don't stir mine at all after pouring it into the bucket. It forms a semi-solid mass that I can scoop out when I use it.
I stick a marble in each one of my jugs and gently shake it before each use. Works great!
I want to make liquid laundry soap with Fels Naptha, borax, Arm & Hammer baking soda, etc. I am not sure what the measure of each is and if there is something else that I missed.
By Sherry H.
Go to: www.onegoodthingbyjillee.com/
She has so many recipes for laundry, cleaning, stain removal, etc.
Good luck
The recipe I use is the Duggar's recipe. 1 bar grated Fels Naptha or Zote soap melted on the stove with 4 cups of water. Add 1/2 cup Borateem and 1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda) and stir until dissolved. Pour into a 5 gallon bucket. Then fill the bucket with hot water. Cover overnight. It should become sort of gel-like. Stir again to incorporate all of the particles.
I need a recipe for liquid laundry detergent.
By Frances
I happen to have found this receipe online recently. Haven't used it, but it was from a credited website (dont remember which) Hope it helps!
Ingredients:
2 gallons of hot water, 1 bar of soap (grated), 2 cups of baking soda.
Directions:
Melt soap in a pan with just enough boiling water to cover. Stir until completely melted. In a large pail or bucket, pour in 2 gallons of hot water. Add the melted soap. Add the baking soda and stir well. Use 1/2 cup per load or more for oversized or very soiled loads of laundry.
How do you make homemade liquid detergent?
By RL from MO
Someone posted this on TF awhile back. I saved it for a friend, and adapted it to her reduced lifting ability and means.
Homemade Laundry Soap
Ingredients, Half Batch
1 gallon water hot
½ bar soap grated
1 cup baking soda
Ingredients, Quarter Batch
½ gallon water hot
¼ bar soap grated
½ cup baking soda
Instructions
* Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted.
* In a large pail, pour hot water. Add melted soap, stir well.
* Then add the baking soda, stir well again.
* Use half cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load
Note: add ¼ to ½ cup hydrogen peroxide per load for extra whiteness.
Hope this helps. JustPlainJo
What is the difference of homemade lye soap and Fels Naptha for using it as laundry soap? Also, because I have hard water, would I need to add more borax and/or water softener additive than just the 1 Tbsp that I have seen some people use for homemade laundry soap?
You can go ahead and use homemade lye soap for your laundry. Usually double the amount of washing soda and borax is used in hard water. If you melt the soap and mix in the washing soda and borax to pre-make liquid laundry detergent (soap really), it would be runny rather than the semi-solid mass you'd get with the Fels Naptha.
Traditionally, laundry soap is just soap with borax added. You can add borax (and washing soda too if you prefer) to the recipe when you make the homemade lye soap initially, and save yourself some time and trouble. That way, you could just use the bar to rub on stains and stuff.
Making your own liquid laundry soap is not only economical, but you can control the ingredients used. However this DIY laundry product tends to separate. Shake or stir before use and you are good to go. This is a page about what to do when your homemade liquid laundry detergent separates.
This is a page about storing homemade liquid laundry soap. Homemade liquid laundry soap can be stored in a wide variety of containers from plastic milk jugs to lidded buckets.
Diluted dish soap is used by many people in place of laundry detergent. This is a page about how to make your own laundry soap with dish soap.
ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.
I use my leftover soap to make homemade laundry soap.
I am looking for recipes to make liquid laundry detergent that has a bleaching effect.
How do you make liquid detergent for cotton and wool fabrics?
