Homemade Laundry Soap

Several folks have asked me about my homemade laundry soap so I thought I would post the recipe and my reasons behind making it. I cannot take credit for this recipe, evidently it has been around for years. When we moved from Guam we bought a new washer and dryer set. We thought we would be energy smart and buy an HE set that uses less water and less electricity thereby saving a little money each month. What I did not consider is that the washing machine uses a special HE detergent which in my opinion is astronomically priced. All the money we were saving in energy was more than being spent on detergent! Thus my search for an alternative. My online buddies hooked me up with this recipe and made claims that it worked like nothing they had ever tried before. I was skeptical but gave it a shot. After 2 months of using this stuff I cannot say enough great things about it. It's low sudsing, so it will not harm my HE machine. It gets stains out that Tide could not even touch. It smells very clean yet rinses so thoroughly out of the clothes that there is no aroma at all left in the laundry. I use dryer sheets in the dryer to get that freshly washed smell. Plus it is extremely economical which I will talk more about below. It takes about 30 minutes to make it and about half a day for it to set up. While I cook up my little brew I feel a bit like Broomhilda.


Besides the ingredients listed below you will also need:
*3 gallon or larger bucket
* a large pot that you do not care too much about
* a long wooden spoon
* a cheese grater is helpful
* 3 empty, clean gallon sized milk jugs or used liquid laundry soap bottles
* a funnel

20 Mule Team Borax sold in most supermarkets in the laundry section. I have heard that this product is useful for many other household chores.

Fels Naptha is an old fashioned bar of laundry soap which can be difficult to find. I have learned that MOST Kroger supermarkets carry this in the laundry section. It has a strong clean smell and an amazing stain lifting ability. If Fels cannot be found or the smell is too strong a bar of Ivory bath soap can be substituted.  There is also a laundry soap similar to Fels called Octagon. It has a much milder aroma but has all of the stain removing qualities.

NOT Baking Soda but made by Arm and Hammer. It is Super Washing Soda also sold at Kroger in the laundry section.

All three of these products put together should cost you no more than 5 dollars. Which is great because you only use a little bit of each product for a batch. 1 batch makes 2 1/2 gallons of detergent. I averaged it out and realized that I am spending less than a nickel on detergent for each load. Compare that with the average of 33 cents per load using Tide HE.With my family of 6 we have ALOT of laundry which adds up to big savings!

RECIPE

1/2 Bar Fels Naptha grated (use the cheese grater or chop it up small)
1 C of 20 Mule Team Borax
1 C of Super Washing Soda
6 C water
lavender scent (optional)
**** In a large sauce pot heat 6 cups of water over medium heat. In the water dissolve the Fels and stir till a little thickened. This will take about 15 minutes. At that point pour in both the Borax and the Soda and continue to stir over medium heat until the mixture is thickened a little more.
Put 1 gallon of warm water in your bucket then add your mixture from the pot into the bucket and stir. Slowly fill the bucket with more water up to the 2 and 1/2 gallon mark. Stir and let sit for about 12 hours. It is helpful to come along and give it a stir every now and then. It will thicken up to a soupy gel. To pour it into the gallon jugs you will need a good sized funnel. I do not fill each jug completely, I leave a little air at the top. When I go to do a load of laundry I give the jug a good shake to get the gel a bit more pourable.
Finally- I use about 1/2 to 2/3 C per load depending on how dirty the clothes are.

I hope you all enjoy this and give it a try. If you have any questions let me know. Also if you need me to send you a bar of Fels or Super Washing Soda I can do that too, just let me know.