Cleaning: Laundry Detergent Recipe

While  searching for the dishwasher soap, I stumbled across several recipes for laundry detergent. My husband and I were married under the condition that I would not switch his laundry soap so I was a bit reluctant to try the new laundry soap for our family. However, I never resist a challenge so I tried two recipes.  I tried the first recipe because it was the easiest to mix up.

1 Cup Grated Fels Naptha Soap
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax

For light load, use 1 tablespoon. For heavy or heavily soiled load, use 2 tablespoons

Although I couldn’t prove it, I felt that it didn’t clean my laundry as well as trusty Tide could. So, I gave up, for a while. The next recipe sounded like a lot of work but many individuals insisted that it worked well.

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated  (I use Ivory)
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

I tried this recipe and it works great! Total time to make the laundry soap was about 12 minutes with a three year old helping. Grating the bar of soap takes about 30 seconds. It looks like egg-drop soup while in the bucket but none-the-less, it still does the job. This recipe lasts about 2 months for me. I have found, however, that it does not remove stains well. I cannot use this recipe on cloth diapers or other heavily soiled items. This soap would work well for those who are sensitive to soaps or scents. There are several other laundry recipes to try if these don’t work on www.frugalhomemaker.com

Borax (@$2.50) and Washing Soda (@$1.50) can be found in the laundry soap isle at your local grocery or super store. After four months and several experiments, I have not yet run out of my original boxes of soap.  And at less than $1 per month, this is a great financial savings in my laundry room.

Other soaps to try instead of Fels Naptha:

Ivory, Colgate Octagon, Pure and Natural, Zest, Kirk's Castile Soap, Dr. Bonner's Castile Soap, Zote Soap or Lever 2000

If making your soap sounds too cumbersome, try a natural laundry cleaner such as Seventh Generation Laundry Detergent.  Also, consider switching your soap to one that is made for sensitive skin and/or does not have a scent or other added chemicals.