Monday, June 21, 2010

Homemade Laundry Soap

I have finally crossed over and started making my own laundry soap. So far I have no complaints. I have only used it a handful of times. It was SO easy to make and I am excited about the savings I will see in my pocket book by not having to purchase soap from the store.

Here is the recipe I used.

4 cups hot water
1 Fels Naptha Soap bar
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
5 gallon bucket with lid

1. Grate 1 bar of soap into saucepan with water. Stir over medium heat till all dissolved.2. Add Borax and Washing Soda to 5 gallon bucket and fill 1/2 way with water. Stir to dissolve.
3. Add hot soap mixture to bucket and fill up the bucket the rest of the way with hot water.
4. Place lid on top and allow to sit overnight to thicken.
5. Fill a laundry soap container or equivalent 1/2 full of soap mixture. Fill the rest with water. Shake well before each use.
6. Pour 1 1/2 lids full into top loading machines.

Makes 10 gallons

All the ingredients can be found at Hy-Vee. I also found them at my local Fareway.

6 comments:

  1. Hiya,

    Did you do a price comparison between purchased liquid soap and homemade? It sounds like it would be a lot cheaper. Just curious.

    Mom B.

    P.S. You keep coming up with these wonderfully intriguing ideas! I'm not sure I can keep up!!

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  2. No I haven't, but I will! The Fels Naptha soap is $.99 at both Hy-Vee and Fareway. The washing soda and borax aren't very much $3-$4 dollars each but you use such a small amount it lasts a really long time.

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  3. do you know if this is suitable for front loaders? Thanks for sharing!!

    Btw, it was great meeting you Saturday @ Julia's!!! I had a blast learning from you girls.. I felt like a sponge trying to soak up so much information :)

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  4. Do you have to use hot or cold water to wash in?

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  5. I wash everything in cold water except socks and towels.

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  6. This is suitable for front loaders since it does not produce suds. Just reduce the amount used to 1/3 cup.

    Also, you can make homemade washing soda as well. It is much cheaper than the Arm and Hammer variety. Simply purchase a box of baking soda(sodium bicarbonate) and sprinkle on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake on 350* for one hour. Remove from oven. You now have sodium carbonate(washing soda)!

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