My Homemade Laundry Detergent

Hello All and Sundry;

A number of months ago, I tried my hand at making homemade laundry soap. I had been concerned about all the excess packaging, chemicals, artificial scents and needless expense of laundry detergent and wanted an alternative. So.... I looked about on the internets and found that there are STILL many people who make their own laundry soap. I was a bit skeptical at first, but since the cost to do so was miniscule, and it was remarkably easy I figured it couldn't hurt to try.

Needless to say, I was wonderfully pleased with the result! The experience itself was fantastic in that making the soap filled the house with a wonderful smell that is indescriblable (providing you use Naptha Soap). The cost per load is a fraction of what commercial soap costs, but the real test is the results! Our clothes come out just a clean and without all the chemically false smells of "summer rain, springtime fresh, or lavender vanilla's" all of which never really smell real.

So, here is the recipe and have a go at it, you will not be disappointed .

Home Made Laundry Soap

SOURCE: http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
CATEGORIES: Household Cleaning
MAKES: 64 loads

INGREDIENTS:

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, (available in most supermarkets in the laundry area.)
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

METHOD:

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

Optional: If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice. My favorite scent is orange essential oil.

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Hilary Homer on September 11, 2009 at 2:02pm

Martha would be so proud of you, Anthony!

I too am stunned at how expensive laundry detergent is, and the scents are truly offensive (if spring rain and mountain breezes really smelled like that, I'd move to another planet). I've been adding borax to my laundry as a detergent booster for a while now but can't wait to try this. Thanks for the recipe!

Permalink Reply by Anthony Fasolo on September 11, 2009 at 3:21pm

It's a pleasure! I have to make some more too and I've been waiting for a cold day when all the windows need to be shut, just so I can keep that wonderful smell inside as long as I can! Have fun!

Permalink Reply by Shawn on September 11, 2009 at 3:36pm

The only caution I would give, is that you will need a large bucket to hold your finished soap, and something you can use to scoop it out with. The soap has a slippery consistancy when your finished, and you will need to stir it before you use it. So I would recommend saving your old laundry container and refilling that, then give it a little shake before using.

Permalink Reply by Marian Boutet on September 12, 2009 at 2:03am

I just love stuff that is simple, cheap, and works. And thanks for the link to the family homestead.

Permalink Reply by Shawn on October 21, 2009 at 8:49pm

Oh that's a good thing too know! I did not know that. Thanks Sheri :)

Permalink Reply by Cheryl Bertou on October 21, 2009 at 11:37am

Thanks so much for posting this. I'm going to try it as soon as I can!

Permalink Reply by MacClurg Vivian on October 22, 2009 at 10:25am

Hi Anthony, I just stumbled across your homemade soap. Qustoin. the last gallon+6 cups water that you add, is that also hot or will tap water do?

Permalink Reply by Anthony Fasolo on October 22, 2009 at 1:37pm

Hi Vivian;

For the last batch of water at the end I just add cold water. It seems to help it set up quicker. Stir it up good then let it sit for a few hours. Every now and a again stir it up because it will set real good and you might find that you may need to add a bit more water if it seems to thick. Then after 2 hours or so it is set to go! Good luck with it!

Permalink Reply by Cheryl Bertou on January 22, 2010 at 1:00pm

I just wanted to say that I finally made the laundry soap and have been using it for a few weeks now and love it! It was so easy to make and cheap too. It's wonderful. Thank you so much for sharing this.

Permalink Reply by Anthony Fasolo on January 22, 2010 at 6:47pm

Hi Cheryl!

I'm so glad you like it! I have to make some more soon. I couldn't believe how ridiculously cheap it is to make this and it works great!

Happy Laundering.

Permalink Reply by Anthony Fasolo on February 6, 2010 at 6:11pm

Here's a quick update to this technique of making your own homemade laundry detergent. I had gone to make another batch last week and ran out of Fils Naptha soap. Usually I can find it at Tops, but they were sold out and so I came home and remembered that a recipe I saw said that you can use any soap.

Well, I've been in the habit of saving the last bits and pieces of showers soap in a mason jar over the past few years. I use Ivory Soap and so I substituted Ivory Soap for the Fils Naptha soap and it worked wonderfully! So, if your into recycling things, or trying to get the very last bit of use out of something (ie., soap slivers). You might want to try this.

I can't say how well it might work with other soaps, but considering Ivory does sell a laundry version of its soap and has for decades, I can't imagine it being all that different from what I've made myself using Ivory Soap slivers.

Peace,

Anthony
http://www.anthonyfasolo.com

Permalink Reply by Laura Suda on February 9, 2010 at 9:31am

I'm very interested in this "new" and improved way of doing laundry and I have all the ingredients ready to go. Just have a couple of questions: does this work with cold water washing? - I seem to have more and more laundry that needs to be washed in cold water. Also, do you need to add a booster? (I've been using Oxyclean). What about fabric softener? I have it added in the last rinse - do I still need to use it? It would be great to get rid of all the perfumed chemicals I've been using and to use up all those soap slivers that are waiting to be bundled for the shower!
Thanks for the great hints!