***Update (8 Sept 2012) I'm ready to make laundry detergent again. Since we've just moved, I don't have any of my empty bottles to put the detergent in once I make it. I also don't have any Fels Naptha soap on hand. I do have Dr. Bronner's liquid soap. Here is the recipe I am using to make 1 gallon of laundry detergent to put into the empty detergent bottle I already have from the store.
1/4 c. washing soda
1/4 c. Borax
1/4 c. water softener
1 gallon of hot water.
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I made homemade laundry detergent most of last year and this is the recipe that I use. It is from the newspaper, The Nebo Reporter. I really liked it and it worked great!
1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha soap (you can also use a Dreft or Ivory laundry bar) 1/3 of the bar = 1 c. grated
1/2 c. washing soda (this is different than baking soda)
1/2 c. borax
1/2 c. water softener (use if you live in a place with hard water)
Grate the bar of soap into a sauce pan. Add 6 cups of water and heat until the soap melts. Add the washing soda, borax and water softener, stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups of hot water into a bucket. Next, add the soap mixture and stir. Then, add one gallon plus 6 c. of water to the bucket and stir. Continue to stir as the mixture cools.
To use: Shake or stir the detergent and then add 1/2 c. per load.
For a tutorial (but with a different recipe) you can look here.
- Follow the directions. The first time I made it, I didn't use hot water and stir. It was still usable, but it didn't set up.
- You can find the washing soda, borax and water softener in boxes on the laundry aisle of most grocery stores. But not usually at Wal-Mart.
- I guesstimated that for $30 in products and a little bit of my time, I could make a year supply of laundry detergent.
- When I make soap, I mix it all together and then pour it into 96 oz. used apple juice bottles. I label them very well! Then they can sit on my shelf and be used one at a time. The bottles are easy to pour out of versus trying to mix and then scoop out of a bucket.
- The soap will separate when left sitting for a while. But a quick shake mixes it all back together.
- I have tripled this recipe and it worked great. The only problem I found was trying to find a container large enough to mix it all in. (That is A LOT of water!) I finally used my 14 gallon kitchen garbage can. I took out the trash, washed out the inside really good and then used it to make detergent. It worked great!
- One batch I thought, "that is sure a lot of water that I am adding, I wonder if I can put in less water and make concentrate?" So that is what I did. I only put in half of the water called for. It didn't turn out very well. I like it better just following the recipe the right way.
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