Apr. 9, 2007
Lisa's Homemade Laundry Detergent
Posted in Homemade Clean
This is a very simple recipe, with great results and I can adjust it as needed for my family. (I tend to add a dash or so more Borax and Washing Soda, as my husband comes home with grease on his clothes more often than not, and Borax and Washing Soda are great degreasers!). It is literally foolproof, because no matter how I’ve messed up the recipe, it’s always gotten our clothes clean.
Gather Your Supplies
Start with an old pot. I have an old one used specifically for making soaps/cleaners. I wrote "CLEANERS" on it with a sharpie and keep it up high on a shelf in the laundry room. No mistaking it , and accidentally cooking food in it!
Pour in 4Q water
Then put this on the burner, medium heat
½ Cup 20 Mule Team Borax
½ Cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
Stir….then add…
1/2 grated up bar of Fels Naptha
Heat on medium high at this point and stir (again with a spoon marked just for this) until it’s dissolved.
This will then need to cool down, so I pour it in a big bucket I use for soaps and such, then once cooled down a bit, ( an hour or so) I fill the remainder of my bucket (3 gallon) with HOT water, stir thoroughly. I then pour 1/3rd or so into an old 100 oz. laundry soap container. They are easy to use and I have 3 old ones that I keep around for whipping up a batch of our own homemade laundry soap & an old funnel to make the job even easier. Do the same with the other containers, and top off with hot water—leave an inch or so headspace.
Ye Ol’ Bucket and Old Jugs do the job and cost nothing!
That’s really about it. This recipe will generally ‘gel up’ and become quite thick, so that is why I like to put it into old laundry jugs, as they have tight fitting lids…and I can shake it up or add more hot water if needed. Old gallon milk jugs or an old bucket (with lid!) will work here too. You really can’t mess this soap up—it IS that easy.
At this point I occasionally will add a little rose water, or a favorite essential oil for a little light fragrance. (Otherwise there is not a whole lot of ‘smell’ to this which can be nice too.) I usually ‘eyeball’ my measurement into the wash, but approximately ½ cup works very well, and gives a nice clean to the clothes without the chemical residue that commercial brands leave behind. This amount will last us a month or more, give or take, as I don’t strictly measure for each load, and it ranges in price from ONE TO THREE cents per load!
Lisa, her husband Marc, and their 3 children live in Washington State on their little homestead...with Cooter the Dog, Beauty the kitten and lots of wild critters. They pray for more critters, and more children and love the quiet country life amongst God's creation! Check out their website, Homestead Originals, where they specialize in All natural Soy Wax Candles, books and gifts .
Comments
Apr. 9, 2007 - I'm on Homeschoolblogger
Posted by Nancysnook
Where in the world do I get Fels Naptha soap???? It sounds vaguely familiar.
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Apr. 9, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by OurLittleHomestead
You can get it in a variety of places, I find smaller type independent grocery stores still carry it or go here :
www.soapsgonebuy.com
ENJOY!! :)
Lisa
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Apr. 9, 2007 - I found ours at
Posted by HSBFrontPorch
Kroger - in the laundry aisle. They don't stock much at a time so I have to really LOOK for it.
~Nancy
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Apr. 30, 2007 - homemade laundry detergent
Posted by Anonymous
Is this safe for front loader machines that require HE detergent (low sudsing)? Also, I've heard that homemade detergent might make towels less absorbent, therefore I am concerned about using it on my baby's cloth diapers. What can you tell me about these two questions? I would really like to try making some but don't want to mess up my machine or diapers. Thanks!
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Apr. 30, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by OurLittleHomestead
It is VERY low sudsing :) I've never experienced 'less absorbancy' in my towels.....? Never heard of that either.....I supose I wasnt' looking for it either tho -- LOL :)
Lisa
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May. 1, 2007 - homemade laundry detergent
Posted by Anonymous
Where can I find the washing soda? The only thing I've seen in the store is regular baking soda, and I don't think that's the same thing. Can you help?
Thanks! - Karen
[mama2gems@gmail.com]
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May. 1, 2007 - Untitled Comment
Posted by OurLittleHomestead
I think the best place to look for the Fels Naptha, Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (nope--not the same as baking soda) and the 20 Mule Team Borax are smaller grocers or you can get from www.soapsgonebuy.com too....but a small grocer might even order it in for you ! :)
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May. 13, 2007 - Fels Naptha
Posted by Vanessa
I live in South Africa and this recipe looks great but I need to know if the brand is Fels and the product Naptha or if the product is called Fels Naptha? I hope you understand. I sure looks better than the complicated recipes I have encoutered before. Thanks
V
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Jun. 19, 2007 - Measuring problems with homemade soap
Posted by MomAtHome
OK, I finally tried this recipe today, and I'm having a problem. After ending up with 3 gallons of liquid as stated in the recipe (dissolving the soaps in 4Qs and adding water to equal 3 gallons), I'm about to pour into old soap containers and I can't quite figure it out. Three quarts equals 384 oz. of liquid. Splitting that into 3-100 oz containers makes 128 oz. each. That's more than the amount that can fit in each container. That itself is not the problem, because I can always use more containers. The problem is the recipe says to top off each of the three 100 oz. containers with water. Well, filling each with 1/3 of the liquid leaves "negative" space to fill with water, as it would already be overflowing. Can you help me figure this out?
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Aug. 25, 2007 - Love Your Laundry Recipe!
Posted by Anonymous
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I was looking for a recipe just like this one. It is easy to make and does a great job cleaning our clothes. Thanks again!
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