Homemade Laundry Recipes

Posted on Tuesday 10 October 2006 at 9:27 AM - Post Comment

Today I'm posting my laundry recipes.  I use the popular Fels Naptha recipe for my laundry soap.  Sometimes these items can be hard to find but you can usually find them all in the same aisle as all the other laundry products.  Be sure when you are getting the washing soda that it says "WASHING soda".  It's made by Arm & Hammer but it is not BAKING soda. 


Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax powder
2 gallon bucket or larger

Mix grated Fels Naptha soap with 3 pints of water and heat until dissolved. Stir in 1/2 cup washing soda and 1/2 cup Borax. Mix and heat until all ingredients are dissolved and thickened and remove from heat. Add 1 quart of hot water to a 2-3 gallon bucket. Add the soap mixture and mix well. Add 5 1/2 quarts cold water (or enough to make 2 gallons total mixture). Mix until well blended. Set aside for 24 hours to gel. Mix before each use. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.


Fabric Softener

I usually just add a 1/2 cup of vinegar to the laundry once it hits the rinse cycle.  But I found this recipe for fabric softener and it works nicely.

2 Cups White Vinegar
2 Cups Baking Soda
4 Cups Water

Combine slowly and carefully over sink. The baking soda and vinegar will fizz. Pour into plastic bottle, cover, and shake.  Use 1/4 cup in the final rinse or in a "Downy Ball".


Stain Remover

For stains, the quicker you get 'em...the better chance you have to remove them.  But if you're like me you don't normally find out about stains until laundry day.  Most of the time if I have a specific stain I'm trying to get out I'll search the internet on how to get that specific stain out.  For example, use hair spray for ink...club soda for coffee or tea...hydrogen peroxide for blood.  For general "I'm not sure what it is" stains or stain I know are oil based, I usually just use a wet bar of Fels Naptha and rub that into stains.    What every route you decide to go for your stain removal...always check to make sure the stain is gone before you dry the item.  Once you dry it, the stain will be harder...if not impossible...to remove.  Here are a couple websites for specific stain removal tips:

http://www.pioneerthinking.com/stainremovers.html
http://ohioline.osu.edu/outside/stainrem.html
http://www.cleaning101.com/laundry/fact/staintable.html

Lastly, if you do a lot of ironing and use a lot of spray starch, here is a recipe for homemade spray starch:


Spray Starch

2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 pint cold water

Place in spray bottle and shake well before each use.

Untitled Comment

Posted by katenicholl on Friday 13 October 2006 at 9:59 AM - Link

Can you add a little oil like lavender to the fabric softener?
Thanks for these 'recipes', by the way.

Catherine :-)

Adding essential oils...

Posted by annre on Tuesday 17 October 2006 at 12:34 PM - Link

...I don't see why you couldn't. I think the lavendar would make it smell really good. :)