Homemade Laundry Soap
Thursday, March 24, 2011 by Amy
Yeah, I make my own. I was sick of Riley having a reaction to every single detergent I bought. Then, sometimes she would be fine with one for a while and then suddenly start getting rashes again. Ugh. Anyway, I've been making and using my own for a while now, and am just now sharing this. Why? Because I am finally 100% convinced that it is better than store-bought detergent. Yesterday, Riley was cutting herself some strawberries and managed to get the juice ALL OVER her shirt. I mean, I can't see how that much strawberry juice could have gotten on her shirt without her really trying LOL. Anyway, I told her to take it off and put it in the hamper, and I intended to wash it right away. I forgot to. Then I told myself that I'd pretreat the stains. I forgot to do that too. No matter, it came right out in the regular wash. Nice. Additionally, I washed Rudi's winter coat and the grime came out with a regular washing.
Plus, making my own is so much cheaper. So much cheaper. I use Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap, but any bar soap will do. Fels-Naptha dissolves well in our water (the Ivory bar didn't dissolve as well, whatever that says about our water) and was available at the grocery store. Anyway, I use one bar and finely shred it with the box shredder. That comes out to exactly two cups of soap shavings. I add one cup of 20 Mule Team Borax and one cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda), both available at our grocery store. Then, it's done. I put it in a glass container and use 1 tablespoon for a normal load, and 2 tablespoons for a heavy load. Okay, I admit, all my loads are heavy :) Oh, and the clothes don't immediately start to stink like they do when washing with regular laundry detergent if you don't put the load immediately in the dryer. That's a major score, because sometimes I forget to put the clothes in the dryer for a whole day.
Plus, making my own is so much cheaper. So much cheaper. I use Fels-Naptha laundry bar soap, but any bar soap will do. Fels-Naptha dissolves well in our water (the Ivory bar didn't dissolve as well, whatever that says about our water) and was available at the grocery store. Anyway, I use one bar and finely shred it with the box shredder. That comes out to exactly two cups of soap shavings. I add one cup of 20 Mule Team Borax and one cup of Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda), both available at our grocery store. Then, it's done. I put it in a glass container and use 1 tablespoon for a normal load, and 2 tablespoons for a heavy load. Okay, I admit, all my loads are heavy :) Oh, and the clothes don't immediately start to stink like they do when washing with regular laundry detergent if you don't put the load immediately in the dryer. That's a major score, because sometimes I forget to put the clothes in the dryer for a whole day.
