Wednesday, December 30, 2009

home made laundry soaps

There are a zillion or so versions of home made laundry detergents and soaps. Some recipes are not completely home made but instead are "watered down" versions of a commercially available variety. This method works well for those that have to sneak in frugal ways because folks you live with "need" the store bought versions.

For this method all you do is buy your box of powder and and then “dilute” it with baking soda and borax! use about 1/4 cup per load.

for all the other methods there are keep in mind the following..

Home made soaps will NOT suds like store bought soaps will. The suds are not the cleaners, they just make things look cool and we believe it is the suds doing the cleaning

Fels naptha, zote and other castile soaps are the best choice when mixing bar soaps

Try to use the non scented and non colored bars of soap is you must use something besides the above mentioned soaps

These recipes are generally gentle enough for baby and people with skin trouble.

super washing soda can be made by baking regular food grade baking soda at 400 for 20 minutes.

Borax is often known as borateem or 20 mule and is normally in most large stores.

Those with very hard water may have to adjust the recipes to have these work well for you

for the liquid soaps a five gallon pail with a lid is the best storage container. The powder recipes are generally a bit smaller so any air tight container will suit for storage.


keep in mind there are even more frugal ways of cleaning laundry, just look to mother nature and the world around you Tannin makes a wonderful "soap "on everything but whites. Saponins also make excellent very frugal cleaners.

If you need a smell to your soaps or detergent add a few drops of essential oils or you can find fragrances in craft stores.

Recipe 1
1 quart Water (boiling)
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda
Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted. Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).

Recipe 2
Hot water
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar Soap (grated)
In a large pot, heat 3 pints of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat. In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 1 quart of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well. * Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe 3
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container. Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

Recipe 4
Hot water
1 bar (4.5 oz) Ivory Soap – grated
1 cup Washing Soda
In a large saucepan add grated soap and enough hot water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until soap is melted. Fill a large pail with 2.5 gallons of hot water, add hot soap mixture. Stir until well mixed. Then add the washing soda, again stirring until well mixed. Set aside to cool. Use 1/2 cup per full load, stirring well before each use (will gel)

Recipe 5
2.5 gallons Water (hot)
1 Bar soap (grated)
3/4 cup Washing Soda
3/4 cup Borax
2 TBS Glycerin
Melt bar soap over medium-low heat topped with water, stir until soap is melted. In a large pail, pour 2.5 gallons of hot water, add melted soap mixture, washing soda, borax and glycerin. Mix well. Use 1/2 cup per full load.

Recipe 6
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Washing Soda
2 – 2.5 gallons hot water
Melt grated soap in saucepan with water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until soap is dissolved.Pour hot water in large pail, add hot soap and washing soda. Stir very well. Use 1 cup per full load.

Recipe 7
2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda
Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted. In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well. Then add the baking soda, stir well again. Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe 8
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda
8 cups Bar soap (grated)
Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub. Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

Powdered Laundry Detergent Recipe 9
1cup Vinegar (white)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stir in the washing soda, then baking soda, then added the vinegar in small batches at a time (the recipe foams up at first). The mixture is a thick paste at first that will break down into a heavy powdered detergent, just keep stirring. There may be some hard lumps, try to break them down when stirring (it really helps to make sure the baking soda isn’t clumpy when first adding). I used 1/2 cup per full load with great results. Mix well and store in sealed container.

No comments:

Post a Comment