I have decided to take the plunge and make my own laundry soap. I can't find the washing soda anywhere around here. What can I use instead of it? anyone knows... thanks
I can only find it at my local Super Fresh grocery store. I don't know what you could use as a replacement. I found it on the very top shelf.
I get it at a local grocer as well. Here is a link to the page with the Duggar's recipe as well as how she orders her washing soda. http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
i dont know but my aunt make the gel and gets 5 gallons, says that she even uses it as a pre washer for stains... I am thinking 5 gallons of soap for pennies.... what is there to lose at triing it.
I usually get 10-12 gallons out of that recipe. When I first started making my own soap I went around the neighborhood on recycle day grabbing soap jugs out of garbage cans. I have about 20 of them and I prefer to fill those instead of keeping it in the 5 gallon bucket. Keep in mind when you fill the jugs to leave room for shaking the soap each time before you use it.
I make our own powder soap (with Zote, borax and soda), and it cleans our stuff just fine. I probably need to say, though, that it's just me and dh, and we don't get super dirty like people who work really hard, and kids, do, so we may not be a good comparison. When we have dgs some weekends, his clothes get good and clean with it, except sometimes for his white socks. This doesn't really get the mud stains out by itself in a regular wash, so I add some store-brand oxyclean for those. (Sometimes muddy socks have to be soaked in an oxyclean solution!)
You can leave it at the 5 gallon stage as a gel or dilute it by half again to get 10 gallons of liquid. I prefer the liquid just because I know that it is already disolved when I toss it in the water as I load the washer. Probably just a mental block on my part, but oh, well. :lol:
I tried making my own soap, but it doesn't get out sweat stains, or grease. DH's work causes both of those issues, so for me, it wasn't worth it.
Uh oh. I was all excited to make my own but if it won't get out grease or anything that is real dirty this may not work for us. My dh is a heavy equipment mechanic for John Deere and gets filthy everyday.
My best suggestion for getting to save money and still have clean clothes would be to use whatever you're using now that works for the dirtiest and greasiest items, and use make-your-own for the regular stuff. Best of both worlds?
My DH gets filthy everyday, too. Here is what I have been doing and it seems to be working. I made powdered soap and mixed it half and half with my regular powdered laundry soap, then when I was his work clothes I squirt in some Dawn Dish Soap, and his clothes have been coming clean. Mixing it half and half gets the clothes cleaner, smelling the way I like them to, and saves money all at the same time.
I have not been able to find just plan washing soda, I have found Sun laundry booster that has what washing soda is plus oxy clean and it is cheap, what do you think about using this?
Shelby, I don't know -- I don't know what else might be in it besides the soda and oxyclean, or how much to use. I never could find the soda at WalMart, but I did find it at the Market Basket. They had put the Zote soap in the bar soap section, along with the bath bar soap! I found the soda at the Super 1 Foods store too. You might look in the cleaning products instead of with the laundry stuff. Or just ask the management -- maybe they'll start carrying it if they don't already.
I have used baking soda instead of washing soda. Baking soda is actually easier on the laundry than washing soda and although I have also used washing soda, I personally haven't noticed a significant difference. I also add Sun's version of Oxy Clean in my laundry detergent.
I was only able to find washing soda at Ace hardware (we live in California). I looked *everywhere* for it.
I have tried both the gel and powder, and I prefer the powder. To help with stains (we have very hard water) and give it extra cleaning boost, I add extra borax, like a cup extra per batch. It cleans about as well as the cheaper laundry detergents. It has never cleaned as well as Tide for me. But it is soooooo much cheaper, that the extra time it takes to put on a little stain spray is well worth the savings to me. Honestly, the best detergent I"ve found is Melaleuca's. You use so little and it cleans wonderfully and is ecologically friendly. But I can't afford their minimum orders any more.
