I'm pretty sure most of you know how the price of laundry soap/ detergent has gone through the roof. I made the decision to make my own laundry soap.So today was grocery shopping day and I went to buy all the ingredients to make it. Unfortunately the little town I shop in does not have Fels Naptha soap anywhere to be found. I got the most bizarre looks when I asked! Only one lady knew what I was talking about and she was in the over 50 set! In desperation I bought a cheap box/tub of the store brand powdered laundry soap along with borax and the Arm & Hammer soap. My problem at this point is, we have well water which is hard and my washer is old as the hills. Powdered soap doesn't work very well or get the clothes clean. Is there anyway to liquify the powdered soap into liquid?:?: I've already tried mixing it with plain water which turns it into a lump in the bottom of the container. Any ideas before I turn this into a science experiment for school? Thanks!!! Martha
i would scratch the laundry det, or better yet, keep it for your whites, then simply get a bar of ivory. i use it in my homemade laundry det and it works wonders, but i dont use my homemade on my whites all the time, bc it makes them repel water, i read it was the borax. anyway, i would just start over. you take the ivory, grate, put in sauce pan and add 6 cups water, heat till melted, then add 1/2 c borax, 1/2 c washing soda, stir till mixed. take off heat. then put 4 c hot water in a big bucket, pour in soap mixture, then add 1 gal, plus 6 more cups water. stir and then pour in 2 1 gallon milk jugs. let sit for 24 hours shake bf each use. that is what i would do. good luck!
I don't know what sort of chemical reaction this would cause (I have visions of science class volcanos), but if it will dissolve in vinegar, that would make a nice soap. I add vinegar to most of my laundry loads as a booster and deodorizer. I also add cheap Vodka to my laundry as it kills bacteria (and I use cloth diapers). Perhaps it would dissolve in that. I do like the other idea better, though (to use the Ivory soap mixture instead).
I'm just curious what kind of laundry detergent did you all use before? I use ALL concentrated and it is less than $4 and I can get 30 loads out of it. I figured buying ALL was just as cheap as making my own after buying all the products to make it.
Thanks Ladies! I was using Tide concentrate. But I ended up having to use 2 "doses" to get dear hubby's clothes clean. We have a farm and he works in a factory with some pretty strong chemicals. So I was going through it twice as fast, which is not economical. The other problem is the fragrances in alot of the soaps give me bad headaches! Thought I would kill two birds with one stone and make my own. A friend of mind from church makes hers and says its very inexpensive. And around here we like "cheap"! Marty
I have spent about $8.00, more or less, on supplies and was able to make laundry detergent for over 6 through 8 months. Since the borax and soda come with a decent amount in them, all I had to do was purchase another bar of Zote for .88 cents and this made three more batches of detergent and I still had a decent amount of borax and soda left over for more detergent. It really is worth the savings. My numbers might be off by a bit but still, the savings are noticable right away. These days, I double the recipe and fill a five gallon bucket. I just keep refilling my small recycled laundry bottle. It is easier to manage this way. Oh, by the way, I make the liquad.
well, we used all free and clear around $4 or $5 every 2 weeks. i spent about $8, and still have 1 bar of soap, over half a box of each of the borax and soda. . I started making my own i think in march?? so i bet i will have to buy $2 worth of soap, to last me the rest of the year. I know it isnt much of a savings, but it does help, and i always have detergent, and my kids are learning how to make it and it is very hypoallergenic, lol!
Fels Nathpa soap can be found at local Ace Hardware Stores. The reason I know this is because I live a in a small town and got the same looks you did. No one even heard of it. So as a last ditch effort I went into Ace Hardware and asked. Now they didn't have any on the shelves but they did have it where I could order it. They also gave me the option to buy Washing Soda and Borax. The case of fels cost me $22 and the Washing Soda was $3 a box and Borax was $2.50 a box since I order cases of each. Now I am not sure of the regular price if I didn't buy the cases but there you go lol.
mixed and sitting for 24 hours will wash cloths in it tomorrow and see what happens I am looking for Octagon soap or castile soap wonder if I should check hardware store because I couldn't find it at walmart. My son wants to make some dish soap now and they call for one of the above. Unless someone has another recipe.
Now I have ordered from this place online before and had no problems what so ever with shipping and so on. Also I believe after I paid for my items they were here in like 7 days. They carry Octagon soap you can buy it by the bar or the case. http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=Octagon&Search.x=2&Search.y=10 They also have that castile soap. Bar or case. http://www.soapsgonebuy.com/SearchResults.asp?Search=castile&Search.x=2&Search.y=3 Like I said if I didn't deal with them I wouldn't recommend them. But the prices are fair. Also there are tons of laundry and household recipes on the site so it might be worth a look there as well.
I make this detergent as well. I find all of my supplies at the local grocery store. I was spending about $15-20 a month on Tide Free because my dd reacts to everything else. I found Melaleuca and she can use that soap, but it was still about the same price as the Tide Free when all was said and done. Now I spent under $7 for supplies to make my own (and still have a ton of supplies left over). It is a 10 gallon recipe and I haven't even used about a gallon in over a month (1/2 cup / load). My dd doesn't react to it. You can also add essential oil to it if you prefer it scented.
Amy, just in case you're still checking this thread, you can find the castile soap in liquid or bar form from Vitacost online or The Vitamin Shoppe online. Dr. Bronners has several fragrances including unscented. They are the cheapest and shipping is really low. If you have a Kroger or another bigger grocery store with an organic section you may find it there as well. I started making my own liquid laundry detergent to try and ease allergy symptoms in my daughter. Recipe listed above is what I use. I really like it and it lasts a long time. For really stubborn clothes I may use Purex (like hubby's running stuff)...good detergent and usually can find it on sale.
