where to find washing soda

[shell4you_etsy]

Hey, i am living in ontario (near guelph in fact) and have made laundry soap myself before, but most any recipe calls for washing soda (not baking soda, but arm and hammer does sell this product, i have seen it on amazon.com) and last time i made the detergent i couldnt find washing soda in any store so it wasnt as effective as i would have hoped.

Worked, but hubby didnt love it so i would really like to try re-making a batch with the called for ingredients so does anyone know where one would find washing soda for sale?

[Littlemoe0]

You could maybe try the Kitchener farmer's market, if they don't have it there, someone may know where you could purchase it.

[shell4you_etsy]

i might try that too, but i also asked on the etsy forum since this looked like i might not get a responce. and 2 people said i should be able to get it either as washign soda or sold as a pool chemical. i then checked the home hardwere site and looks like they might have it in stock and if not then i should be able to tell them to order some in for me.

they also sugested home depo, and lows.
though i didnt check their sites since i dont have either of those overly local and i do have a home hardwere in walking distance.

[avoncallingu]

I was going to suggest Home Hardware - but you might try the one in ST. Jacob's - which is the HOME of HOME HARDWARE and right in the middle of Mennonite country so I bet they'd have it!

[Lynn49]

I asked my hubby what it was and he said it was sodium carbonate, with a high PH, around 11....I thought I saw it at a grocery store, an Arm&Hammer brand..also learned that WalMart carries it, too...near the OxyClean range...and some LondonDrugs...Sobeys...or perhaps you can order it on line? Although the shipping might be prohibitive. Maybe ask a grocery manager to order it for you?
Good luck.

[gourmetsue]

My first thought was Home Hardware too, maybe Rona / Home Depot too. Or even Canadian Tire. I've been looking around here for it and have looked at the natural / health food stores and haven't been able to find it at those types of places. Good luck, let us know how it turns out.

[tidytaurus]

I get mone here from Safeway or Zellers, good luck with your search. Did you know you can grind a bar soap and use that I do it when I have offcuts from making soap and it works very well.

[emjayjay]

Hey, i am living in ontario (near guelph in fact) and have made laundry soap myself before...does anyone know where one would find washing soda for sale?

Hello. I'm in Waterloo, ON and I buy my (Arm and Hammer) washing soda at Zehrs in the laundry aisle. It's sold in 3kg boxes.

In case anyone is interested, I make laundry soap with this recipe:

1 bar pure soap, chopped
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax.

I heat the three ingredients together on the stove over medium heat in about 4 cups of water until everything is nicely dissolved, then pour it into about 2.5 gallons/10 litres of warm water and stir (I do this between two buckets). When it's well combined, I pour it into used plastic laundry jugs. One capful (1/2 cup) per wash, max. It costs about 20 cents per litre = 8.5 cups, so it's pennies per load.

You can also make power laundry soap using these ingredients. Simply combine them and use a tablespoon or so per load. If your laundry ever grays (usually from hard water), add a bit of oxygen bleach.

[tidytaurus]

Thx emjay thats the recipe I use, I just looked it up and btw it works very good, I also have added a few drops of essential oil to mine on occasion to give my sheets or towels a boost (my dh loves it when I use cedarwood eo in his load)