pros and cons homemade laundry detergent?

[yvon]

hi everyone!

Since I joined SS I been saving lots of money. TY fellow members for all advice and information put in this website. Now it's 2012 I would like to live GREENER LIFE STYLE for my family and hopefully pass it down my child. So I decided to use baking soda, lemon, salt and vinegar instead of chemicals I buy from stores to clean around the home. Today I started to use vinegar instead of fabric softner and stain removal products. OH my, Oh my! VINEGAR IS AWESOME! The clothes looks cleaner, doesn't smell like vinegar. hehe! Today I saw a video about homemade laundry detergent. It seem lots of pros making and using it, cheaper than buying, natural and no tossing plastic in recycle. Now am really curious about it. My question is, what other cons are there using homemade laundry detergent aside from time consumption. What are health risk using homemade laundry detergent? Any info would great.

tyia

[gameprogirl]

I dont think there are any risks to using homemade laundry detergent. It's good all around because its all natural.

I think its great to use homemade, and vinegar is great to use to get out the smells and remove excessive residue.

[sweetproserpina]

I've made homemade laundry detergent for years (although right now I'm using my free! purex). I've made both liquid and powder versions. Liquid takes up a lot of space, but powder is pretty easy, and you only need a few tablespoons per load. It's totally safe- mine is basically borax, grated laundry bar soap, baking soda, washing soda, oxi-clean. I find it's not a superduty cleaner though- so if you have extra dirty loads, add some more oxiclean to the load, or soak for awhile before washing.

The only side effect- I cannot stand regular scented detergent anymore! I am so used to laundry smelling like nothing, that I am very sensitive to the scents they add now to tide etc.

Give it a try! It's easy!

[Shwa Girl]

I've made homemade laundry detergent for years (although right now I'm using my free! purex).

As soon as I saw the thread title, I thought about the Purex.
You beat me to it.
And, some of the great free Purex deals from last year included the sensitive versions, for people with allergies.

[yvon]

TY sweetproserpina!

Am planning to after I finish my stock pile of gain. hehe!

I have soooo many questions.
-If I use homemade laundry soap can I still use vinegar in rinse cycle? -where to you buy your borax?
-how did you store your homemade laundry detergent. Did you use old plastic laundry detergent so you can shake well before use?

[sweetproserpina]

TY sweetproserpina!

Am planning to after I finish my stock pile of gain. hehe!

If I use homemade laundry soap can I still use vinegar in rinse cycle? also, where to you buy your borax?

Absolutely you can use vinegar. When I do use it, I just put it in my little downy ball and chuck it in. I haven't tried it in my fancy front loader yet, but I'd imagine I would just pour it into one of those little sections beside the detergent one.

Borax is usually in the laundry aisle of the grocery store. I buy 20 Mule Team Borax. Some places don't have it, like SDM, but I've always been able to find it at fortinos/superstore etc. For the soap you can use anything- some folks use castille, others regular ivory etc. I use a grated bar of Sunlight laundry soap that you can buy in the laundry aisle for a couple bucks for 2 bars.

I grate my soap, mix my ingredients, and then put the whole lot in the blender (!) I get a very nice fine powder that dissolves pretty well.

Love to hear your results!

[DianneS]

My SIL has made all of their laundry detergent (liquid) for several years and says it's easy and cheap! I read up on it and found the suggestion of using a 5 gallon food pail (recycled) to mix and store. My SIL adds just a bit of commercial laundry detergent to hers because she finds it makes it smell just a bit better. She is very sensitive to scents, so she doesn't use much. I personally think this is an awesome idea that is well worth trying. Once I have used up my stockpile I am going to give it a whirl

[sarah_cio]

I have been considering trying this...thanks for all the tips!

[yvon]

Ivory? Like the Ivory hand bar soap? The one that goes on sale for $2.86 for 10ct at WM. Have you ever use Ivory. I read somewhere Ivory does work that well.Do you store it the way you store commercial laundry detergent.

If you are looking for the big pail. Tim Hortons (chocolate container) and Burger king (pickle container) just throw them away. You can ask the manager to save it for you.

[sweetproserpina]

Ivory? Like the Ivory hand bar soap? The one that goes on sale for $2.86 for 10ct. Have you ever use Ivory. I read somewhere Ivory does work that well.Do you store it the way you store commercial laundry detergent.

I've read that others use ivory etc. on other forums I'm on, I myself haven't tried it. i prefer to use a laundry-specific soap, just in case, but that's just me. I do know some soap-makers make their own 'laundry bar' soap and use that, usually has a castille base. Other soaps I've read about are Zote or Fels Naptha, but it may be a US thing, b/c I've never seen it for sale here. There are lots of resources on the web for homemade laundry detergent- tons of different recipes too. Homemade laundry soap is soo cheap to make, it's totally okay to try a few different recipes and see what you like best.

Liquid detergent is usually stored in a big plastic pail (I used a big ice cream bucket from a local dairy), you usually need a cup per load. I store my powder detergent in quart mason jars with a spoon. If I'm doing a cold wash, I dissolve it in hot water first, and then pour it into the machine.

ps. In my original post I listed the ingredients in my homemade detergent- I forgot to add washing soda. Arm and Hammer makes it, and it is also in the laundry aisle.

[abbasgirl]

Remember that just because something is "all natural" doesn't mean you don't have to be cautious. I don't know what's in washing soda, but Borax is mildly toxic. In fact it can be used to kill roaches and ants. It's fairly safe though. Just don't go drinking it or getting it on the kids or the pets or anything.
Making your own is very frugal though. I recommend either making liquid or dissolving the powder in water before using it. I read a story once about someone ruining their washer with the powder because the soap expands when it disolves and it got into the pipes and expanded there.

[dol09]

I found this site on pinterest and I'm going to try it. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Ok the link won't post for me but the recipe is on a blog called being creative to keep my sanity if you wanted to google it. It's on blogspot. The link is on the left of the page for the soap.

[DeeThomas]

My local London Drugs sells both borax (20 mule) and washing soda (Arm&Hammer) in the laundry aisle - and they're even on sale right now.

[ashybee]

I feel like homemade laundry detergent wouldnt get my clothes as clean or smell as good. Or maybe Im just using that as my excuse for me being too lazy to try it LOL

[chronosfire]

Any tips on how to get rid of static from using the Norwex dryer balls? I get a lot of cling, and it's driving my husband crazy!