Making your own laundry soap under $5 for years of detergent

[bluerose]

I purchased the washing soda from well.ca 9.44 for 2 kilos of Eco Pioneer,it may not be the cheapest but it was free shipping and no Quebec tax.

[iggysbabysitter]

I make the dry batch of laundry soap, but to make sure it all disolves I run the grated soap through a food processor, and then mix all the powders together. I like how it's not as messy as the liquid (I had a few leakage problems), and it takes less space. I keep a year worth of laundry soap in a 4L pickle jar. I got this online from a woman in a farming family... if it can get the stink out of barn clothes I had to try it!
I use 1/2 sunlight laundry bar soap, 1 c borax, 1 c washing soda (I make a few batches at a time to fill my jar)
1tbsp of this in my HE washing machine works really well.
I also found out online that you can find washing soda in pool supply stores (bigger container, cheaper), just be careful to get the right chemical (Sodium carbonate, it increases ph in pools).

When I made the liquid soap I had issues with it thickening after a month, and got tired of shaking/stirring the mix, but I found that if I used my hand mixer to blend it all really well the mixture poured through my re-used costco sized tide jug much easier

[Terry_Lynn]

I will be making some laundry soap thanks for the information.Do you realy need to use vinegar in the rince cycle? I just made a whole batch of homemeade bar soap so good there.

No I don't think so, but I always do because it really does take all the soap residue out of the clothes and the washer which is great if you have sensitive skin and your clothes stay cleaner longer because there is less oils, residue & such to collect dirt. 1 cup of cheap white vinegar in a full top loader is all you need. I just really like the feel of clothes with nothing in them and they come out soft too - even if you line dry. After years of doing this, touching fabrics that have fabric softener in them feel kind of greasy or something. There is no vinegar smell left on the clothes so you won't be craving fries every time you change clothes

You can also make your detergents with an unscented natural soap and if you want a scented detergent, add a few drops of essential oil into your batch.

I use my own soap in my hair too and use an apple cider vinegar rinse as a conditioner - same principle really. Super clean, soft hair.

[carmanelectric]

Just made a bunch of laundry saop using this recipe. It's great and smells sooooo fresh. I got inspired to track down a dish soap recipe, most said they come out too thick and some times leave a residue. I adjusted it a bit and mine turned out pretty gosh darn good.

[bgheuchert]

Just made a bunch of laundry saop using this recipe. It's great and smells sooooo fresh. I got inspired to track down a dish soap recipe, most said they come out too thick and some times leave a residue. I adjusted it a bit and mine turned out pretty gosh darn good.

OHH! How do you make the dish soap!!??

[dreamcatcher1962]

I really want to try this when i run out of downy! Thank you so much for sharing!!!

No problem
I have been using it for just over a week and it works really well.
I used the coconut scented Suave Hair Conditioner and it smells really nice. I love the smell of coconut.

[carmanelectric]

OHH! How do you make the dish soap!!??

I used a 561ml dawn bottle. I mixed 1/4 of a bar of olay bar soap (grated), 1/4 tsp of borax, 1tsp of lemon juice, topped it up with very hot water (not boiling but hot enough to disolve the soap). Let it cool and shook it. It worked out to a very nice consistancy.

[sweetnlow30]

BUT, does it have the long lasting fresh scent of Gain?

Kidding, it actually sounds pretty interesting. I am sure some scent could be added in there as well

[Insane]

I've wanted to do this for years but I think hubby would be highly resistant. I've also thought of using soap nuts. Time to give this some thought again!

[Insane]

I make the dry batch of laundry soap, but to make sure it all disolves I run the grated soap through a food processor, and then mix all the powders together. I like how it's not as messy as the liquid (I had a few leakage problems), and it takes less space. I keep a year worth of laundry soap in a 4L pickle jar. I got this online from a woman in a farming family... if it can get the stink out of barn clothes I had to try it!
I use 1/2 sunlight laundry bar soap, 1 c borax, 1 c washing soda (I make a few batches at a time to fill my jar)
1tbsp of this in my HE washing machine works really well.
I also found out online that you can find washing soda in pool supply stores (bigger container, cheaper), just be careful to get the right chemical (Sodium carbonate, it increases ph in pools).

When I made the liquid soap I had issues with it thickening after a month, and got tired of shaking/stirring the mix, but I found that if I used my hand mixer to blend it all really well the mixture poured through my re-used costco sized tide jug much easier

oohhh...another use for my food processor. A dry mix sounds even better!

[muggos0101]

oohhh...another use for my food processor. A dry mix sounds even better!

My only concern about a dry mix would be if the powders settle to the bottom and the soap flakes stay near the top. I decided better safe than sorry and made a liquid mix. I've only used it once so far but it seemed to work fine so I think I'll keep making it in the future. Thanks for the tip, cheekysaver.

[cheekysaver]

I've wanted to do this for years but I think hubby would be highly resistant. I've also thought of using soap nuts. Time to give this some thought again!

LOL i didn't tell my room mate that i made the soap... just did the laundry and told him a few weeks later. You could adjust a batch to fit in a normal bucket. To make just a one gallon jug to try it you can mix 1/5th of the recipe. that is 50 mls of washing soda and 50 mls of borax and 1 ounce of soap graded. If he is resistant you can try some ketchup / mustard type stains on a old shirt and do a detergent compairison before you commit to a huge batch.

I would like to point out that yesterday i found a powdered detergent in the green section of safeways and it had almost identical ingredients in it... the soap product was a little different but that was it... it had the washing soda and the borax as the main ingredients and cost about $18 bux for the big 2 Kg box. I picked up a 2kg of borax and a 3 kg of washing soda for $5 each.... when it comes to soap i use what i have and i can make more then double what they are selling for far less then one third of the price.

[Insane]

LOL i didn't tell my room mate that i made the soap... just did the laundry and told him a few weeks later. You could adjust a batch to fit in a normal bucket. To make just a one gallon jug to try it you can mix 1/5th of the recipe. that is 50 mls of washing soda and 50 mls of borax and 1 ounce of soap graded. If he is resistant you can try some ketchup / mustard type stains on a old shirt and do a detergent compairison before you commit to a huge batch.

Hubby does the laundry! He'd know. LOL

[kazm-l]

I'd love to give the dry recipe a try but can't find the Washing soda.(and i don't want to buy it online!)
I've tried 2 walmarts, metro,maxi, iga, jean coutu and a uniprix. I contacted the company and got this reply:

When available, you should be able to purchase ARM & HAMMER® Super Washing Soda at the following retail locations near you:

Loblaws, Wal-Mart, Sobeys, Safeway, Overwaitea and Fed Co-op.


Guess i just have to keep looking!

[cheekysaver]

Hubby does the laundry! He'd know. LOL

I might pay full price for laundry detergent if someone did mine!!! lol WTG