Monday, January 26, 2009

Laundry Soap Recipe- I LOVE This!

Last week I had posted that I was going to make homemade laundry detergent. I had several comments asking for the recipe . I emailed Sweet Crystal at The Family Homestead to ask if I could post her recipe for you. Please do not post this recipe with out her permission. Crystals site is awesome, she has great recipes for food, ideas for taking care of our homes and our hubbies. I just love her outlook on life and she is a wealth of information. Thank you Crystal!
Crystal has posted at this link Making Homemade Laundry Soap all the wonderful reason to make your own instead of buying it and I totally agree. She has a Q& A section there too. I used a peppermint essential oil in mine and it smells so good but the clothes don't smell like peppermint.
Crystal's Homemade Laundry Detergent:

What Ingredients Do You Need?

You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax.

The Soap: The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha. It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle. The other options for soap are Ivory or another brand called, Zote. Any of these will work. I use my own homemade soap and find it works quite well and I do have this for sale in my Country Store. If you use Ivory or your own homemade soap you will need to use the whole bar.

Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda. They are not the same thing. Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate). It is a white powder. Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders. The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store. Many people have a hard time finding this locally. I know you can purchase it on-line, even through Amazon.com. I would also suggest asking your grocery store manager if it would be possible for the store to get it for you.

Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. It is a white powder. It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Team. It comes in a 76 oz. box. You should be able to locate this in the laundry detergent aisle. Again as with the washing soda, if you cannot find it ask you store manager or look online.

The Recipe
Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.

I have known Crystal for several year through the internet. She has homemade soap, soap-shampoo bars, lotions and rice heating pads. She has so much information to offer to us all. Please go check out her Family Homestead .

Once again please do not reprint without Crystals approval. She does have a copy right on her items. But it is there for all of us to use and learn from.


Have a great day! Hugs, Bobbi Jo

5 comments:

CompleteLee Blogger said...

Can you use that in HE (High Efficiency) washing machines? I know they require you to buy a different detergent than just the regular kind. (Has to have HE on the label.)

The Blonde Duck said...

That's pretty cool! I never thought of making my own laundry soap.

Kristine hipps said...

Once again, you amaze and tire me. What an economical endeavor and great skill to have under your belt.

Have a Super Time in Florida!
Go Steelers (I have to type this very quietly...)

Sarah J. said...

Oh, that is such a good idea! Does it save you money? Thanks for stopping by!

Anonymous said...

A low cost, green eco friendly, healthy natural way to do laundry is to put 3 or 4 soapberries which grow on the Chinaberry tree and have been used for thousands of years. They work very effectively.