Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Homemade Laundry Soap

I have been seeing this on a lot of the blogs that I follow. The cost savings per load is what caught my eye the most with this!! Depending on the prices of the products you find (I found them all at Wal-mart) it can be as low as .01 cent a load!!!

Supplies Needed:

1 bar Fels Naptha or Ivory soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda

Grate soap using hand grater. Add Borax and Washing Soda and stir well. Store in airtight container. Use 1-2 tablespoons per load of laundry.

Notes/Tips:

  • Baking soda and washing soda are not the same thing! Washing soda is found in the laundry asile. I have seen reviews stating people used baking soda with no problems, but washing soda is what is suggested.
  • Fels Naptha can be hard to find. It is a laundry stain remover and can also be found in the laundry asile of most stores. If you are unable to find, use Ivory bar soap.
  • I grated using the fine part of the grater to be sure the soap dissolves.
  • This is low sudsing so if you don't see any suds, that's normal! Therefore, it is safe to use on HE washers.
  • The Fels Naptha has a very clean fragrance but once washed there is little to no scent. Remember clothes don't need to smell clean to be clean! If this is an issue you can add a few drops of essential oil. I added a linen scent but will have to play around a little more with this. I only used a few drops as I was worried about staining clothes. Because of the scent of the Fels Naptha I couldn't tell I added the oil. Maybe the lighter scent of Ivory soap would work better with fragrance.

1 comment:

Krista said...

And for people w/ sensitive skin, and have to be careful w/ scents, the Ivory would probably be better. Alex has uber sensitive skin and I have to use "free" detergent, but he can use Ivory, so for those like me they would know it's safe.