Thursday, March 26, 2009

Homemade Laundry Soap

A reader requested my recipe for homemade laundry soap. I'm a casual, little of this, little of that kind of gal who seldom measures but here's what I usually do.

Into a 3 gallong covered bucket I pour ONE 76 oz. box of 20 Mule Team Borax, TWO 55 oz. boxes of Arm&Hammer Washing Soda, and ONE grated 5.5 oz. bar of Fels Naptha Laundry Soap.

The key is to pour the boxes of Borax and Washing Soda slowly as they can become airborn and burn your nose and eyes. I have an old wooden spoon that I mix the contents up with. I use about 1/4 cup per full load. This mixtures lasts me six months - but I only wash about two loads a week!

2 comments:

Preparedwarrior said...

Not only can the borax and washing soda be bad for your eyes and nose, both can cause damage to your lungs. Never-the-less, I use your laundry detergent but on a smaller scale.

I use an empty Coffeemate jug as my container. I use a cup of grated soap (either Fels naptha or Octagon), 1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, and 1/2 cup of 20 mule team borax. I use a coffee scoop to measure two scoops per load. Produces clean and nice smelling laundry.

I shake my container to mix ingredients well, wait a few minutes for the powder to settle, and I prefer both for the price and cleaning results compared to over priced and heavily perfumed commercial products

I think I got the recipe from Recipezar. I don't use expensive window cleaners and the like. I make my own. I do admit to using a commercial wood floor cleaner but that is only because I haven't figured out a cheap way to make my own.

katie said...

I use the same homemade soap. I use latex gloves and cover my nose with something when I am mixing it - it does seem to get into your lungs.

I use 1 cup of borax, 1 cup of washing soda, and 1/3 bar of fels naptha.

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