no, it's not cheese...
My husband has taken some time off from work this week, and took it upon himself to make the first attempt of homemade laundry detergent (between his PS3 Madden 09 playing!). He reported it to be quite an easy task, and the grated Fels Naptha soap bar has added a great aroma to our apartment. We followed the recipe, but after a day of the detergent “setting” we decided to go back and add more hot water to the goopy concoction. Today will be our first use, but with the original recommendation from a good friend, I know this is going to be a success. What I can’t get over, is the cost; 2 cents a load! How could I ever buy brand detergent again?? Next step, moving detergent into recycled plastic milk jugs for easy pour!
Liquid Laundry Detergent
3 pints water
1/3 bar Fels-Naptha Soap, grated
1/2 cup Super Washing Soda (not baking soda, please! Arm & Hammer makes this…)
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
2 gallon bucket, for mixing
1 quart hot water
Mix Fels-Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints hot water and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Super Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 quart hot water to a two-gallon bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with additional hot water as needed (you should have about 1.5 gallons of the mixture), and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.
There’s a pretty cool visual guide to making your own laundry detergent at the the blog TheSimpleDollar.com.
[...] finally, I’m going to see how the whole make your own detergent thing works. Whether I like liquid or dry better, etc. I’m super excited about making it and [...]