I for the first time this evening made my own Laundry detergent from a recipe I found online. On YouTube.com. It was so easy. I took about 30 minutes to make from start to finish. Including the clean up afterwards. I spend 14$ at Walmart getting the Borax, Washing Soda(not the same thing as baking soda) and 2 bars of Sunlight Laundry Soap (used to treat stains apparently) but you can used Ivory soap too I've read. I also needed to buy a 6 gallon bucket. I was lucky and got one at a local wine store for $2.5o. Their wine kits come in them so they are used but good for what I need it. :) All that ingredients will make 2 batches of 5 US gallons of Laundry detergent.
The kicker is that it is good for those who have sensitive skin (I will test this out), which is very cool for me. Because I have eczema and I break out really bad this time of year... I'm talkin' I scratch so bad sometimes I bleed. It drives me up the wall. And with all this hand washing as of late my hands are now starting to crack and bleed. So I'm planning on doing something about that too. But that is another post.
Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe
18 Cups Water
1 bar Sunlight Laundry Soap or other soap of your choice :)
1 and 1/2 Cups Borax
1 and 1/2 Cups Washing Soda (you can find it in the laundry detergent aisle)
One very large pot
One very large spoon (slotted is good)
One very large bucket 5(US) or 6 gallon Canadian
4 US gallons of water (15 liters + 140ml) I used warm water
and another 2 cups of water
oh and a grater for the soap
So you grate the bar of soap finely. Bring the first 18 cups of water to a small boil. Reduce heat and add the grated soap. Stir constantly and surprisingly enough it takes no time at all to dissolve. Add the Borax and the Washing Soda. Stir until dissolved. Remove from heat. Add mixture to the 4 gallons of water in the bucket. Stir for a second. Add the last remaining 2 cups water and stir again.
And then I took some of the mixture and put it in a smaller more manageable container for the top of the washer. Let stand for 24 hours to gel. It should look like egg white consistency but mine isn't finished yet so we will see.
Add 1/2 cup to each Laundry load.
Everything washes easily and can still be used as normal.
I've been using White Vinegar recently for a fabric softener. I just put it in the little cup in my washing machine. It works great and is a natural clothes whitener that is easy on fabric too. The clothes don't smell like vinegar either but the washing machine does a bit.
How very cool is that...I love it! I'll tell you all how the first load of laundry turns out.
:0)
I've always wanted to do that. Never thought to look on YouTube for a recipe/how to. Duh...like you can't find everything else on YouTube. LOL. Let me know how it works for you. My daughter has sensitive skin too.
ReplyDeleteSorry it took so long to answer I haven't been posting very much lately. lol I've done three tubs of the laundry detergent so far and it's awsome. My workout gear needs to be washed inside out in hot water. And it doesn't get out tomato sauce stains (my old detergent didn't either) But, It works fabulous and it's supper cheap. One box of Borax and Washing Soda does this recipe at least 4 times. So you only need to buy new soap when you need to make some more. Unless you buy your soap in bulk. It made a huge difference in my eczema and my daughters too. You really have to use vinegar in the rinse cycle though or the borax residue will make you itchy. So I found out when my husband decided to do the laundry. lol :)
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