I'm pretty picky about the products I use (had you noticed?) and laundry soap is no exception. I've been using Seventh Generation "Free and Clear" laundry soap for years and really like it. But when there's an option to make something just as good- or better- myself, I have to at least give it a try!
So when my buddy Morgen successfully made her own laundry soap, I was inspired. I used this recipe and it was really easy! It can be a little tricky tracking down a couple of ingredients you'll need, but all are available online if you can't find them locally.
First, the soap. I used Dr. Bronner's soap because, really, what can't this soap do? It claims to perform nearly any cleaning task and I like the almost nonexistent fragrance of the baby soap. You'll need to grate the soap, so make sure you have a good grater handy.
Next you'll need washing soda and borax. I got the borax at Mississippi Market Co-op. I'm pretty sure most of the co-ops sell this one. The washing soda was harder to track down. After about 8 phone calls I found that none of the hardware stores carried it, but a Cub Foods grocery store did.
When you melt in the soap, be sure to stir frequently. This was kinda fun...and smelled really nice and clean!
In the end you've got 2 gallons of laundry soap! Super exciting! This is the cheapest soap ever...now I just have to see how it performs...
***Updated to add that this laundry detergent rocks! My clothes are clean and have no scent to them! Now all I need is a big 1/4 cup ladle to scoop it into the washer...
8 comments:
Please DO let us know how it cleans. Thank you.
i never thought about making my own laundry detergent - this is brilliant. i'm with stephanie - let us know how it works out. i'd be very interested in making my own, too!
My friend Julie also makes her own laundry soap (with five messy little kids, she pretty much has to!). She loves it, but I haven't tried it yet; please let us know how it goes.
You can read about Julie's version here, which seems pretty similar to yours: http://yesourkidseatveggies.blogspot.com/2009/10/homemade-laundry-detergent.html
Have you tried it out yet? Does it clean well?
I'll be watching (I first typed "washing") for the followup on this - I have been wanting to do this myself. (I looove Dr. Bronners soap!)
Do you know how long it lasts?
I've been making my own laundry detergent for about a year now. Out of laziness I make a dry detergent mix instead of a liquid. I love it. Its cheap, no plastic packaging and seems to get our clothes just as clean.
what did you use for your dry detergent?
I think this makes for a very cool experiment anyone can try, and from what I've seen it cleans about as well as most commercial alternatives.
Actually I posted a video tutorial on it over at my blog, in case you are interested.
All the best,
Erwin
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