Detergent is expensive and it didn’t take much to convince me to give Homemade Detergent a try! I have been using this for about a month now. I felt I needed to give it a good try before I promoted it on my blog.
Easy To Make
Cheap Around 8¢ A Load !!
The ingredients cost less than a jug of name brand detergent and you can make many more batches with it.
You will need:
- a large cooking pot
- Mule Team Borax
- Arm and Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda!)
- a bar of soap (I used Fels Naptha)
- a 2 gallon bucket with a lid
- a funnel
- a grater
- old jug of some sort
- a long handled spoon
- First you need to grate your soap, you can grate it right into the pot if you like! Fill the large pot about 1/2 or more with water. Heat slowly on the stove eye until the soap has all melted.
- Add 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda. Continue to cook, stirring well, the mixture will begin to thicken. Bring almost to a boil. Remove from heat. This mixture will begin to congeal.
- Once cool enough pour into your 2 gallon bucket adding more warm water until your bucket is 1/2 or so full. Cover with the lid and let it sit overnight.
- In the morning the mixture will be very congealed…thick gooey and sort of yucky. Stir it up and it will thin up a little. Add water stirring as you add until you have the bucket full and mixed well.
- Take your jug, an old laundry detergent jug will do ( I buy distilled white vinegar by the gallon so I use an old vinegar jug) fill it 1/2 full of the detergent and then fill the rest of the way with water and shake well.
***Use as you normally would in your washer just remember to shake it really well to mix and remove any lumps before you add to the washer.
Tips and Info:
*This does not make a lot of suds in the washer~Just remember, suds do not clean your clothes the ingredients do. Because this is low suds you can use it in an HE washer.
I have a frontloading HE washer and using this my clothes and my washer does not have the musty, mildewy smell that I could not get rid of no matter what I did! I am a happy girl!
If you find a 2 gallon pot with a lid you can cook and store in the same pot!
Once you buy the Borax and Washing Soda you will have enough to make many more batches of detergent just pick up a bar of soap when needed.
Some people use ivory soap you can place it in the microwave it for 90 seconds and it will turn into flakes and no need to grate it! Be sure and place it in a large bowl! It looks like meringue and will flake apart. (Your kids will be amazed and you will too)
If you are worried about fragrance: This detergent does smell wonderful when making it and when your clothes are washing but your clothes are completely fragrance free when washed and dried. For fragrance use a good smelling fabric softener.
If you want to know why I buy distilled white vinegar by the gallon click on over to Many Uses For Distilled White Vinegar~ I use it for cleaning, as a rinse agent in my dishwasher and as fabric softener too!
Happy Washing,
Pin It
