You Make Your Own What?

For a long time, my son suffered from atopic dermatitis/eczema.  The poor fella was constantly scratching his itchy, blistery little wrists, ankles and behind his knees.  As it turns out, he has extreme food and environmental allergies and chemical sensitivities.  Before his diagnosis, we had a tough time finding a laundry detergent which he wouldn't react to.  We began using chemical free, natural, "green" products (usually found in the natural food aisle of the grocery store).  Although "green" products are more popular today, they still only take up a fraction of the laundry aisle in the stores.  Imagine my surprise when one day, I read a note from my cousin-in-law (who also has chemical sensitivities and allergies) which stated she was "making her own laundry detergent".  What?  You can do that?  Do tell!!!  I got the full recipe and have been using it regularly ever since.  Let me just say, this detergent works fabulously!  It is CHEAP!  I purchased the ingredients over one year ago - for an initial investment of about $11.  I've since had to purchase several more bars of soap.  So rounding up, I've spent about $15 for over one year's worth of laundry detergent.  I do at least one load a day.  You do the math - it's pennies per load, all natural, chemical free and works great. 

Here's the recipe for the liquid detergent (which is what I make). 

3 Pints (6 cups) water

1/3 bar Fels Naptha Soap - grated

1/2 cup Super Washing Soda (found in the laundry aisle)

1/2 cup Borax

2 gallon bucket for mixing and storing  (I bought mine at the Dollar Tree)

Hot water

Here's what the Borax, Fels Naptha bar and Super Washing Soda look like.

*Please excuse the ripped boxes and half bar of soap in the photo!

Step 1:  Grate 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha Soap

Step 2:  Mix the soap in a saucepan with 3 pints (6 cups) of hot water and heat on low until dissolved. 

Step 3:  Stir in 1/2 cup Super Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax.  Stir until thickened (a few minutes) and remove from heat.  When it's thick enough, it should look like this.

Step 4:  Then, add 1 quart of hot water to a 2 gallon bucket.  Add the hot soap mixture and mix well.  Fill the bucket with additional hot water to make 1.5 gallons total of the mixture (I scratched a line on the inside of my bucket to indicate the fill level). 

That is IT!  Easy peasy, right?  Then you need to set the bucket aside for 24 hours (stirring occasionally).  The mixture will thicken and end up about the consistency of watery, lumpy yogurt.  The clumps and lumps are supposed to be there. 

Use 1/2 cup of detergent per load of laundry.  You can fill old, empty laundry detergent containers with the home made stuff.  Just give it a good stir or shake before using as the mixture tends to separate over time.

This detergent will not make suds in the washer nor does it have fragrance (if you prefer fragrance, you may add a few drops of essential oil before you let it sit for 24 hours).  Fels Naptha is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water.  It is also great to use for pretreating stains (Fels Naptha takes out practically anything).  Because of the low sudsing properties, this detergent is perfect in HE (front loading) washing machines as well as non-HE machines.  This detergent also rinses almost completely out of the clothes, so you will not need to use a fabric softener (the only reason you need to use a fabric softener in the first place is to counteract any detergent not rinsed out of your clothes).  When doing laundry, I generally fill the "bleach" cup with hydrogen peroxide (a color safe disinfectant and brightener - a lot less harsh than bleach) and fill the "fabric softener" cup with distilled white vinegar (which will remove any traces of detergent and also neutralize any odors in the clothes - you will not smell the vinegar as it rinses completely out of the clothes).  In the dryer, I use the spiky balls - no fabric softener sheets.  Everything comes out beautifully clean, soft and wonderful.  I am still forever grateful to my wonderful cousin-in-law who gave me this fantastic recipe!!

I love making my own laundry detergent.  Yes, it may take a little extra time and effort, but I love knowing I am using a product that is safe for the environment, and (more importantly) safe for my family.

Give it a try!!