Making Homemade Laundry Soap

So while I was at the beauty shop the other day, Brandi, my niece and hairstylist, told me about how she had started making her own laundry soap. She said she got the recipe off Pinterest. She said the soap was easy to make, that she didn't have to use as much of it per load, and that her clothes were clean and smelled fresh. But the hook that got my attention was when she said it was cheap. So I decided I needed to check this out because goodness knows I need to save money any way I can. I began reading various websites and comments about making laundry soap. Every thing I read said that it is easy to make and that it is much cheaper than normal store bought laundry detergent. And that it actually works and gets clothes clean. So I decided this was something I would try for myself.

There are thousands of laundry soap recipes out there on the world wide web, but they all basically have the same ingredients. Many of them make huge amounts of soap at one time. I settled on a recipe that makes 2 gallons per batch. I do not have anywhere to store 5 or 6 gallons of laundry soap at one time, so the scaled-down recipe was exactly what I needed.

I found the ingredients at Wal-Mart in the laundry aisle. They were all right there together on the side of the aisle with the stain removing products. I bought all 3 ingredients for $8.12. This includes 7% sales tax.

I was just a little disappointed when I read that the soap has colorants and perfume listed as ingredients. But I feel that it will be diluted enough that it won't cause irritated skin.

This is the recipe I used.
I found it at:  http://busy-at-home.com/blog/diy-laundry-detergent-save-big-have-fresh-clean-laundry

1/4 bar of Fels Naptha soap
2 Tablespoons Borax powder
1/4 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
water
1 large bucket with lid (or similar container with lid)


Cut  Fels Naptha bar soap into fourths. The other 3 pieces can be saved for later batches.

Grate the 1/4th piece of soap into medium shreds.

Put grated soap into a pot. Add 1 cup water. Over medium-low heat, begin melting soap stirring constantly. When all the soap is melted, remove from stove.

Pour 10 cups of water into a large bucket or container with a lid. Add the melted soap. Stir. Next add the Borax powder and the Washing Soda. Stir.

Add 10 more cups of water. Stir. There will be suds on the top but this is ok.

Put the lid on your bucket or container and let it sit overnight.
The next day the soap will be thicker, like a globby gel. Stir and transfer into whatever containers you have. For example, you could use a couple of old laundry detergent bottles or milk jugs. Anything with a lid should be fine. Divide the soap evenly between the 2 bottles. Each bottle should be half full of the soap mixture. Add water to fill to top.

You now have homemade laundry soap ready to use. Remember to shake the bottle before each use to mix the soap back up. This is my finished product. I have a regular washing machine, nothing fancy. I use 5/8 cup per load. I am pleased with the results. My clothes are clean and smell fresh.