Ok. I know what many of y’all might be thinking when you read the title of this post.
Is she serious? Homemade laundry soap?
Isn’t that a pain?
Aren’t the ingredients hard to find?
Really, how much money could that save you in the long run?
And, perhaps most importantly,
Does the stuff really work?
I was skeptical, too. In fact, I purchased all of the ingredients to make my first batch last fall, but only just at the beginning of this year did I get around to making it. I had hang-ups about the amount of work it would entail and the overall quality of the fruit of my labor. After using this soap for a couple of months now, I can say without hesitation that of all of the harebrained home remedies I’ve tried, this has to be the one that surprised me the most. Not only is this process to make a batch incredibly easy, I was able to get my hands on the ingredients even in Small Town America, and the resulting soap costs only pennies to make. Pennies! And, this stuff really, truly WORKS! Case in point: I had a blood-stained shirt I forgot to stain treat before throwing it in the wash (the result of a spill Charlotte took during a recent walk to the library), and I was absolutely floored to discovered that the stain was completely removed even without the help of my beloved OxyClean. Suffice it to say, that little incident alone was enough to sell me on this stuff!
Ok. Sales pitch over. On to the nitty gritty of how to make a batch of your own!
You’ll need:
Grate your soap. I use my food processor to make quick work of it, but a box grater would do just fine. In a medium sauce pan, combine the grated soap and 4 cups water. Place over medium-high heat, stirring until soap is completely melted. To the pan, add Borax and the washing soda, stirring until all ingredients have dissolved completely and mixture is a whitish color. Pour the soap mixture into your plastic bucket. To this, add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water, stirring thoroughly to combine. If desired, use a funnel to pour into the containers of your choosing. - This soap will not produce suds like you are used to seeing with commercial laundry detergents. Rest assured, it is not the bubbles that clean you garments, so their absence shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
- This mixture will form a fairly liquidy gel, very unlike the homogenous type you are used to in standard laundry detergents. Again, this shouldn’t be any cause for concern.
- I have tried a couple of storage options, and I am actually finding myself gravitating toward storing the prepared detergent in a 20-quart plastic storage bin with lid rather than in the vinegar bottles I used initially (and which are shown in the photos above). Even though the bin takes up more space in my laundry room, I find it much easier to re-stir the soap as needed with my measuring scoop rather than attempting to shake and then pour from those heavy bottles. (The gel tends to separate a bit after it sits for a while.) But that is just a matter of personal preference, and you can find a storage system that works for you.
- I probably do an average of 3 loads of laundry a day to keep up with the clothing/towel/etc. demands of my family of five, and the last batch I made using these measurements lasted me just shy of a month. Not bad, huh?
Please let me know if you have any questions at all. I am by no means an expert in this arena, but I will try to help you in any way I can!
Having grown up in a home brimming with sewing notions and paintbrushes, Amy has a deep love for all things creative. On any given day, you’ll find her knee-deep in her latest creative endeavor, with projects ranging from sewing and crafts to home decor and kid-friendly ideas. Amy believes that everyone, regardless of skill level or experience, possesses the ability to create something beautiful, and Positively Splendid was born of her passion for helping others harness their innate creative potential.
How does it work on chocolate milk?? If I could find something that took chocolate milk out I’d be sold! I might have to give it a try, both Gary and Owen have sensitive skin so I have to watch what I use.
LOL about the chocolate milk! I am shocked to say I haven’t had to test that out yet, but I know it’s only a matter of time before I do. I’ll be sure to keep you posted. 🙂
As far as the skin sensitivity, all three of my kiddos have eczema, and it really seems to have helped!
So, how much total did you spend to get your ingredients to first start? Do you use it as a pretreater as well?
Lindsey – all of my kids have very sensitive skin and I have used this for over a year. Their eczema has almost completely disappeared and that is amazing considering its winter here.
Amy – I just realized this week that once the soap has set up for a day or two, I run my immersion blender through it. It makes it an amazing gel consistency and almost completely eliminated the need for me to stir it before using it.
I do not use it as a pre-treater because its not needed. The one thing I have found that I used it as a pre-treater once and it worked too well. It cleaned the shirt so well in that spot, the rest of the shirt looked like junk! LOL!
I also add an ounce of orange essential oil to my batches. It smells so fresh and clean. 🙂
Brenda – Terrific idea about the immersion blender!! I will have to give that a try.
Stacy – Operating totally off the cuff here, but I think my Borax was about $4 for a big box (70-something ounces). The washing soda, probably about the same amount, maybe a bit less? And a bar of Ivory soap maybe costs 50 cents, at the most. Considering how little of each you use each time, I am guessing I will be able to make at least 15 batches of soap with the soda and way more than that with the Borax. So for the cost of one bottle of Tide, I will have enough soap for a year (or more!).
I am ridiculously excited about this – between you & Brenda doing this, I’ve just got to!
I even have the Borax powder already from our cloth diaper days!
I want to try this…my mom and I were talking about doing this the other day (she makes Lye soap and other soaps). You’ve inspired me! YET AGAIN! Thanks!!!
BTW…did you know we are both Arkansas girls?! My little sister goes to UCA! We’re practically neigbors! LOL! (I’ll quit stalking you now 🙂
Great post! I love that you use Ivory instead of Fells Naptha, I am sure the environment likes it too.
holy cow Amy, once again, is there anything you DON’T do?!? Very impressed…you are quickly becoming my new personal “flylady!” BTW, so excited to try out the brownies, not ready for the detergent yet…:)
I love that you made liquid – I’ll have to forward it on to a friend who likes liquid and all I make is powdered. So glad it works so well!
Becca, you are too funny! Let me know how you like the blondies…I’ll win you over on the laundry soap yet. 😉
Kari, I was actually interested when I saw your post for the powdered variety. I might give it a try next, just to see which one I wind up preferring.
Hi Any, Becca introduced me to your blog because she knew I would be interested in the recipe for laundry soap – and I am! Can’t wait to try it. You know how messy ‘Mr. Markl’ can be. :):) It was fun browsing through your blog and seeing your family. How precious.
Just found your site…I can’t wait to try making the laundry soap. This is one thing I haven’t tried yet!
Ok…..I never ever comment, but I thought I would drop you a line to tell you that.
I LOVE THIS SOAP RECIPE !!!
Oddly my store did carry the ivory bar, but they had ZOTE,washing soda & borax.
The zote was 99 cents and smells so fresh and I never knew how awesome this stuff works.
I did laundry all weekend because of the extra softness I noticed using this combination of ingredients.
I am having my daughter bring over all of my grandaughters clothing and bedding this week so that I can launder all of her things with this soap, poor little dear has very dry skin, ezema and is itching all the time, I think this will help to keep her comfortable.
Thank you I love your blog !
I also love the biscuit & scone recipe, I won big brownie points with the boss man when I brought the scones to work.
Have a great day !
I wonder if I could do this?! Any idea if this stuff is okay for front loading HE washers?? My husband has sensitive skin and maybe this would be great for him!!!
I’m going to make some! I’ve been thinking about it for a while, but being college students I think the saved money will be a huge help. You’ve convinced me. Thanks!
I make laundry detergent using these same ingredients, but different proportions and do it dry. I’ve been very pleased with the results but I’m wondering if I would like the liquid more…. hmmmm I just got an immersion blender for Christmas.
I’ve been making my laundry detergent for a while now. The recipe I use is a tad different and uses the Fels-Naptha bar which I found at Walmart by the sponges.
Love this stuff! I don’t believe I will every pay for laundry detergent again! I’ve made two batched since my first one in June 2010. All I need to by for the next batch is the $1.00 Fels-Naptha bar.
http://morrest1101.blogspot.com/2010/08/homeade-laundry-detergent.html
Instead of fabric softener…I use a cup of white vinegar. I just pour it in the little cup in my washer. Way cheaper than buying Downy.
For chocolate milk I’ve found that the oxi-clean stain spray in the blue bottle gets it out every time!
Kari – how do you make the powdered kind? Does it work just as well?