We have been making our own laundry detergent for quite some time now and thought we would share how we do it today. Our recipe is just slightly different then most you find online though. Most use a different soap then we do but in our past experience, the other soap has caused skin allergies or sensitivity. By using Ivory soap, we can even use it on baby clothes without having to worry. Also, Ivory bar soap is so much easier to find in a store. Double plus!
My mother-in-law recently asked for some of our homemade laundry detergent and is thrilled with it. She tried an experiment of washing whites with my homemade detergent and then washing some with her old brand. She could not believe how much whiter my soap did compared to her "store-bought" brand. It thrilled me to death to know this too.
Okay, so here is what you will need:
- 1 bar of Ivory soap
- 1/2 cup washing soda
- 1/2 cup borax
The washing soda I purchased online from Amazon.com. For shipping and all cost me less than $10 and the box will last a LONG time.
The Borax I found at Walmart in the laundry aisle.
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| This is what it looks like after you add the soap shavings and water. | | |
First thing you need to do is grate the Ivory soap. I use a vegetable peeler that I purchased for this purpose but you can use what ever you desire. Once it is all grated, put it in a large pot. Now add 6 cups of water and heat it up until the soap is all melted.
Then add in the washing soda and the Borax. Stir it up until it is mixed well. Remove it off the stove and set aside.
Take a HUGE pot or bucket and pour in 4 cups of hot water and then pour in the soap mixture. Stir it again then add a gallon of water and an additional 6 cups of water and stir it up again. Now just put the bucket out of the way somewhere overnight. After about 24 hours it is ready to use.
The detergent turns into a gel like mass. Do not expect it to be totally gelled though. Another thing to note about the detergent is that there will be very little suds when you wash. Do not panic. It is okay. With this soap, it is the ingredients that do the cleaning and not the bubbles. Trust me. :-)
Use 1/2 cup per load.
Besides making our own detergent, we also do not use a standard washing machine. We do the laundry by hand (well sort-of). We actually do it with a plunger, a five gallon bucket, and tub. If you want to see how, you can view how we do laundry country style here. I also make our own fabric softener and dishwasher detergent. Check back soon to learn how to do it.
Be sure to check out my post about line drying in the winter time!
