Thursday, April 5, 2012

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent


Turn this:


Into this:



What you will need:
  • 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha
  • 1/2 cup Washing Soda
  • 1/2 cup Borax
  • Grater
  • 2 gallon bucket
  • Water
  • Empty detergent bottles.  Ask your friends and family to save theirs and pass them along to you if you don't have any! 

Directions:
  1. Heat the Fels Naptha until all of the soap shavings have completely dissolved. 
  2. Once the Fels Naptha has dissolved,  add the 1/2 cup of borax and the 1/2 cup of washing soda into the saucepan. Stir the mixture until the borax and washing soda are completely dissolved and mixed.
  3. In your 2 gallon bucket, add 4 cups of hot water.  
  4. Carefully pour your Fels Naptha/Borax/Washing Soda mixture from the saucepan into the bucket and stir. 
  5. Add 1 gallon and 6 cups of water into the bucket and stir.  
  6. Leave the soap rest for at least 24 hours.  During this time, the soap mixture will gel and your liquid laundry detergent is finished!
Use 1/2 cup of your homemade liquid laundry detergent per load.  




13 comments :

  1. I Make this,but instead of the Fels Naptha I use Dove bar soap. It works great and I save so much money compared to commercial laundry detergent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! I have heard that you can use whichever type of bar soap that you like. I will add more to this post, such as cost breakdown when I get the chance, but I know that it comes out to be just a few cents per load! Laundry detergent is definitely a high cost item and something we fly through!

      Delete
  2. Doesn't this leave a film on your clothes after a while.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, I can't say that it does. In fact, our clothes have never been cleaner.

      Delete
  3. hi-
    is this more of a money saver or is it also trying to find a green (good for people, good for the planet) alternatuve that actually deep cleans?
    I ask because I´ve personally bought Fels-Naptha... but i wonder what its ingredients are as they are quiet vague...
    The question is, can this be considered all natural and earth friendly?

    ReplyDelete
  4. How much should be used for front loading HE washers?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES! This recipe does not contain any sudsing agents and are safe for high efficiency washing machines. Enjoy :)

      Delete
  5. I was going to ask the samr question that Marla asked. Front load washer must have the HE...is it safe to use??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. YES! This recipe does not contain any sudsing agents and are safe for high efficiency washing machines. Enjoy :)

      Delete
  6. I've been making a variation of this recipe for a few years now. We used to use Tide and I think this gets the clothes much cleaner. Esp the whites which would sometimes come out smelling musty. For the person that asked about what's in Felz Naptha, if you are concerned but still want to make your own laundry soap, you can use any bar soap to replace the felz naptha. I have some handmade patchouli soap that I have been wanting to try out. I have used the felz naptha so far though. We just keep ours in a 5 gallon bucket with a lid and I scoop out of it with a plastic measuring cup. Our neighbor makes a dry version of this that she seems to like better but I think the liquid detergent dissolves better personally.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I generally put the detergent in first, then the clothes, then close the lid and start the washer....can I still do that with this detergent or do you have to fill the washer before putting in the clothes?

    ReplyDelete

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