Making Laundry Detergent – Homesteading With Suzanne

Posted by Suzanne | 0 comments

The last time we talked I told you how I had temporarily dropped all of my newly frugal ways due to the surprising sickness that came with this pregnancy.  Except one.  Laundry detergent.  I started making my own detergent last November after watching an episode of 18 Kids and Counting and I haven’t looked back.  The money saving value is so exceptional it will, at the very least, make you look twice and, at most, cause your jaw to drop and become it’s number one promoter.

For most recipes I found online there were 3 basic ingredients needed.  Borax, washing soda, and laundry soap.  I find these three items in my grocery store for under $10 (you can call their hotline numbers to find a store near you) or order them online.

Here are the two recipes I have tried.

Liquid: I used the Duggars recipe found here.

Powder: 1 cup Borax, 1 cup Washing Soda, and enough grated Fels-Naptha to make 2 cups (usually 1-2 bars)

Here is the full list of what I gather each time I make a large batch of detergent.

I have a large coffee can cleaned out to hold the detergent, an old cheese grater I keep just for the soap,
a plate to grate the soap onto, a little food chopper to finely chop the soap, and here’s where I appear to really go off the deep end – I keep our extra remnants of bath soap (you know the little pieces that usually fall apart and get thrown away?) and then use them as extra filler soap with the Fels-Naptha.

My large almost 3 pound coffee can will hold a triple batch and this lasts us months.

I grate the Fels-Naptha and remnant soap, then put it in the chopper to make it super fine.  I dump the soap into the coffee can at this point, add the 3 cups Borax and 3 cups Washing Soda (remember – my big batch is tripled) secure the lid and shake thoroughly.  And I’m through.  I use less than 1/8 cup powder per large load.

I have consistently used 20 Mule Team Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda, but I have tried several different types of soaps – Pink Zote Soap and regular Zote Soap.  They all worked great I just happened to like the Fels-Naptha the best.  It’s a harder soap – I like the way it grates and I like the smell of it a little better.  And speaking of the smell, the fragrance is very light before washing.  After washing, the clothes have no noticeable odor.  At all.  Even in that first trimester.  I, personally, like a stronger smell to my clothes, so with all the money saved on detergent I began buying the off-brand fabric softeners just to make my clothes smell like what I’m used to.

In my brief time making detergent I’ve learned a few things. There are lots of recipes out there.  I began with the recipe they gave on television – it was a liquid version.  It worked fine for us and I have at least two friends who still opt for the liquid recipe – it does seem to go a little further.  I switched to powder when I got pregnant and loved the ease of it so much that I haven’t gone back.  I had to tweak ours a bit, which I read later may have been due to the hardness of our water.  Maybe.  Though I’m fairly certain mine was due to my general goofiness.

For instance, my local Wal-Mart did not carry the Washing Soda and I figured since it and Baking Soda were both made by Arm & Hammer and they both had Soda in the name that they couldn’t be that different, right?  Not so.  At least, not in the same ratios.  After one batch made with the Baking Soda our clothes were looking very dingy.  I became disheartened and almost gave up.  But after reviewing my recipe, decided to do a search of the bigger city for the real stuff and actually give the real recipe a try.  (Novel concept, right?)  It worked like a charm.  Our clothes came out beautifully clean.

Here is another site with lots of versions of the recipe.

So, tell me, do you use homemade laundry detergent?  If so, how long have you been doing it and what’s your recipe?  If not, but think you want to try this, be sure to come back and tell us how it works out and if you’ll continue.

Happy soap making!!

Suzanne is wife to one and mama to four and a half. The little ones are 2 boys ages 7 and 6, a girl who’s 4, a wild toddler boy who’s 2 and a new baby boy expected this October. She eclecticly unschools with lapbooks the Charlotte Mason way. In other words, she doesn’t have the slightest clue what she’s doing, but does it anyway. Be sure to stop by her personal blog at TheJoyfulChaos.