I wanted to see if you had any tried and true recipes or suggestions to making my own laundry detergent. I was thinking about purchasing this:
Soaps Gone Buy - Where Soaps of yesterday are found Today!

Thanks


**maybe Target or my local store carries this without having to pay shipping?

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-Kristi

I've been making my own laundry soap for a couple of years. Although the link is a fair price for all of that, I think you can buy it for the same price (or maybe even a little less) locally. I didn't check out the shipping on the link, but with that included, I'm sure it would cost less to just buy it locally. You can buy all 3 things at most grocery stores. Ask if you can't find them...they are usually on a top shelf. I think I pay $1.59 for Fels Naphta soap so 7 bars would be $11.13, instead of $12.25. I can't remember what I pay for borax and washing soda. This is the recipe I use:

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Hot Water

Mix Fels Naptha soap in a saucepan with 3 pints of water, and heat on low until dissolved. Stir in Washing Soda and Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 quart hot water to 2 gallon bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with hot water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

I make my own also. I think the one I make is better than any I can buy in the store. I find it removes the underarm stains the best. I use a toothbrush and rub it in before I wash.
I use the same recipe as freer except I use octagon soap because I can't find fels naptha local. I have a front load washer and find I can use 1/3 cup per load. After I mix the soap I pour it in old laundry detergent bottles. It's easier for me to store the soap than in a big bucket. I buy the octagon soap in foodlion.
I think you can probably find the items for the same price or cheaper locally.

Judy

I don't get it.What is the point to making it,

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Same point of making your own chocolate chip cookies instead of buying Chips Ahoy.
Same point as having a garden and growing your own veggies.
Same point as making your own bread.

1) some people enjoy doing it
2) some people want to know what exactly is in their "stuff" (be it food or household cleaners
3) some people believe it's better for them or better for the enviroment
4) at least one here said she believes it works better
5) cheaper

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Correct on all counts.

I make my own sometimes. Not always... but sometimes.

It's cheaper, and my clothes and towels (ESPECIALLY TOWELS) come out so, so, so, so much softer when I use the homemade kind. It doesn't take long at all to mix it up.

I started doing it at during a 'super frugal phase', and decided that in many regards, it's actually a superior product to the ready-made stuff. For some things I prefer Tide with Bleach, but generally speaking if I had both in front of me, I'd usually reach for the homemade.

My hubby has a big problem with eczema. I needed to find something to wash clothes in that wouldn't aggravate it to much. Even the soap for babies was bad for him. I decide to try to make my own and it has helped him and I liked how it worked.
M3, try adding baking soda to the mix. I was having a problem with a funky smell in the summer with my hubby's uniforms and my mom said to try baking soda. It seems to help.
Judy

I make it and enjoy it for all the reasons astated above PLUS for us it removes the funky odor from my teenage son's athletic clothes. I bought 10 bottles of All Small & Mighty for VERY cheap. I used in DS's load and when I opened the washing machine the smell almost knocked me over. I rewashed the load with my homemade detergent and the odor was gone.

Selena

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God is not Santa Claus

I've been wanting to try making my own, but I recently got a top loader, energy efficient washer. Is it OK for that?

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Linda

lfaivre
Yes, you should be able to use it in your new machine. In my machine I'm supposed to use HE detergent, which this homemade type is.
Judy

I was coming back to say that I store mine in old laundry detergent bottles and use less than recommended ~ I just dump a *glop* in and don't measure. Judy beat me to it.

I do use my hands to soften up the gel in the bucket before I put it in laundry jugs, then I give it a good shake just before using.

BTW, it takes about 15 minutes to make and it makes 2 gallons. The Fels Naphta bar can be used for 3 batches, and the borax and washing soda last a long time.

I also just started using equal parts of washing soda and borax in my dish washer. So far, so good.

I envy you ladies!

I tried the recipe Freer suggested, and I don't think it worked. It didn't take real long for my husband's white cotton t-shirts to start looking dingy. I'm sure I'm doing/did something wrong. My Fels Naptha bar was kind of old, not sure if that had anything to do with it? Everything else in the ingredients was brand new.

<sigh> I was so disappointed, I thought it would have been so cool for me to make our detergent!

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I make mine, I use the Duggars recipe.
I think it depends on your water. We have crummy water and have some plumbing issues right now, when I do laundry and the washer drains, it backs up into the bathtub! So my clothes are kind of dingy using my homemade stuff. I'm probably going to buy some Biz or something just to brighten everything up once I get the plumber out.

Also you can use any kind of bar soap. I use half a bar of Fels Naptha and half a bar of homemade yummy smelling stuff. I also sometimes scent my detergent with essential oils.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

Borax you should be able to find at almost any grocery and WM. I had trouble finding the washing powder, ended up ordering a bunch from drugstore.com and I used to be able to find Fels Naptha everywhere but couldn't so I ordered it from Amazon. I got my supplies about 2 years ago so I don't remember prices.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

I'm like wow. I make it sometimes, but not always. I bought the stuff to make it about 2 years ago and still have enough to make 2 more batches. However, I bought about 20 bottles of All Small and Mighty a while back with some great coupons, so I'm not using it right now. But, I feel really bad each time I finish a bottle and put it in the recycle bin, so I am saving some of these and will be making my own again soon. I just don't like all the plastic waste.

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Kim

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VERY WELL SAID!

I started to make laundry soap, and use it most of the time!
It works so great that I'm going to try and make fabric softener soon.

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…..Maybe you can spend it on stuff to make laundry soap


Julie

I asked why, because I really didn't understand why you would. It s not the same, to me, as baking, because I do that for taste.It did not seem to me to really be cheaper, So, I was just curious.....still am kind of.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

to quote you from a recent thread

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

not worried, trouble maker. was curious as to what I might be missing Never once said it was a bad idea or that it should not be done. That's the difference. Was just curious.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I do think it's much cheaper and definitely better from an environmental perspective. The ingredients cost me about $11 and would make about 16 gallons of laundry soap (2-3 gallons at a time). The problem for me was where to put it. I didn't like having a big bucket sitting in my laundry room because it isn't very big. I also didn't have lots of extra laundry bottles sitting around. I've saved some of the most recent bottles and will refill them with soap when I get a little lower in my stash. We are also buying a new house with a much larger laundry room, so the bucket wouldn't be that big of an issue any more. I will go back to making it soon, I'm sure.

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Kim

Couple of questions. First, how many loads can you do for $11? Next, what about HE machines? Is is safe for them?

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I don't have an HE machine, so I can't personally talk about that. Unfortunately, I can't give you the exact info on the other, either. I spent $11 last year and made 2 batches. Each made enough laundry soap for us for about 2 or 2 1/2 months (family of 3/sometimes 4). I have enough of the ingredients to make at least 4 more batches of soap. I hope that helps a little.

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Kim

I think it's one of those things that if it's the *only* thing someone does to save money, it's probably not worth it.

However, if you think about the fact that it's about 1/5th the price (or less) of pre-made, well... if we tried cut the amount we spend on most of the items we purchase by 80%, it would make a significant difference in our ability to save for our futures, get out of debt, stay out of debt, or fully fund some of our current 'wants' that we don't think we have the money for.

Groovygirl,
I called whirlpool(the maker of my washer) and asked them if the detergent I make was safe for my washer and they said it was safe. The person I spoke to said it was better than the store detergent because it suds less. She used the same recipe I do. Se said it's the suds that cause problems with the pump. We have a friend who fixes appliances and he said the same thing.

I do 3-4 loads a week and the detergent lasts about 6 months for me. I find with the stuff from the stores gets to sudsy(I only use a coffee scoop amount) and I have to do a second rinse most of the time. I don't have that problem with what I make.

HTH,
Judy

I spent about $20 on supplies about 2 years ago and just used my last bar of Fels Naptha.
I have 6 kids so I do a lot of laundry.
So $20 for 2 years on detergent seems like a pretty good savings. Before I was spending minimum $20 a month on Tide.

Also I agree this is very low sudsing. When I had to switch back to Tide for awhile I hated all the suds it made.

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

As already stated, it's great for top or front loading machines.

I've used *real* laundry detergent a few times (samples that I've received) and I really hate that fake laundry smell. I can even smell it on other people sometimes and wonder why they like it. The homemade soap just smell fresh, but not overwhelming.

Top or front, but I was asking about he. I use a liquid fabric softener, so that is the smell I am left with. I \am worried about the he thing and ruining my machine,,,,,not the smell. It sounds safe, though. I will call maytag just to be sure if I decide to try it.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I just got my supplies and I put in 2 loads of laundry I am excited! I made the powdered recipe.
I bought the Borax @ Fresh n Easy for $3.99
Fels Naptha $1.79 at Albertsons
Washing Soda $3.29 at Albertsons

I found the Borax cheaper at Target after I already purchased it at Fresh n Easy. It was $2.99 at Target.

I used 1 bar of grated then powdered Fels Naptha (I grated it with my kitchenaid and powedered it in the Magic Bullet.)
1 Cup Borax
1 Cup Washing Soda

I used about 1.5 Tbsp for a large load.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I will update after we have worn the clothes

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-Kristi

I am still thinking about this, but also wonder about storing it all. I have not called maytag yet.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Personally, I don't make it in a huge, huge batch. I add less water and use less of it because it is more concentrated. When you do it that way, you can't put it in a used jug because it isn't pourable. It is more the consistency of jello, and I just put a scoop in that's between 1/8 and 1/4 of a cup.

Please share with us what Maytag says. My guess is that they wouldn't endorse anything out of the usual. My bet is that they'd recommend using only he detergent for front loaders. I would seriously doubt that they'd be familiar with homemade soap.

I have not called yet, but yes.....my book says only he. Mine is actually a top loader, but is he. I had the front loader for about 10 years and I HATED it.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

I would bet they will not cover any repair under warranty of you are not using HE detergent. How will they know??? I don't know. I have a front loader HE and am not very thrilled with it. The mold around the gasket alone is enough to keep me from buying another. I do like the look of the HE appliances, tho. We will keep this until it dies, and then decide what we will do after that.

As for making my own detergent.....I tried, and honestly, for me, it's not worth my time.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Yes! The mold was nasty! I never felt like my clothes were clean. I also had other issues. I hated it so badly, but kept it until it dies because I paid so much for it. I have a top loader HE now and I love it.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Same here. We got the pedestals, too....which I love more than the actual machines themselves. LOL. Good to know you love the HE top loader. I do believe it saves water so would like to go with another HE, just not something that smells and gets moldy. Not to mention (and HOW could I forget this....) we have had to replace the door handle THREE times already, and it is broken again, we are just milking it along.....

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

My door handle broke, too. My pump went out, my mother board, and that little plastic piece that lets the machine know the door is closed broke. The final straw was when the rubber rim started to come apart and little pieces of rubber were all over my clothes, the tub was off balance and making such a noise that it sounded like a mobster shoot out in my house. The thing finally died, with all of my towels trapped inside of it.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

My goodness, what brand of machine did you guys have? I love mine, although I do get a little gunk around the gasket. I clean it out and have never had smelly problems, and nothing has ever broken. I've had it about 4 years.

I had the whirlpool duet. I guess it was around the 5th year when it started getting really bad, but the mother board went out around the third year, or maybe a little later. The smell was my main problem.

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

My mom and stepmom both have the HE front-loaders and they both hate it. They do look cool, but neither one would buy another...

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Kim

I love my front loader. It's the bottom line Amana. Had it a little over two years and it still works great. I've never had a problem with mold or mildew but I do leave the door open after I do a load of wash. I usually do laundry at night and leave the door open all night to make sure it's all dry before I shut it.

I did break the latch off that locks the door but that was completely my fault. I yanked the door open one time before it had unlocked

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Insanity laughs under pressure we're cracking

I really wanted a front-loader, but our laundry room is small and unless we wanted to re-plumb it, we couldn't do it. The washer had to be on the right and all the front loaders needed to go on the left. So we paid extra to buy an HE top loader and I haven't had any problems with it (although it is only 2 years old). I'm glad now we couldn't fit the front loaders!

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Linda

Yes, be glad. I actually fit more into my HE top loader, too. I got a silver one and just love it!!

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"When you're drowning, you don't say 'I would be incredibly pleased if someone would have the foresight to notice me drowning and come and help me,' you just scream."

John Lennon

Mine is something of a HE top loader. It wasn't officially called an HE, I don't think... well, maybe it was. I don't recall. Is barely uses any water and while I don't use HE detergent, I use very little of the regular stuff.

The only appeal the front-loader had with me was that you could have countertop across them. I really would appreciate a place to fold towels right as they come out of the dryer.

Me too....Whirlpool Duet. I think I have had it 4 years now??? the handle is all plastic, and all the stress/strain is on there. I think they have since changed the design handle. I called them SEVERAL times over it and they tell me there is NO RECALL on the handle. There sure needs to be. It is ridiculous.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

No, I very rarely use any fabric softener at all. I do use it with fleece things because they seem to get a little static-y. I use 1/2 sheet, then save it for another time if it still has some scent in it. Once in a blue moon, I put some vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser. I never use liquid softener.

No prob Pat I'm just glad I found what I needed!

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-Kristi