Greenhouse Gardening Tips

Quick Tips: Frugal Fabric Softeners

Credit to: http://www.frugal-living-now.com/homemade-fabric-softener.html


1. Using 1/4 cup vinegar in your laundry’s rinse cycle keeps clothes soft. You can set aside a vinegar jug just for laundry and add about 2 dozen drops of your favorite essential oil to the vinegar if you’d like (or as much EO as you feel necessary).  I use one of those Downy Balls.




Fabric Softener Recipe

Makes about a gallon of fabric softener

• 1 cup baking soda
  
• 6 cups distilled white vinegar
  
• 8 cups water
  
• 10-12 drops essential oil of your choice (optional)
  (Click on Mountain Rose Herbs ad at the bottom of this page to order essential oil)
  
• a plastic gallon jug with a lid (an empty vinegar jug works well)

1. Mix the baking soda and water in a large, deep mixing bowl or pot
   
2. Stir it until the baking soda is dissolved
   
3. Slowly add the vinegar, one cup at a time. The mixture will fizz up, so stir it carefully until all the bubbles are gone before adding the next cup of vinegar.
   
4. Add the essential oil and stir.
   
5. Wait a few minutes for it to go "flat" before pouring the mixture into the empty jug. If you put it into the jug and cover it while it is still fizzy, the mixture will expand and may blow the lid off!
   
6. To use, shake the bottle and add 1 cup softener to the final rinse water

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

 http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

By Crystal Miller

Making your own laundry soap is very easy!  No longer do you need to rely on store bought detergents.  With a few ingredients on hand you will be able to make batch after batch of laundry soap.  The cost savings by doing this is incredible!

~If after reading through this you have a question PLEASE read the "Questions Answered" at the bottom of this page. I am no longer able to answer questions about the laundry soap via email.  Thank you! Crystal :)

What Ingredients Do You Need?

You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax. 

The Soap:  The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha.  It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle.  The other options for soap are Ivory or another brand called, Zote.  Any of these will work.  I use my own homemade soap and find it works quite well and I do have this for sale in my Country Store.  If you use Ivory or your own homemade soap you will need to use the whole bar.

Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda.  They are not the same thing.  Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate).  It is a white powder.  Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders.   The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.  I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store.   Many people have a hard time finding this locally.  I know you can purchase it on-line, even through Amazon.com.  I would also suggest asking your grocery store manager if it would be possible for the store to get it for you.

Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate.  It is a white powder.  It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Team.  It comes in a 76 oz. box.  You should be able to locate this in the laundry detergent aisle.  Again as with the washing soda, if you cannot find it ask you store manager or look online.

The Recipe

Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe:

Homemade Laundry Soap

1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above

½ cup washing soda

½ cup borax powder 

~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan.  Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts.  Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved.  Remove from heat.  Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket.   Now add your soap mixture and stir.  Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir.  Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel.  You use ½ cup per load.

**A few things to note about the soap** 

~The finished soap will not be a solid gel.  It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.

~The soap is a low sudsing soap.  So if you don’t see suds, that is ok.  Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.

Optional: If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice.  My favorite scent is orange essential oil.

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

But is it Really Less Expensive?

Is the laundry detergent a cost saver? How do the numbers on this add up? Well I am a person who likes to know what I am spending and if my efforts save me in one way or another. This is one of the areas that I wanted to know if I was actually saving money. We do a lot of laundry and I make double batches of this soap and knowing that the time spent doing this was a savings for my family was important to me. Here are my calculations:

 The cost of making the above recipe of laundry soap was .71 cents. That was amazing to me! With this 2 gallon size recipe you will have enough to do 64 loads of laundry. That translates to about .01 cent a load.

How Did I Figure This Out? Here is the breakdown of my costs and how I came up with those numbers (I am using the prices I paid for these items and you may find your price varies some based on what you pay): Fels Naptha: $1.12 for a 5.5 oz bar. The recipes says use a 1/3 of a bar. I calculated 2 oz. just to make the math a little easier. The cost of the Fels Naptha per batch is: .40 cents Washing Soda: $2.23 for a 55 oz. box. This came to .17 cents per batch. I calculated how much per oz (2.23 divided by 55) and then weighed a half cup of washing soda (4.2oz.) and multiplied my per oz. price by 4.2 Borax: $3.27 for a 76 oz. box. This came to .14 cents per batch. Did the same calculations as above, however a 1/2 cup of borax weighs 3.5 oz. For the final numbers I have .40 + .17 + .14 = .71 for 2 gallons of laundry detergent.

10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes : TipNut.com

 

10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes

 

Tipnut's Homemade Laundry Detergent

Here is a nice stack of different homemade laundry detergent recipes I’ve collected over the years. Do they work? Yes, I’ve had good luck with them.

At the time I was using homemade detergent, we had a relative who was in trade school living with us. Every day he was mechanic grease from head to toe–the clothes cleaned up nice!

Making your own laundry detergent is a discipline and it’s not for everyone, but it definitely saves money–sometimes just costing pennies a load!

First Some Tips:

• For the bar soaps required in the recipes, you could try Fels-Naptha, Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps.
• Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found in the laundry and cleaning aisles.
• Some people with really hard water or well water may have to adjust the recipes if the clothes look dingy.
• Although several of the recipes have the same ingredients, the measurements are different–some contain a higher soap to water ratio. Test and see which works best for your laundry needs.
• You can make huge pails of this at once, or smaller quantities. Also if you can get your hands on a few empty liquid laundry detergent bottles they work great for storing the detergent. Just make a big batch and pour in bottles, cap then use as needed–shake before use.
• Some of the recipes call for large amounts of water. Check with a local restaurant to see if they have any empty large pails from deep fryer oil–that’s how many restaurants buy the oil. See if you can have one or two of the pails after they’ve emptied it–just wash them out really well before using. They’re big, heavy plastic and very sturdy when stirring the soap and hot water.

10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes

 

Recipe #1

1 quart Water (boiling)                        
2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Washing Soda

• Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
• Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
• Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
• Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).

 

Recipe #2

Hot water
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1 Soap bar

• Grate the bar soap and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Stir over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.
• Fill a 10 gallon pail half full of hot water. Add the melted soap, Borax and Washing soda, stir well until all powder is dissolved. Top the pail up with more hot water.
• Use 1 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

 

Recipe #3

Hot water
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar Soap (grated)

• In a large pot, heat 3 pints of water. Add the grated bar soap and stir until melted. Then add the washing soda and borax. Stir until powder is dissolved, then remove from heat.
• In a 2 gallon clean pail, pour 1 quart of hot water and add the heated soap mixture. Top pail with cold water and stir well.
• Use 1/2 cup per load, stirring soap before each use (will gel).

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe #4

2 cups Fels Naptha Soap (finely grated – you could also try the other bar soaps listed at the top)
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Borax

• Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
• Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

 

Recipe #5

Hot water
1 bar (4.5 oz) Ivory Soap – grated
1 cup Washing Soda

• In a large saucepan add grated soap and enough hot water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until soap is melted.
• Fill a large pail with 2.5 gallons of hot water, add hot soap mixture. Stir until well mixed.
• Then add the washing soda, again stirring until well mixed.
• Set aside to cool.
• Use 1/2 cup per full load, stirring well before each use (will gel)

 

Recipe #6

2.5 gallons Water (hot)
1 Bar soap (grated)
3/4 cup Washing Soda
3/4 cup Borax
2 TBS Glycerin

• Melt bar soap over medium-low heat topped with water, stir until soap is melted.
• In a large pail, pour 2.5 gallons of hot water, add melted soap mixture, washing soda, borax and glycerin. Mix well.
• Use 1/2 cup per full load.

 

Recipe #7

2 cups Bar soap (grated)
2 cups Washing Soda
2 – 2.5 gallons hot water

• Melt grated soap in saucepan with water to cover. Heat over medium-low heat and stir until soap is dissolved.
• Pour hot water in large pail, add hot soap and washing soda. Stir very well.
• Use 1 cup per full load.

 

Recipe #8

2 gallons Water (hot)
1 bar Soap (grated)
2 cups Baking soda (yes baking soda this time–not washing soda)

• Melt grated soap in a saucepan with enough hot water to cover. Cook on medium-low heat, stirring frequently until soap is melted.
• In a large pail, pour 2 gallons hot water. Add melted soap, stir well.
• Then add the baking soda, stir well again.
• Use 1/2 cup per full load, 1 cup per very soiled load.

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe #9

 

12 cups Borax
8 cups Baking Soda
8 cups Washing Soda
8 cups Bar soap (grated)

• Mix all ingredients well and store in a sealed tub.
• Use 1/8 cup of powder per full load.

Recipe #10 – (Powdered)

 

cup Vinegar (white)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap

• Mix well and store in sealed container.
• I find it easiest to pour the liquid soap into the bowl first, stirred in the washing soda, then baking soda, then added the vinegar in small batches at a time (the recipe foams up at first). The mixture is a thick paste at first that will break down into a heavy powdered detergent, just keep stirring. There may be some hard lumps, try to break them down when stirring (it really helps to make sure the baking soda isn’t clumpy when first adding). I used 1/2 cup per full load with great results.

Liquid Detergents Note

Soap will be lumpy, goopy and gel-like. This is normal. Just give it a good stir before using. Make sure soap is covered with a lid when not in use. You could also pour the homemade soap in old (and cleaned) laundry detergent bottles and shake well before each use.

*If you can’t find Fels-Naptha locally, you can buy it online (check Amazon).

Optional

You can add between 10 to 15 drops of essential oil (per 2 gallons) to your homemade laundry detergent. Add once the soap has cooled to room temperature. Stir well and cover.

Essential oil ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil

*Admin Update: clarified instructions for Recipe #10 and liquid detergent notes.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve created a new page full of questions and answers for making homemade detergent, you can visit it here: Homemade Laundry Detergent FAQ.

You can still review all the questions, answers, recipes and tips that were shared in the comments area below. There are nearly 300 of them and it was hard for new readers to find the answers they needed since there’s so much information provided below.

No more comments will be accepted for this post but you’re welcome to start sharing your tips, recipes, questions & answers on the new page.

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10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes : TipNut.com