Anyone make their own laundry soap? Seen it on tv once or twice in the last two years or so, then found a recipe on pinterest yesterday. Items cost about $20 to purchase, makes a TON of soap and depending on how many times you wash a week claims to last 6 mo- 1 year. Just wondering if anyone has done it, long term pros/cons?

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My oldest granddaughter does it, and she absolutely swears by it. She has a mechanic husband and a 4 year old, just to give you an idea of her laundry load!

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I have been making my own for over a year now. I am still using my first box of borax I bought when I started. I love the way it works. I use only a 1/4 cup of soap to a load of laundry. With my family I make a batch about three times a yr... but sometimes my girls use more soap than needed...

Once you get over the cost to get started, I only spend a dollar on the bar soap needed.. and buy as needed.

We love it.. it does save tons of money.. and if you are washing the daycare stuff... you would be saving tons using it.

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I have been making mine for over a year. Ds has severe allergies and the detergent is SOOOO expensive, and even that tended to break him out! Mine gives him no reaction whatsoever! My dh is a plumber and we have four kids + daycare laundry. I averaged it out to spending about .30-.70/week on detergent.

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What soap recipes do you have? I've been wondering about this homemade soap myself and think I might give it a try. Do you find it's good on stains?
Thanks!

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I make a homemade powder and I it!! Cheap, simple, and did I mention CHEAP?! I use 2 TB to a load and have had great results. Been using it a few months now.

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My recipe is:

1 bar Ivory soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup washing soda

Grate the soap using the fine side of your grater (it's just soap, just wash it really well!). Add all three ingredients and stir (the original recipe says for five minutes, but I'm not sure it's necessary to do it that long--just stir well). Store tightly covered in a container. 2 TB per load, feel free to experiment and use more/less depending on your water, the load size, amount of dirt in the load, etc.

Sometimes I throw in a Downy ball full of distilled white vinegar for extra cleaning power during the wash cycle.

Works fine for HE/front-loading washers as it is low-sudsing. Good for cloth diapers, too.

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back in my very poor days I had more food stamps than chash I washed my close with straight baking soda the kind you bake with not the washing stuff I used 1 cup per small load and it worked fine except on red stains like blood. The only thing I missed was the smell of cloting soap and then when cash flow was no longer a problem I did the math and I was only saving like $1 for every 30 loads, so I stopped the practic.

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Here is my recipe for A HUGE BATCH. I found it on pinterest so I have never tried it. Sounds like it comes with everything you need to get the job done.

3 bars Fels Naptha (or 2 bars Zote) soap
3lbs oxy clean (we buy generic kind)
4 lbs baking soda (whole big box)
55 oz arm and hammer Super washing soda (whole big box)
76 oz borax (one whole big box)

Grate the soap (or food processor it) Then mix the shredded soap and all the ingredients together in a 5 gal bucket. Use 1-2 tablespoons at a time.

Recipe also said you only need to use the oxy clean for tough stains but really with kids it's probably necessary.

Here is the site it was taken from:
http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com


I guess I am wondering about clothes fading? Soap build up? Washer issues from soap not dissolving? Just want to make sure saving on soap doesnt cost me more in the long run.

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Use Ivory soap instead of the Fels Naptha, really...the Fels Naptha has awful chemicals in it and ivory is actually pretty pure.

And, it's cheaper!

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I LOVE LOVE LOVE my homemade laundry soap!!!


I have been making homemade powder since this winter. My recipe is

1bar Fels Naptha
-I chose this soap bc i thought if I was washing cloths I wanted to use a soap that was for cloths (SilverSabre25 can you tell me more about the chems in it?)
1 Cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax
I use 1 T per load.....and a littel extra if it is a big/extra stinky load.


I found a canister at wal-mart that has a metal table spoon with it. I make a double batch and it all fit in,


It makes our cloths smelll GREAT. I aslo tried vinagar as a fabric softener....but it takes away the 'good' smell the soap leaves. ( I do love to use vin to get all sorts of smells OUT if my house, I just prefer to leave the soap smell

Over all I do think I am savign a ton of money not buying $16-20 laundry soap...but the savings hasn't exactly found its way to my vacation fund

I also like the comments I get when I tell people I make my own....they act like I am superwoman

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Fels naptha says on the wrapper there is no longer naphthalene in it. Are you talking about other chemicals?

I have heard lots of people substitute Ivory in place of it though.

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I'll be honest that I just searched and saw nothing about it...one message board mention of petroleum but even the Wikipedia article says that the concerns were related to the original formulation, not the current one. Sooo, I guess it's safe. It's what I get for listening to other people (but it's simpler!! :P)

I did ask my sister for some more information, so I'll update if I get it.

Heh.

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I have thought about making laundry soap but........I only spend about 2 -3 dollars a month on soap. I figure it only cost me about 10 cents a day for it. I know everyone will say I could make it for cheaper but spending even $20.00 for the initial start up costs would actually be several months worth of store bought laundry soap.

I also do laundry every day-familys and daycare.

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Thanks for the info. I figured there is always the possibility of OTHER chemicals in it.

And yea, the ivory is way easier. Blow it up in the microwave and it is already powder like. Plus I think it smells better. I did make the soap today and I make it exactly as the recipe calls for, so looks like in 6 mo to a year I will try it with the ivory .

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I have made both the liquid and the powdered. I prefer the powdered, simply because it is easier to make and use.

Some things I have found:

They both clean about the same - about as well as the "cheaper" laundry detergents. You can boost the cleaning power by adding a little more borax - there are recipes and suggestions for this online.

The powder will NOT dissolve well in cold water. If you wash a lot in COLD water, make the liquid. Putsier, but works better in cold.

Otherwise, I was well pleased with them for what they were. I still go back to Tide or Oxi-clean for the really dirty stuff, tho.

I DO have a floor cleaning recipe that I LOVE! If anyone would like it, pm me and I'd be glad to post it!

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I made my own for about a year, maybe a little longer. It was the borax, washing soda, ivory soap mixture - even added oxy clean to it but after a while I realized how dingy my loads of whites were. I really noticed it when I bought some new undershirts for my boys. I decided to go back to my trusted tide and my whites are MUCH whiter again. Maybe its my water, or maybe people just don't notice that the stuff makes whites dingy looking but it bothered me.

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I noticed that, and add vinegar to my white loads. Problem solved!

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I've always added vinegar to all my loads - its a good fabric softener! I think maybe I may have "hard" water or something that made such a difference in the whites - I don't know!

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I use vinegar for my floors and I throw some in my dishwasher. Can you tell me more about adding it to the clothes? I have never hard of that. I, too, have hard water but I just use a Downy ball for all clothes. For my whites (socks), I use bleach.

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http://laundry.about.com/od/vinegari...vinegarhub.htm

I have hard water also, we put in a water softener and that has helped a bunch with laundry (as well as with our skin!) Vinegar is AWESOME! I have that stuff stashed all over the house!

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I tried it but my clothes, especiall my husbands, didn't really get clean.

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