Liquid Laundry Detergent
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.
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.
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.
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.
~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.
Powdered Laundry Detergent
1 bar (4-6 oz.) castile soap, grated (I found this on the health and beauty aisle in Publix)
2 c. Borax
2 c. washing soda
1 c. baking soda
essential oils (optional)
Combine first four ingredients. Add several drops of essential oils, if desired (tree oil has an anti-fungal/anti-anti-bacterial properties). Store in covered jar or bucket. Use 1/4-1/2 c. per load. This is a low sudsing detergent.
If you have a water softener you only have to use 1/2 of the recommended amount of detergent. I use about 2 Tbsp. per load.
Have fun and happy washing!
