Does anyone make their own homemade laundry detergent? what other products homemade?

[Prairie~Phlox]

I usually coupon, but am almost out of laundry detergent that I had stocked up on and I am debating on making this: http://beingcreativetokeepmysanity.blogspot.com/2010/11/homemade-laundry-soap.html?m=0

 

Anyone make their own? Care to share a recipe? I do have a water softener and fairly decent water if that makes a difference.

 

Also, what other cleaning/household products do you make?

Thanks,

Phlox

[3peasinWa]

subbing. I've been wanting to make my own for some time now.

[NicAnn]

I've been making my own for years and have had great luck, even with our cloth diapers. I usually keep mine in dry form but it is less expensive to do liquid.

Recipe:

1 cup borax, 1 cup Washing soda, 2 bars soap (I use homemade, but Ivory works too). Grate the soap...with the zest/smallest hole setting. Mix all ingredients. Easy!

 

My favorite cleaner is straight vinegar with 10 drops each of Tea Tree, Lavender, ad Grapefruit extract oil. I also like 2 teaspoons (about, I don't measure) of Dr. Bronner's lavender or DB Sal Suds, mixed with a full spray bottle of water. You can clean a whole house with either of those. Just don't mix the vinegar with the Dr. Bronner's because they kind of cancel each other out.

 

I make everything homemade, beauty products, cleaning supplies, everything. We are crazy hippies, lol. Just let me know if you want something more specific.

[KungFuPanda]

I use a similar recipe and I've been very happy with the results. I don't grate the soap, though. I put it in the microwave to dry it out for a few minutes, then toss the pieces in the Cuisinart. It gets turned to dust in seconds and I don't have to grate the soap.

[laughing lioness]

Home-made vanilla.

I also really like Norwex towels to clean with instead of cleaning products.

[butterflymommy]

I don't make my own laundry soap, because once you factor in the cost of the ivory soap, soda, borax, it's about the same as buying generic, or on sale, if not more.

 

I do make my own "cleaning agent..." 1 tablespoon bleach in four cups water. We clean everything other than wood floors and glass with this. Counters, bathrooms, floors, doorknobs, light switches. My kids have lowered immunity to staph so we have to clean with bleach.

[Myeightkiddies]

On my blog, EightinTow I have photos with step-by-step directions, along with the recipe. The homemade liquid laundry detergent recipe has been doing a much better job than the commercial ALL that we use to use. I'm very happy with it. We are on our second bottle, and I haven't had to use OxyClean or anything else to it.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Myeightkiddies

[Myeightkiddies]

I'm going to work on a homemade liquid dish soap soon.

 

Until I do, here is a soap scum remover that I use:

 

Heat a cup of vinegar until hot - not boiling.

 

Pour it into a clean spray bottle.

 

Add a cup of Dawn Dish Soap to the bottle.

 

Shake well.

 

It removes soap scum and makes faucets really sparkle. Works well in removing shower build-up as well. If it is really bad (since we use bar soap in the shower along with hard water), I let it set a few hours.

[Dustybug]

I don't make my own laundry detergent, but I have seriously considered it. I do make my own cleaner using equal parts vinegar and water. I've made my own baby wipes as well using baby oil, baby wash, water and paper towels.

[Maria from IN]

I have been using the liquid laundry detergent recipe for a couple of months now:

 

1/2 bar Fels Naptha, grated

1/2 cup Borax

1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda

 

Dissolve the Fels Naptha in 6 cups water in a saucepan on low heat. Don't let it boil, or it will bubble over (not that I've tested this or anything).

 

Add the Borax and Washing Soda to the saucepan and stir until dissolved.

 

Add mixture to 3 gallons hot water (I use a 5-gallon bucket), blend well, and let sit overnight. If I get all my ingredients from WalMart it costs 72 cents for roughly 3 1/2 gallons. I also add a couple of capfuls of essential orange oil for fragrance.

 

 

 

Just today I tried a recipe for fabric softener:

 

4 cups water

1 cup hair conditioner (I just used Suave)

1 cup vinegar

 

I combined this and left it in a container with a few pieces of cut up flannel pajamas. The instructions I read said to either add to your washer in a dryer ball or dip a piece of flannel in, wring out, and add to dryer load.

 

I haven't tried this yet; I hope it works, because I'm allergic to flower-scented dryer sheets and liquid fabric softener.

 

 

 

 

This morning I also tried making my own spreadable butter:

 

1 stick butter

1/3 cup canola oil

 

Whip cold butter until smooth in a chilled bowl. Gradually add canola oil, and whip for several minutes until mixture looks "fluffy," scraping sides if necessary. Pour in a container and leave overnight.

[cougarmom4]

I don't make my own laundry soap, because once you factor in the cost of the ivory soap, soda, borax, it's about the same as buying generic, or on sale, if not more.

 

I've actually heard that it is so much cheaper to make your own...partly because you use so much less of it. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I did purchase the soda, borax and fels naptha soap--I was surprised at how inexpensive each of these were. And my friend says the boxes of soda and borax can last you a year...it's just the bar soap you need to buy more of. I think she says she spends $10-15 a year on laundry deteregent now...that's a lot less than I spend (even with coupons and/or generic brands)

[TheHomeScientist]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but these home-made laundry detergent recipes are little, if any, better than running a load of laundry through the washer with nothing at all added. (In fact, using plain water achieves about 90%+ of the job anyway. Soluble contaminants are dissolved and much of the dirt is removed by simple agitation.)

 

Even no-name commercial laundry detergents are complex blends of materials designed to achieve particular purposes, and these home-made mixes lack most or all of them. For one thing, soap hasn't been used as a cleaning agent in commercial laundry detergents for something like half a century because it just doesn't work very well. That's why they use detergents instead of soap (although soap is sometimes a minor constituent, used to sequester the dissolved solids that make water hard).

 

The Wikipedia entry on laundry detergent has a pretty good description of what's in commercial laundry detergents, and why.

[Mommy_of_4]

I use this one. Works great and so much cheaper than buying store bought. Clothes come out smelling nice and clean and stains always come out.

 

http://www.duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30455/homemade_liquid_laundry_soap_front_or_top_load_machine_best_value

[Tarreymere]

I've been making my own for years and have had great luck, even with our cloth diapers. I usually keep mine in dry form but it is less expensive to do liquid.

Recipe:

1 cup borax, 1 cup Washing soda, 2 bars soap (I use homemade, but Ivory works too). Grate the soap...with the zest/smallest hole setting. Mix all ingredients. Easy!

 

My favorite cleaner is straight vinegar with 10 drops each of Tea Tree, Lavender, ad Grapefruit extract oil. I also like 2 teaspoons (about, I don't measure) of Dr. Bronner's lavender or DB Sal Suds, mixed with a full spray bottle of water. You can clean a whole house with either of those. Just don't mix the vinegar with the Dr. Bronner's because they kind of cancel each other out.

 

I make everything homemade, beauty products, cleaning supplies, everything. We are crazy hippies, lol. Just let me know if you want something more specific.

 

 

This is the same recipe I use to make laundry soap. I use Ivory sometimes or else whatever I can get the cheapest. I don't grate the soap, however. I microwave it, let it cool, then crumble it up. You have to microwave each bar individually and sometimes twice to get it all to the point it will crumble.

 

My favorite cleaner is straight ammonia mixed with a water and a bit of dish soap. I keep it in a spray bottle. It really really does a number on grease. It smells very strong but only for a few minutes.

[NicAnn]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but these home-made laundry detergent recipes are little, if any, better than running a load of laundry through the washer with nothing at all added. (In fact, using plain water achieves about 90%+ of the job anyway. Soluble contaminants are dissolved and much of the dirt is removed by simple agitation.)

 

I've been using homemade soap on cloth diapers for 5 years. There is definitely a difference than when I need to run a soaking load with just hot water. When I use the homemade soap it gets every diaper clean...which did not happen with commercial soap. It's one of the reasons we switched.

[Myeightkiddies]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but these home-made laundry detergent recipes are little, if any, better than running a load of laundry through the washer with nothing at all added. (In fact, using plain water achieves about 90%+ of the job anyway. Soluble contaminants are dissolved and much of the dirt is removed by simple agitation.)

 

My experience is that it does work better than commercial ALL. If plain water does the same, then plain water is better than commercial ALL.

 

At any rate, I am pleased with the performance. There was a horrible, dried-on chocolate milk spill on a pillowcase. I wasn't expecting it to come out as I found the pillowcase buried in the garage. It came out and the pillowcase looked good as new.

 

So, if it is just like plain water, I am pleased with my plain water then. I'll just keep using the homemade to scent my plain water.:D

[KungFuPanda]

I don't make my own laundry soap, because once you factor in the cost of the ivory soap, soda, borax, it's about the same as buying generic, or on sale, if not more.

.

 

I think it depends where you buy it. I got washing soda, borax, and oxiclean at drugstore.com a year ago. It was free shipping for $25+, so I ordered just that amount. I'm not even half way through those supplies. My Food Lion carries Octagon laundry soap, so I use that. I only use 2 tbs of powder (coffee scoop) for a large load of laundry. So I'm guessing my homemade powder is costing me around $20 a year.

[Myeightkiddies]

I don't make my own laundry soap, because once you factor in the cost of the ivory soap, soda, borax, it's about the same as buying generic, or on sale, if not more.

 

 

It should only cost me $10.00 a year for laundry detergent. While the initial cost of all the materials may exceed generic, the overall expense does not. One doesn't need to purchase the borax or washing soda each time. I only need to spend a dollar, cost of the bar soap, for each additional batch. There's plenty of powder to last. A batch is about 640 loads of laundry. Also, online prices tend to exceed what local stores would charge for the materials. Avoid order the materials unless there is no other alternative. Everything that I needed was available at my local Wal-Mart.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Myeightkiddies

[Mommy22alyns]

I use this recipe and have for some time. A 5 gal. bucket is diluted to 10 gal. and it lasts us FOREVER.

 

http://duggarfamily.com/content/duggar_recipes/30455/homemade_liquid_laundry_soap_front_or_top_load_machine_best_value

 

And our washing machine is HE and this works just fine.

 

I tried making homemade dishwasher detergent, but that was a fail.

[Stellalarella]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but these home-made laundry detergent recipes are little, if any, better than running a load of laundry through the washer with nothing at all added. (In fact, using plain water achieves about 90%+ of the job anyway. Soluble contaminants are dissolved and much of the dirt is removed by simple agitation.)

 

.

:iagree:

I tried making our own laundry detergent with borax, fels naptha and washing soda. About that same time, the measuring scale arrived for science and I spent some time figuring out how much chemical would actually end up in a load of wash. I did not keep the exact figures written down, but pulling it up from my memory, it worked out to be something like 1 t. fels naptha and 1/2 teaspoon of washing soda and 1/2 teaspoon. of borax. or less!

Hmm, I thought. The box of washing soda says to use 1/2 c. for a load of wash. The box of Borax also recommends 1/2 c. for a load.

We have a front loading washer and I did not feel like this homemade laundry detergent did a good job of cleaning our clothes. I remember having to rewash several loads.

You will never convince me that such a tiny amount of chemicals could have much impact on a big load of clothes. I think perhaps it is the giant amount of water in a top-loading machine that is really doing the trick.

I finally did some research on Consumer Reports and decided that the best detergent to get our clothes clean was Tide. I try to get it on sale and then I use a sharpie to mark the outside of the measuring cup so that I don't use more than we need to. Our bottles are lasting longer and our clothes have been cleaner than before. When I can get it on sale, it works out to .15 a load.

[Myeightkiddies]

I think perhaps it is the giant amount of water in a top-loading machine that is really doing the trick.

 

I use a front-load, HE washer.

 

I do want to add that results may vary for some people. The recipe we use (liquid) works with our front-loader, HE washer. Having washed thousands and thousands loads of laundry, I am confident about the results in comparison to the other detergent that I have used - for my family. I'm not expert on your family. The results, using the homemade recipe, have been favorable. Perhaps the commercial ALL that I used isn't great in comparison to Tide. We used it because some family members had skin reactions to Tide, Cheer, and Gain that we used many years ago. Because of that we switched to ALL Free and Clear.

 

Would Cheer, Tide, or Gain produce the same results as the homemade? They certainly may. I see no reason why not. However, they irritate my family's skin. The homemade hasn't caused any reactions, and it is cleaning as well if not better (definitely better in some cases) to the commercial ALL that we used. An added bonus is that it will only cost me $10.00 a year to make. Even though we have no problem affording commercial soap, and I was doing this as a "fun activity" at the beginning, the money savings is a plus.

 

As I said, results may vary based on recipe (not all bar soaps work well. Some are made for laundry. Also the powder formula seems not to do well for a lot of people), washer, etc. What may work for one may not work for another and vice versa.

Edited December 27, 2011 by Myeightkiddies

[Brilliant]

I tried the homemade powder for a while. Our clothes were noticeably dingier. I went back to using either Tide or Gain (whichever is on sale). I use less than what the scoop suggests, and our clothes come out clean. It costs me less than $4/month for our family of 4 - it's worth it to me for the clean clothes.

[Mommyof4ks]

I clean just about everything with vinegar and lemon water in a spray bottle. If people in our house are sick, then I will use thyme.

[*Inna*]

We use the same recipe as linked in OP. Works fine.

I tried a different recipe (liquid) without Oxyclean before and it was a flop.

 

The same blogger posted dishwasher detergent recipe and it works great if I add LemiShine and vinegar as a rinse.

[Kertie]

I've been using homemade laundry soap for over 2 years now. I love it, but all those recipes that tell you to grate the soap? Irritating:). Here's a blog post I wrote about how I make it. I actually found the method on another forum, and sadly don't know who to credit for the non-grating method, just that she was a Chemistry teacher...or student...?? :D http://marriedminds.wordpress.com/2011/12/16/diy-laundry-soap/

 

Other homemade household stuff...all-purpose cleaner (baking soda, vinegar, water), glass cleaner (vinegar/water), drain cleaner (baking soda/vinegar)...I just rule the world with baking soda and vinegar:D.

 

Oh, and Fels-Naptha is an amazing stain remover--I just stuck a bar in a quart jar and filled it with water. I use an old toothbrush to scrub it on stains pre-washing.

 

I've also used a carpet cleaner made with Borax and salt (I think that was all that was in it?) that was AMAZING. I got that and a lot of other recipes from this great book: http://www.amazon.com/Organized-Simplicity-Clutter-Free-Approach-Intentional/dp/1440302634/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325028300&sr=8-1

 

I've done Borax/washing soda as dishwasher detergent, too. I use vinegar as a rinse, and a little lemon juice as well. I don't use this all the time, because it doesn't work long-term for me. I just use it in between commercial detergent...stretch it a little, you know?

 

In regards to price for the laundry detergent, all the ingredients total were cheaper a thing of Costo-brand All at the local Winco. Guess it depends on where you buy it.

 

If the clothes are dingy, there's not enough of something in it. That happened to me when I pre-mixed the Borax and washing soda AND when I just tossed it in on top of the clothes. If the Fels-Naptha solution gets too weak, that'll happen too...but that's all related to how I make mine. I do think the Oxyclean addition in the op's link would also fix that. We certainly aren't walking around in dingy clothes, though;).

[delaney]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but these home-made laundry detergent recipes are little, if any, better than running a load of laundry through the washer with nothing at all added. (In fact, using plain water achieves about 90%+ of the job anyway. Soluble contaminants are dissolved and much of the dirt is removed by simple agitation.)

 

Even no-name commercial laundry detergents are complex blends of materials designed to achieve particular purposes, and these home-made mixes lack most or all of them. For one thing, soap hasn't been used as a cleaning agent in commercial laundry detergents for something like half a century because it just doesn't work very well. That's why they use detergents instead of soap (although soap is sometimes a minor constituent, used to sequester the dissolved solids that make water hard).

 

The Wikipedia entry on laundry detergent has a pretty good description of what's in commercial laundry detergents, and why.

Ummm no. Fels Naptha gets out stains better than anything out there. As a reseller of my kids clothes I know. I can make a 5 gallon bucket for maybe $5 which is cheaper than anything out there and my clothes are clean. I do add in a few cups of Tide HE to keep it from getting clumpy and easier to pour but that doesn't do much in a 5 gallon bucket. 4 boys and 2 girls in this house that are outside all the time. Clothes are clean.

[delaney]

For the dishwasher I use a 50/50 cascade mixed with the Borax and washing soda. It works as well and makes the Cascade last for a longer time. I noticed that my mugs were losing color and design with straight Cascade. Too rough. I use baking soda to scrub out pots and also for a face scrub mixed with coconut oil.

[DawnM]

I love my own laundry soap! I have been using it for 2 years now.

 

I have a 5 gallon bucket and I make it double strength in there (Duggar's recipe) and then when I put it into my 1 gallon container for daily use, I put 1/2 gallon in and fill the rest with warm water and shake it up.

 

A 5 gallon bucket recipe lasts about 9 months and costs less than $2

 

Dawn

[Maria from IN]

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, so to speak, but these home-made laundry detergent recipes are little, if any, better than running a load of laundry through the washer with nothing at all added. (In fact, using plain water achieves about 90%+ of the job anyway. Soluble contaminants are dissolved and much of the dirt is removed by simple agitation.)

 

Even no-name commercial laundry detergents are complex blends of materials designed to achieve particular purposes, and these home-made mixes lack most or all of them. For one thing, soap hasn't been used as a cleaning agent in commercial laundry detergents for something like half a century because it just doesn't work very well. That's why they use detergents instead of soap (although soap is sometimes a minor constituent, used to sequester the dissolved solids that make water hard).

 

The Wikipedia entry on laundry detergent has a pretty good description of what's in commercial laundry detergents, and why.

 

Actually, the opposite was true in my household. I had been using Purex (the cheapest I could find, at $5 a bottle) for years until I tried the homemade mix--the first loads with the homemade mix had the dingiest, grayest water mid-cycle I had ever seen!

 

My mother had used Fels-Naptha for years on my baseball uniforms. The white pants were polyester, and using bleach on them yellowed them, but simply rubbing the stain with the bar worked wonders.

[Soror]

I use homemade as well and it works fine here. I do use a vinegar rinse we have SUPER hard water. I would also have to agree w/ pp about cost, it is WAY cheaper than any storebought out there. A box of borax and washing soda are enough to last me years and the only new thing needed is a bar of soap. My actual cost in what I've used for the year would be less than $5. Fwiw I also use clothe diapers as well and haven't had any issue with them getting clean.

[sparrow]

It's interesting how many have had different experiences with homemade laundry soap.

 

I used the Fels-Naptha, Borax, & Arm & Hammer Washing Soda recipe for about 8 months in a front-loading HE washer. We also have hard water. I found that it was really hard on our clothes, as in, the colors faded very quickly and it just did not get things clean. It seemed to set the dirt in my husband's work jeans. I finally gave up and went back to Tide, which is the only other soap we can use-others make us itchy. I could not believe the difference. I had been so used to "sorta" clean that I forgot what clean was!

 

I don't see any harm in trying it out, but be aware, not everyone has had great results. I actually felt guilty for going back to Tide, so I felt better hearing that others had experienced the same problems!

[ZooRho]

http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/

I use the liquid recipe from that site.

 

I have for about 4 years now if not longer.

 

don't notice any difference, well except for the strong smell from most commercial products which now irritate my nose.

[amy g.]

I make powdered laundry soap with grated homemade soap. It is just okay, but I continue to use it because my daughter has no excema when we use it, and every store brand makes her bleed.

 

This is the recipe I am eager to try next. I've only ever heard glowing reviews of it.

 

 

Items you need....

 

Palm oil, lard, or vegetable shortening.....3 lbs (I like the cheap 3 lb cans of shortening for this)

Sodium Hydroxide (run this through soapcalc....I use 6.5 oz for shortening)

1.5 gallons cold water

1 1/2 cups Borax

1 1/2 cups Washing Soda

Fragrance Oil or Essential Oil (optional)

1.5 gallons hot water

5 gallon bucket

stainless steel whisk

 

1. Melt shortening in microwave or over very low heat. Let cool til the pot or container is just warm to the touch. Add fragrance oil.

 

2. Add 1.5 gallons cold water to 5 gallon bucket. Carefully mix in lye. It won't heat up a lot, due to the volume of water.

 

3. Stir in borax and washing soda.

 

4. Slowly add melted oils to bucket, followed by 1.5 gallons hot water. Whisk well.

 

5. Continue to whisk 2-3 times a day for the next 3-4 days. Mixture will initially separate and be thin, but will thicken with time, and turn into a nice thick gel.

 

6. Use 1/2 - 1 cup per load in a top loader depending on soil level. Use less in a front loader. For those with hard water, add 1/2 cup borax or washing soda and agitate to dissolve BEFORE adding soap. 1/2 cup white vinegar added to the rinse cycle will soften things and keep any residue from building up.

 

This post has been edited by MikeInPDX: Jan 26 2009, 01:21 PM

Edited December 28, 2011 by amy g.

[TheHomeScientist]

We use the Costco store-branded liquid laundry detergent without perfumes, and it seems to work well.

 

A few years ago I was reading the contents on the label of a box of powdered laundry detergent, which listed the components but not the amounts of each. So, being curious and a chemist, I did a quantitative analysis on several different laundry detergents, both powders and liquids. They were indeed phosphate-free (or close enough not to matter). I wasn't able to analyze some minor components (such as enzymes) quantitatively, but the bulk of the powders (50% or more by mass) was sodium carbonate (washing soda), used as a water softener. Most also contained 5% to 10% by mass perborate salts (presumably sodium), which is a mild bleaching agent. Soap was present in several of the powders in minor amounts, presumably as a sequestering agent for hard water ions. Anionic surfactants (the actual detergent) typically made up 12% to 18% by mass.

 

We have extremely soft water in Winston-Salem, so the water softeners are pretty much wasted on us, but I decided to try making up my own laundry detergent and comparing it to commercial product. I used technical-grade sodium carbonate, sodium perborate, and sodium dodecyl sulfate (an anionic surfactant similar to those used in commercial products). I didn't add any enzymes.

 

I split up our white load that weekend and washed half of it with commercial detergent and half with my home-made stuff in warm water with a cold rinse. I didn't add chlorine bleach to either load, although I normally use it. When the loads finished drying, I examined them. Both smelled fine, but the load run with the commercial detergent was much, much cleaner looking than the load run with my home-made stuff, which appeared quite dingy side-by-side. The commercial product also did a much better job of removing stains. When I finished comparing them, I ran both half-loads again with commercial detergent and chlorine bleach. They came out looking much better than either load that was run without bleach.