Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Laundry soap 1.0



Mmmmmm....look yummy? Nope, it's not cheese!

I have had this recipe for some time now. I actually got it online somewhere and just hung onto it knowing that I would make it at some point. She has one as well. Hers has scent added to it. I am not that cool.

My daughter and I finally made it the other day. It was really quite easy. You have to have 3 things to throw it all together. The hardest part was grating the bar soap. And that wasn't so much hard as it was messy. I probably could have used my food processer, but I was worried that everything after that would have a slightly soapy taste. Mmmmm..soapy cheese. Great for tacos.







1 C grated Fels Naptha bar soap
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Washing soda

Mix well in a resealable container. Use 1T per load. 2 T for heavier soiled clothes.



I found all of the ingredients in my local grocery store. They were in the laundry soap aisle.

The soap seems to clean really well. It has a nice fresh, clean scent. However, if you have a super sniffer like myself, it may seem strong at first. It lessened tho, as I used it more. Well, I got acclimated to it, I should say.

Try it out. Let me know what you think. It is a huge money saver. And you know I love those!

9 comments:

Mim said...

Money saver, yes. But is it cleaning your clothes? Is it irritating sensitive skin? I must know.

frugalmom said...

mim: Well, I said it cleaned well. As far as the skin thing...only time will tell. If you have used the Fels Naptha for stains in the past then I would guess it would be fine on your skin.

sugarcreekfarm said...

I've been using something like this, only with Dove soap instead of the fels naptha. Last week our pump went out, and the plumber said there was 1 to 2 inches of "soap residue" on top of the water in the pump - I think he meant a solid residue. So now I'm wondering if it was my homemade laundry soap, or something else?

But it did clean well, and I have a family with sensitive skin and it didn't bother them a bit.

frugalmom said...

sugarcreekfarm : The pump in your washing machine? How long have you been using the homemade soap? That's not good if it caused that to happen. I wonder how you would know that for sure.

Anonymous said...

Very cool. I have been thinking about using my recipe but trying the fels naptha instead of the ivory soap.

@ sugarcreekfarm- when making the laundry detergent, its important to use a cold processed soap, and I am not sure that Dove is one of those? This could be the reason there was so much soap build up.

Gina said...

Hi

I have been using this exact recipe for about two, maybe three, months and I love it. No one has had reactions at our house (and I even have an infant). We also have not had any problem with soap build-up (that I know of anyway) and I actually think the clothes really clean and smell really good.

AND, we have saved $$$!

Anyway, my two cents!

frugalmom said...

Gina: Thanks for dropping by. I have been using it for just a week or so. I like it. May I ask, tho...do you use more soap when washing or just the 1 T?

sugarcreekfarm said...

Not the pump in my washing machine, the pump in the basement that lifts the wastewater up to the septic line. Upon further quizzing, my dh said the plumber told him that this was not uncommen. So I figure that since making your own laundry is soap is uncommon, then it probably isn't my homemade laundry soap. I will be making the next batch with fels naptha instead of Dove, however.

Bliss said...

i have a recipe for homemade laundry soap too but haven't made any yet. if i recall, it had a bit more than 3 ingredients. your's looks a lot easier. :-)

i told baby bliss and first she accused me of getting more and more like my mother. '-) then she asked if it would help save the polar bears. i said every little bit helps and she was on board. now we've gotta get the stuff.

thanks for this post. this can be an ongoing home economics lesson for 5th grade. :-)

i wonder if the soap will be good at getting stains outta the carpet...