I made my own laundry detergent today. We finally got to the bottom of the giant-sized thing of detergent we bought about 8 months ago. Instead of buying another one….I wanted to have a go at this.
Here is the recipe I used:
- 1 bar of Ivory Soap (I now use a laundry bar soap)
- 1/2 cup of Borax
- 1/2 cup of Washing Soda (not baking soda)
- WATER
I cut the bar of soap up into pieces and put it in a pot with 6 cups of water. This was heated on the stove until the soap was melted.
Hmmmm….Ivory Soap soup. It smelled good!
Next I added the Borax and Washing Soda and mixed all ingredients in the pot. I then poured this mixture into a bucket with 4 cups of hot tap water. Mixed…..then added 1 gallon + 6 more cups of water to the bucket and mixed more.
I poured the resulting detergent into a plastic liquid laundry detergent container that I had saved for this purpose.
The consistency of the detergent is a soupy gel. If it works it will save money. Plus it is more environmentally friendly. I was able to find all the ingredients at the grocery store. The Borax and Washing Soda in the laundry isle.
I just did my first load of laundry with it. I’ll report on the results.
UPDATED:
Homemade Laundry Detergent Review
Two loads of Sandra & Dave laundry have been washed using the Homemade detergent.
I’m happy to report that it works. Laundry is clean. Out of the wash it smelt faintly of Ivory soap. After I tried my items outside, the scent was unnoticeable.
I’ve read that other people have added essential oils to the mix to give the laundry a nice smell. I have lemon oil…..I think I’ll try adding a bit to the soap the next time I wash sheets or towels.