Homemade Laundry Detergent

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.

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