Homemade Laundry Detergent the Easy Way! I Love the Smell and Results
6 Materials
20 Minutes
Easy
...of the homemade detergent but did NOT look forward to the time of making a new batch simply because of all the grating of the soap bars.
On the morning of beginning the new batch, I woke up dreading the whole process! Lord there just has to be an easier way. This the result of my frustration!
Here are the ingredients I used. This recipe is different than the one I previously use. This one is, one bar Fels Naptha soap to each cup of Borax, and each cup of Washing soda. The recipe I am using did not call for it but I added the Biz.
Note: When you open the boxes, do it in a way to allow you to reuse them to store your finished detergent.
My first step in the process was to put a bar of soap on a plate and microwave it for 30 seconds. Flip it to the other side and nuke it for 30 more seconds.
Depending on your microwave, it may take a few seconds more or less. You will know fast enough after your first bar.
When the soap is ready it will be puffed somewhat. It may not be quite this puffed but you will soon figure it all out for yourself.
My next step was to slice the bar into small pieces so as not to put undue stress on my food processor. The first batch I tried in my processor, actually caused a crack in the shaft and I certainly did not want to added insult to injury!
I than added the pieces to the processor.
While the soap was microwaving I measured out the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
My next step was to measure out one cup of the dry mixture. I have found out that the dry mixture added to the processor, helped tremendously to help blend the soap into extremely small particles. This seems to be one of the chief complaints that I have read on the internet by people who do not like the soap particles being so large after the grating process.
This is what the soap looked like after a few seconds of processing in the dry mixture, The processor is the real trick along with the microwaving of the soap first. The first time I made this detergent, the grating of the soap was NOT fun at all, even though the end result was gratifying and worked super great on stains and whites as well as the colors.
Very few stains could stand up against it. That recipe was
1 Box Borax
1 Box Washing Soda
1 Tub Oxi Clean
3 Bars Fels Naptha
My next step was to add the soap mixture to the rest of dry mixture and mix thoroughly being careful to get rid of any lumps that may remain.
Almost done with the whole process.
Next I simply poured the finished detergent into one of the empty boxes and sealed it up with tape and marked the contents on the outside. I used some of the detergent for gifts.
The recipe I used here is:
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup Biz
1 bar Fels Naphtha
To use:
Use 1 Tbsp. for small loads and 2-3 Tbsps. for larger and super soiled clothes.
Let me hear how you like the tutorial and any questions or comments you may have.
Resources for this project:
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Comments
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3 of 42 comments
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Just straight vinegar works great as a fabric softener with no odour after drying!! No need for conditioner!
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While I think making your own laundr detergent is fantastic, I can not physically make my own, nor do I have the space to do so. However, I have found that the cheaper detergents work well with a bit of a boost. I add a couple tbsps of Dawn and half a cup of baking soda to each load. Stains are pretreated with one or both of these and/or presoaked, depending on the stain. It keeps my clothes beautiful and stain free!
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I don't think that anything plus Dawn is going to dissappoint us. Dawn is a wonderful product! Yes, it is a super stain fighter also.
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Frequently asked questions
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I prefer to use liquid detergent. Any guess as to how much liquid (water, I assume) it would take to change it to a liquid?
Can you make this without a microwave?
Is this detergent good for HE washers? Is this septic/leach field safe?