Homemade Laundry Detergent

Sarah asked for my laundry detergent recipes. Here they are!

Homemade Laundry Detergent

2 C Water (boiling)

1 Bar soap (grated with a knife or cheese grater)

1 C Borax

1 Cup Washing Soda

Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low-med heat until soap is melted.
Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
Add 1 gallon of hot tap water. Stir until well mixed.
Using a measure pitcher or cup, dump the soap into old ice cream tubs and top with lids. Or use 2 old detergent containers, but don’t fill to the top as you want to leave a little room to shake the detergent as it will gel into a thick slime. If using detergent bottles, shake up before each use and add a little water if it‘s too thick to come out. Use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry.
From Tipnut.com
Article: 10 Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipes

I averaged out the price of this when I made it. Because I had gotten Ivory soap bars on a super good sale for 15 cents each, this laundry soap costs me 1 and a half cents per load! Even when I buy the cheapest laundry soap I can buy WITH a $1.00 off coupon, it’s still around 8 cents a load. So homemade is a really good deal, especially if you do a lot of laundry/cloth diapers, etc. This is a natural, phosphate free, environmentally friendly soap that is good for newborns and children and is comparable to the Free and Clear soaps. And it works great! It’s made from most of the same ingredients store-bought soaps are made from. If you
want you can add some essential oils for scents. Note: This soap doesn’t suds up when you add it to water but that’s okay since it’s not the suds that do the cleaning anyway!
It took me about half an hour to make a batch and that batch should last for nearly 2 months!!! I really like the results and the way this soap cleans!

Powdered Detergent

2 Bars of Ivory Soap
2 C. washing soda
2 C. Borax

Grate the soap by hand on a cheese grater. Mix all ingredients and put in a container with a tight lid. Use 2-3 T. per load. This one takes about 5 minutes to make and works just as well for me as the liquid homemade detergent!