This week's adventure; LAUNDRY DETERGENT!
Anybody else get sticker shock looking at laundry soap? I do! I hate shelling out large amounts of hard-earned dinero to wash the grunge out of my clothes. The solution?
Borax.
Arm and Hammer Washing Soda.
Fels Naptha Soap Bar.
And that is it. I swear to you.
The clincher???
For less than twelve dollars, you can do 640 loads of laundry.
Yes. yes, I know. Please stop crying. There there...
Ten gallons of laundry detergent at about one cent a load. And it gets even cheaper the next time you need to make it because all you need is the Fels Naptha bar...there is enough Borax and Washing Soda to make roughly five or six batches of this ten-gallon wonder.
Alright. Really. Please stop sobbing. Its okay. I didn't know until recently, either.
I'll give you a moment to compose yourself.
....
....
....
Better? Alright. Hold on to your britches...it gets even better...
IT'S EASY!!!
Twenty minutes of stirring and mixing is IT.
Are you ready to save money?
Are you REALLY ready???
Then lets get to it!
Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent;
First of all, I recommend you get yourself five gallon bucket from walmart if you don't have one already. Make sure it is clean and has a lid. If you do not have your leftover expensive-brand laundry detergent bottles or gallon milk jugs then I suggest you buy a second five gallon bucket with lid. I have been hoarding my laundry detergent bottles for a few years for water storage. My husband shook his head at me thinking they would never come in handy but HA HA! Now I have another use for them.
Silly husband.
Anyway???
Get yourself a sturdy one quart pot and put four cups of water in it.
Take your Fels Naptha soap bar and grate it into the water. (Yes, use your cheese grater.) On medium-high heat, melt the soap shavings in the water until there are NO clumps or flakes. It will be a little foamy but you want it lump-free.
It takes around ten to fifteen minutes.
While you are watching the soap-water, fill your 5-gallon bucket half full with HOT water.
When the soap mixture is done, pour it into the bucket with the hot water.
Now add 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax.
Stir well to distribute evenly.
Fill the rest of the bucket with water and stir again.
Snap on your lid and let it sit overnight.
It will gel and thicken. The next day, give it a good stir.
Using a funnel, fill your old detergent jugs or milk jugs HALF full of the detergent. Dilute with water to fill the rest.
If you are using another five gallon bucket, just use the 1:1 ratio and dilute with water.
Before using the detergent, give the jug a good shake. If taking directly from the bucket, stir before use. The contents will settle over time so this is necessary.
Good looking stuff, huh?
Still not convinced it is a worthy detergent? A test was done with white shirts and mustard. Against the most expensive Tide super-duper stain remover, this simple, CHEAP detergent cleaned the stain exactly the same!
Here's a little nugget about how soap works; it isn't the soap that does the cleaning. It is WATER that cleans your clothes. The detergents break the barrier on the fabric to allow water through so it can clean. Water is, after all, the world's best solvent. So next time you are at the laundry soap aisle, you have my permission to laugh at all those expensive brands. They all use the same ingredients, every brand, even cheap brands, and it is your water that does the cleaning anyhow.
Worried about an allergic reaction? Afraid these cheap ingredients will be harsh?
WRONG!
100% allergen, dye, fragrance free. You can add fragrance oil if you desire, but this recipe is extremely gentle on skin. My neighbor used it for her infants as well as for herself who has severe skin allergies.
If you aren't going to make this for yourself/family...then I have to say you are a SAP. You have money to throw away, obviously.
So anyway, happy laundry-soap making, my friends.
-A.S.
(Oh, and Borax and the washing soda have excellent household cleaning uses...lots of suggestions on the boxes. YAY!!!)
3 comments:
Hmmmm... hmmm... hmmm! I really think I might do this. Thank you for sharing!
I lOvE borax and I use it on everything! I do agree that this will wolk very well but how does it smell??? I love notheing more that the smell of fresh laundry...with the exception of diet coke...oh and my family :D
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