We made laundry soap today! It's been on my list of to do's for quite a while, but Mondays always feel like a fresh start to me....so I thought why not?!!! It was so easy and it took less time than mixing up a batch of cookies!
Here's the recipe for a powdered mix that I got off of The Frugal Shopper
1 cup grated Fels Naptha soap
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
(I mixed in an additional 1/3 cup of baking soda)
Just grate the soap, measure, and mix everything together!
It says to only use 1-2 Tablespoons per load!
The washer just finished the second load using this stuff, so here's what I have to report:
-There's hardly any fragrance to the washed clothes. So if you like your laundry smelly, then it says to grate in a bar of soap with the smell that you like instead of the Fels Naptha. I think no smell is just fine, and I throw a sachet of lavender (they sell them at Trader Joe's or you could make your own) into the dryer and it works fine.
-Dirty rags and husband's work socks retained no odor.
-Clothes looked and felt clean; no residue.
-Low suds.
-It doesn't make up a very big batch....but if you're only using a tablespoon per load, then I suppose that it could last a while. It seems like the liquid recipes would be more cost effective, but take a bit more time to make, and it wouldn't look as nice stored in my glass jars. =) I might try that, though, if I go through this too fast.
-Very gratifying to make, and I like knowing that there's no additives or heavy perfumes.
-I'm not sure how it will handle stains, it doesn't have any enzymes to break up organic matter....but I can use other tricks for that stuff.
-They say you can't use it on baby clothes because is reduces the effectiveness of the fire retardant.
So I guess it's so far so good....so if you want to put in a request for a batch as a Christmas gift......let me know!
(P.S. Camee, thanks for your encouragement...I did it! I'm glad that you like your liquid version...you're inspiring!)
