Homemade Laundry Soap and other Laundry Secrets

Last month I decided to take the plunge and finally try out one of the homemade laundry detergent recipes that had peaked my curiosity some time ago. The ingredients are simple. This was all I needed:

Borax, Washing Soda, Fels Naptha bar, and essential oil

The washing soda and Fels Naptha were a little hard to find. Walmart did not carry them. I did find them at the grocery store though. I have heard if you can't find washing soda, you can get the same kind of stuff sold in the pool section of Walmart.

I used this recipe posted on the Duggar Family website (you know the family with 18 kids that have their own show on TLC?!):

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine

4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. (I purchased some grapefruit essential oil and I know I used way more than 10-15 drops. The Fels Naptha soap scent is VERY strong and easily overpowers any extra scent!)

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

I also have come across another cool website with lots of great recipes and ideas. It is called TipNut. I have found that many recipes follow the same ingredient quantities as the Duggar Family recipe; however, not all of them double the water at the end. So, when I started out, I followed the Duggar recipe and filled my empty detergent container half full of the laundry soap sludge and then added more hot water. Now I have stopped doing that. I was a little paranoid and wondered if everything was getting clean. I think I have come to associate a strong scent with clean. However, I do have lots of dirty clothes - and dirty burp cloths - and everything seems to be clean.

my big bucket of detergent

This is what it looks like - kind of a slimy consistency like egg-drop soup. Almost time to make another batch!

This is how I store it for now. I just shake it up before I use it.

I think I am sold on homemade laundry detergent. I definitely love the money savings! I have also heard people doing the same kind of thing as a powdered detergent. I think these would be great items to keep in our food storage so we can always make detergents and clean our clothes if we needed to rely on that!

I have also been trying a few other things to save money while doing laundry. I am using vinegar in place of fabric softener (super cheap at Costco!). I promise, the clothes don't even smell like vinegar! I have also cut dryer sheets in half to use with some loads that I want to have that extra scent. I have purchased those dryer balls to help loads dry faster (and supposedly help fluff them up). I have tried a few different things. Sadly, I am finding it all quite fun!

I am also sold on two products for stain removal. Last year, I was reading a thread on Pinching Your Pennies about laundry soap for stain removal. Someone swore by rubbing the Fels Naptha bar on their stains. At the time, I could not find the Fels Naptha. I purchased a bar of Zote at walmart. It was a huge pink bar found in the laundry aisle. Someone also recommended Zout stain spray. I LOVE this combination of stain-fighting stuff. I wish I would have discovered it years ago. So far, I have been able to get EVERY baby blowout stain out of Cambrie's onesies or shirts. I rub the bar of Zote right on the stain and I swear it is like an eraser. Sometimes it takes me a few tries, but it usually comes right out. I scrub the stains with the bar of soap and then I spray on the Zout. It is awesome. You should try it!


Oh and one more thing. Someone suggested keeping some of the homemade laundry detergent in an old dish soap bottle and using it to clean grout between tile. I have tried it (and we have horribly dirty grout thanks to previous home owners that never sealed the stuff!) and it is working great! I was absolutely amazed by how well it worked. I tried to take a picture of a spot I cleaned, but it didn't show the difference very well so I guess you just have to trust me.

my bottle of grout cleaner!