DIY Suds. Update: If using a HE washer, our readers have suggested throwing the mix directly into the wash load, rather than the soap dispenser. Please read through the comments for more Q&As, as you have all been so wonderful to share your experiences! And if you’re looking for even more information on our DIY suds, see our sudsy update to this post, right here. The last time I purchased laundry soap, I threw a fit in the cleaning aisle and spent the drive home moaning over the high coast of detergent. I always knew I was thrifty, but even that took me by surprise. First mentioned here (whew, I was on a rant that day), I decided to heck with it all, and I went and did something about it. I kid you not, the steps are even easier than getting in your car, driving to the store, and buying the 3 ingredients. While we could’ve left the mixture in the tupperware, I spruced up the display by using an on-hand Ball jar instead. Ooh, and here are some random mentionables.
Readers' Wise Tips for Using Borax. Getting whites clean. "One Good Thing" by Jillee: Whitening Whites...Can This Cami Be Saved? My post about getting armpit stains out of t-shirts apparently struck a nerve or something. It has received almost 100,000 pageviews and is the 2nd most viewed post of all time! Apparently I’m not the only one obsessed with concerned about white clothes being WHITE. While getting the armpit stains out of my sons’ t-shirts and out of my camis was very satisfying indeed…my quest to salvage perfectly good articles of clothing from the trash merely because they have lost their lustre, continues. This past weekend however, I feel like I made a breakthrough of sorts and feel compelled to share. Once again I drag out my poor stained, dingy camis as my “makeover” victim recipient. In my numerous field trips to the laundry section of the grocery store, searching for answers to this age old dilemma…I spied the Rit dye section.
Long story shortened…I bought it home…used it…was fairly impressed with the results…but wanted more! Here are the “after effects”: And that’s today’s…. "One Good Thing" by Jillee: No-Grate Homemade Laundry Soap. Despite all the enthusiasm over making homemade laundry detergent recently…I continue to hear murmurings from those who just can’t bring themselves to grate soap and cook it on the stove. It apparently just isn’t going to happen. :-) I’m not naming any names…but my older sister would probably freely admit she didn’t decide to even attempt making her own laundry detergent UNTIL I told her about this “new” recipe I was testing out. (I know it seems like I’m always “picking on” her…but she called me a “brat” on her blog recently…so she pretty much deserves it. lol). Once again I have to credit the incredible readers of this blog for my inspiration.
Tiffanie posted this on February 4th….A close friend of mine has been making laundry soap like this one for years, until just recently she found an easier one to make and passed it on to us. 3 Tablespoons Borax3 Tablespoons Washing Soda2 Tablespoons Dawn Dish soap Put these ingredients in a one gallon jug. February 4, 2012 8:59 PM. 10 Homemade Laundry Soap Detergent Recipes. Here is a nice stack of different recipes for making homemade laundry detergent that I’ve collected over the years. Do they work? Yes, I’ve had good luck with them. At the time I was using them, we had a relative who was in trade school living with us. Every day he was mechanic grease from head to toe–the clothes still cleaned up nice!
Making your own is a discipline and it’s not for everyone, but it definitely saves money–sometimes just costing pennies a load! For the bar soaps required in the recipes, you could try Fels-Naptha, Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote. Here are ten different recipes you can try, I’ve also added a very useful Frequently Asked Questions section at the bottom of the page. 1 quart Water (boiling) 2 cups Bar soap (grated) 2 cups Borax 2 cups Washing Soda Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted.
Hot water 1 cup Washing Soda 1/2 cup Borax 1 Soap bar Grate the bar and add to a large saucepan with hot water. Ugh!