Cheap Laundry Soap Recipe

[PumaLover]

Hi friends, does anyone have a good homemade laundry detergent recipe they care to share? I'm going through a large bottle of Tide about every 3 weeks with as much laundry as I do. I was using the Duggars' recipe but it didn't seem to be very good at getting stains out. I appreciate any suggestions!

[catlady]

hi!  i use this one (it may or may not be the same one that Meechelle Duggar uses/used):

1 cup Borax

1 cup Super Washing Soda

2/3 bar Fels Naphtha soap, grated  (this is a stain remover, so i sometimes use a left-over 1/3 bar in place of a stain stick)

5-gallon bucket with lid (or comparable container)

boil grated FN soap in 3 quarts water until dissolved, then add both powders; stir until dissolved.  simmer for about 15 minutes.  

put 1 quart hot water in bucket, add cooked soap.  stir in 10 quarts cold water.  stir periodically over the next day or so.

use about 1/2 cup per load.

ETA:  i do not have a HE machine or a front-loader; i've heard that this might make a difference.

i spend about $7 on the 2 boxes of powder, and they last about 10 months or so.  FN soap varies by store, but you can get it for anywhere between $1.25 and $2 per bar.  most stores carry all 3 items near each other on a top or bottom shelf.  i do about 8-9 loads per week, and one bucket lasts about 4-5 weeks.  so i spend roughly $20 a year.

you can also use it to clean enamel appliances (like an older stove); they end up nicely shiny.  no clue what it will do with stainless, so i wouldn't try it.

Edited May 30, 2018 by catlady

[Scrabblemaster]

@catlady Do you still use the laundry soap from that recipe? Does it still word for you? I made my own laundry soap a couple of years ago but I had problems with fabric and it never cleaned my clothes enough for me. I also tried one of these chemical free eggs with little pebbles in it, my laundry did not get clean and the smell was not good. Back then I also tried my self-made dishwasher powder and I nearly killed 2 dishwashing machines with that so I stopped experimenting with self made laundry soap because our washing machine was expensive and I did not want to risk it. My husband was never a fan of my self-made cleaning supplies and honestly after a while I stopped because of various reasons. The overall thing that I did not like was that the end result was not as good as I wished it would be. I made my own vinegar-cleaner with orange or lemon peels too and after a while I realized that my shelves had little brown stains because I did not rinse afterwards with clear water. So I needed more time for cleaning and there was always this vinegar smell, after a time I could not stand it any more.

But sometimes my inner self wants to try the laundry soap again, so that is why I asked.