I've been making my own laundry soap for about a year now. It saves me a TON of money and is very easy to make. One recipe lasts my family about 3 months. We have 7 people in our house and we do a lot of laundry. It also saves on fabric softener sheets. We haven't cut them out entirely... but I don't use them for towels or sheets anymore. Everything comes out soft. I only use them with clothes to cut down on static cling... my pet peeve.
This recipe comes straight from The Duggar Family website. If you love watching the show... you'll love their site as well. And if you don't watch... you may find some useful information just the same. They have quite a few recipes along with the laundry soap recipe. Haven't tried them all yet... but looking forward to it.
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap
Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups - hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup - Arm & Hammer Super 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.
-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)
*Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate!!
I use a 5-gallon food bucket to mix it in, and then I pour it into bottles the next day using 1/2 soap mixture and 1/2 water. My family drinks a lot of green tea so I've saved 10 of the gallon jugs it comes in and that's what I use to store it. They are really sturdy bottles and will last a long time. They are small enough to carry... yet large enough that I don't have to keep refilling. But... since I have 10, I don't refill anymore. I'm sure you'll find what works best for you.
Please... don't forget to check out The Duggar Family website.
Happy laundering!
Mary Ann :)
4 comments:
I just started using this and love it! Hope your readers take you up on it... it will save them a lot of money!
Isn't it great? I'm always excited when I find a money saving idea that really works! :)
I have never heard of this before. Definitely going to have to give it a whirl. There are 6 people in my family, so I completely understand about doing a lot of laundry. I'm going to have to look up Fels~Naptha soap, I don't think I've ever seen it in the store.
Thank you for the tip and thank you for visiting my blog.
Hi Daenel,
The first time I made this I bought the Fels-Naptha online. I later found it at our local Smith's grocery store in the laundry aisle. Now I don't have to pay for shipping. :) Hopefully you will find it at a store near you.
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