How to Use a Laundry Bar?

[MrsZ]

Please forgive me if this has been covered already. I've searched the forum several times, but can't find a recipe.

I made a 100% coconut oil laundry bar, 0% superfat. I've seen several places that recommend to grate the soap and mix with borax and washing soda. Does anyone have ratios for this, or some way to use my laundry bars after they cure?

Thank you for your help and advice!

 

[AliOop]

I use 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda, ½ cup grated 100% CO soap. If I have them around, I mix in enzyme brighteners like Oxyclean or Molly's.

1-2 Tbs of plain white vinegar goes in the fabric softener compartment, and I use wool dryer balls and balled-up aluminum foil for faster drying and static elimination.

ETA: you can also use the laundry bars as stain sticks. Be sure to test for color-fastness in an inconspicuous area, as some find that 100% CO will cause color fading.

 

[MrsZ]

I use 2 cups borax, 2 cups washing soda, ½ cup grated 100% CO soap. If I have them around, I mix in enzyme brighteners like Oxyclean or Molly's.

1-2 Tbs of plain white vinegar goes in the fabric softener compartment, and I use wool dryer balls and balled-up aluminum foil for faster drying and static elimination.

ETA: you can also use the laundry bars as stain sticks. Be sure to test for color-fastness in an inconspicuous area, as some find that 100% CO will cause color fading.

Perfect, thank you! That's exactly what I was looking for. I can manage that. I already use oxyclean and wool dryer balls, so that's nice.

Another question, how much of the mixture do you use per wash? (I'm used to liquid detergent)

Thanks again!

 

[AliOop]

Our clothes don't get super dirty or sweaty, so I use 1-2 T per load, depending on the size. We have soft water, and I wash in hot water since the soap dissolves better in that. I know some folks who don't want to wash their whole load in hot water will dissolve their 1-2 T of laundry mix in a cup of really hot water, before adding that to the washer. I personally feel like my clothes come out cleaner and with less residue with a hot water wash, so that's what I prefer. YMMV.

 

[MrsZ]

Our clothes don't get super dirty or sweaty, so I use 1-2 T per load, depending on the size. We have soft water, and I wash in hot water since the soap dissolves better in that. I know some folks who don't want to wash their whole load in hot water will dissolve their 1-2 T of laundry mix in a cup of really hot water, before adding that to the washer. I personally feel like my clothes come out cleaner and with less residue with a hot water wash, so that's what I prefer. YMMV.

Thanks! I appreciate your help. I can't wait to try it once my soap cures. I have slightly hard water, so I used citric acid just in case it helps too.

 

[AliOop]

Well, if you find that your clothes are looking a little dingy, you may need to leave out the soap altogether. That would be disappointing, but hard water does mean that the soap won't rinse out as well, especially if you aren't using hot water. Good luck!

 

[MrsZ]

Well, if you find that your clothes are looking a little dingy, you may need to leave out the soap altogether. That would be disappointing, but hard water does mean that the soap won't rinse out as well, especially if you aren't using hot water. Good luck!

That makes sense, thank you. I figured that may be a possibility. If my laundry bar doesn't work for our clothes, it won't be a big loss to me as I made a small batch, and really just to try it and see if it works for me. I'm sure I could find other uses for the soap if need be.

 

[Corrine12]

Please forgive me if this has been covered already. I've searched the forum several times, but can't find a recipe.

I made a 100% coconut oil laundry bar, 0% superfat. I've seen several places that recommend to grate the soap and mix with borax and washing soda. Does anyone have ratios for this, or some way to use my laundry bars after they cure?

Thank you for your help and advice!

I only use washing soda, mixed with my grated bar, 50/50. I do add citric acid in my bar recipe, that is supposed to help with rinsing/soap scum.

 

[MrsZ]

I only use washing soda, mixed with my grated bar, 50/50. I do add citric acid in my bar recipe, that is supposed to help with rinsing/soap scum.

Nice, thank you. It's good to know of more than one way that works. I added citric acid to mine as well. Can't wait to try it!

 

[amd]

I think I remember reading on the forum somewhere that depending on which form of laundry soap (liquid or powder) you are making determines if you should use washing soda or borax, but not both. I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is: Liquid Laundry Soap Help
Based on this, if making a powder laundry mix you would use both washing soda and borax. If you are using a liquid mix then the washing soda should be added at the time that it's used, not to the liquid mix itself. So I was wrong remembering it was one or the other. Note that the post linked also has a link to some very helpful and informative information on DeeAnna's website: Laundry soap mix | Soapy Stuff

 

[MrsZ]

I think I remember reading on the forum somewhere that depending on which form of laundry soap (liquid or powder) you are making determines if you should use washing soda or borax, but not both. I'll see if I can find it.

Here it is: Liquid Laundry Soap Help
Based on this, if making a powder laundry mix you would use both washing soda and borax. If you are using a liquid mix then the washing soda should be added at the time that it's used, not to the liquid mix itself. So I was wrong remembering it was one or the other. Note that the post linked also has a link to some very helpful and informative information on DeeAnna's website: Laundry soap mix | Soapy Stuff

Thank you for the links! I've read lots of amazing information on DeAnna's website. I should of known to look for laundry soap help there too. I'll check out the thread. Thanks!

 

[Corrine12]

So I was wrong remembering it was one or the other.

No, you were right, washing soda for powder, Borax for liquid.

 

[artemis]

So I was wrong remembering it was one or the other. Note that the post linked also has a link to some very helpful and informative information on DeeAnna's website: Laundry soap mix | Soapy Stuff

You may also be remembering another discussion about whether Borax should be in powdered detergent at all. Borax needs hot water to dissolve. So, if you wash your clothes in cold or warm water, better to leave the Borax out or dissolve it and add it separately to your wash.

 

[amd]

In DeeAnna's post that I linked:

The point of adding borax or washing soda for washing clothes is (1) to maintain the alkalinity (high pH) of the wash water in an optimum range for soap to work well and (2) to react with and remove hard water minerals from the water to reduce soap scum. They do a good job of both.

The problem with adding washing soda to a liquid laundry soap is the washing soda will gradually decompose upon exposure to water and the carbon dioxide in air. So adding washing soda in a liquid soap isn't a good idea if you are also going to store the product for a longish time.

Add washing soda to a dry laundry soap mix or add it to the laundry water right when you do a load. Either of these options helps the washing soda to stay effective.

Borax is not as effective as washing soda but it is stable in a water-based product. That means it can be added to a liquid laundry soap and retain its usefulness over time. I still think it's better to add borax as a separate product to the wash water -- or better yet add washing soda to the wash water instead. That way you can adjust the amount to suit the situation. But that's more of a personal preference thing.

Reading this gives me the impression that it isn't one or the other, but when the two are combined. I used to make a liquid laundry detergent (back when I did laundry and didn't have new machines under warranty) that called for both ingredients, so reading DeeAnna's statement in the the thread, it reads to me that the washing soda should not be added until it gets to the machine and added in the wash water (second to last sentence quoted above). From DeeAnna's website, does not exclude using washing soda with liquid (borax containing) laundry mix:

I will also add that I use cut up old bed sheets to clean up after soapmaking. I throw them into a separate tote until the tote gets full (or I run out of clean ones), and then my husband will wash them. [My husband does all our laundry, I have no idea how our machine works. Although I do use 100% CO soap to wash my handwashables, that's the extent of my laundry doing.] He uses about 1/4 the recommended amount of commercial detergent (I think he's using Persil) and adds 1 tbsp each of washing soda and borax (he doesn't do this for our normal laundry). He had tried just borax and just washing soda, but the machine would be filled with so much scummy goop after doing the load of dirty soap rags that he would have to run a second cycle to clean the machine. We have very hard water, so I suspect that's part of the problem. Using both borax and washing soda leaves only a small amount of scummy goop in the lining of the machine which he can clean out with a rag. So while I agree that in premixed dry or liquid laundry recipes there is cause for using one or the other for the long term effectiveness of the mixture, I think that using exclusively one or the other, based on the experience with washing the soap rags, isn't necessarily true. This experience probably does affect how I interpret DeeAnna's original post as well.

My long story short: if I get back to a place where I do laundry and have the freedom to use handmade laundry soap, I will follow DeeAnna's advice for liquid and add the washing soda separately as the combination of the two [borax and washing soda] seems to work best for our hard water situation.

 

[AliOop]

All that maybe explains why my mix of washing soda + borax + a bit of grated 100% CO soap works well for my laundry: I wash pretty much everything in hot water.

 

[gladysjones]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, judging from the link above there is no need to cure the soap when using for laundry. ? That is with the 100% coconut oil bar. I'd like to try this.

 

[MrsZ]

So, correct me if I'm wrong, judging from the link above there is no need to cure the soap when using for laundry. ? That is with the 100% coconut oil bar. I'd like to try this.

I have been wondering the same thing. I've seen some people on a FB Soapmaking group saying you don't have to cure it.

 

[violets2217]

I don’t cure mine. I do make it a week before I plan to mix my big bucket of laundry detergent. So I guess it does cure for a week!?!? And I also only use a couple bars at a time... so the rest of the bars do get a longer cure. Never really thought about it before.

 

[Rattanjeet]

Dear All, what is the recipe for dishwash Bar

 

[MrsZ]

Dear All, what is the recipe for dishwash Bar

Hello, I used 100% coconut oil for my bar, and 2% citric acid.

This is the article I followed to determine how much citric acid to use in soap. Citric acid, Citrus juice | Soapy Stuff

ETA I just realized you asked about a dishwashing bar. I use this same bar for dishes and it's been working well. I am going to try this recipe next for dishes: Homemade Dish Soap Recipe for the Zero-Waste Home • Lovely Greens[