Laundry powder

[Badger]

I was given a recipe that has just baking soda, washing soda and the shredded soap. I don't have oxiclean or borax in it.

 

[nebetmiw]

Glad this thread is going answered some of my questions but. Are we talking the baking soda you get for baking? is for cookies and such Also how does everyone grate there soap? I have a cheese grater and I can not imagine using it for soap way to hard on hands.

So if I make a pound of soap up for laundry I guess I will need a 5 lb bucket to put it in. I know that will not last long here now the MIL is coming to live with us. She has to have laundry done every two days. She is old and has acceindents.

 

[Lindy]

Yup baking soda like what you use for baking. It actually has a lot of uses besides baking. It's great for deodorizing which is oneof the reasons to have it in your laundry soap. I have a grater that is strictly for my soap. It's one of those that have the plastic container attached to the bottom and I love it.

 

[Badger]

I used a cheese grater to grate my soap. As it has never been used before to my memory, designating it as soap only was not a hardship to me. As the soaps for laundry are usually heavier with lye, they break up on the grater fairly easily.

 

[siobhan1011]

I bought a second hand food processor and use that for the grating the soap and then for whizzing it to a powder with the soda crystals and bicarb

 

[Lindy]

I bought a huge one for turning it all into powder. Of course it is bigger, better and badder than the one for food..... :shifty:

 

[melstan775]

I bought a huge one for turning it all into powder. Of course it is bigger, better and badder than the one for food..... :shifty:

Is it a ninja? .

I just use the fine grater for my soap, I don't bother to crunch it up to be as small as powder. In warm water that small
It dissolves fine for me.

 

[Lindy]

Yeah! A Ninja Food Processor.... man that thing is a monster....

 

[nebetmiw]

Yeah! A Ninja Food Processor.... man that thing is a monster....

You are so right there. I have the blender with 3 blades. Thing is down right scary. LOL

 

[Lindy]

Yes but isn't it wonderful? LOL I used mine today to puree some mandarin oranges for soapmaking tomorrow.....

 

[siobhan1011]

my washing machine is cold water only fill, so I like to really blitz my laundry soap into a powder.

 

[Seifenblasen]

So--- does anyone have any problems when they have used 5% superfat for laundry? I'm using 1% I made for that purpose, but have some "flooey" bars (as Maitri calls them) that I'd just as soon NOT rebatch.... I'm guessing it works OK, but had to ask to be sure.

I have used a 5% superfat soap (perfectly fine soap, but I used some FO sample I got for free with an order - yuck) and have not had any problem with rancid or dirty clothing. Also, thank goodness the scent does not linger!

Guess if someone is specifically making soap for laundry, 0% superfat is the way to go. But I have been using my blotched soaps just fine.

 

[melstan775]

I'm going to be a smarty here, excuse me in advance, Mel!

Make cp/hp/cpop as usual, skipping the step where you add in any fragrance at trace. Aaaaaaaaand done

Seriously though, buy some vegetable shortening, plug it in soap calc with 0%sf and you are good to go.

Just saw your response Liz. So just any soap will do, or vegatable shortening? That seems too easy. Thank you!

 

[lizflowers42]

Just saw your response Liz. So just any soap will do, or vegatable shortening? That seems too easy. Thank you!

Yep! Some people use 100% coconut oil soap with 0%sf for a cleansing laundry soap! Just make sure it's only for laundry!

 

[PippiL]

I'm so glad, I asked and thank you for all of your wonderful tips :smile:

 

[dudeitsashley]

I am glad I found this thread! Just wondering it seems like everyone leaves their soap base unscented, what is the reason for this? Does the fragrance cause some adverse effect in the clothing or something?

 

[cursivearts]

I've done the Fels Naptha before and some of my first soaps and have even made liquid detergent (you basically just melt it all down in water). It all worked great. I missed the scents so I went back to Tide, and I have to say, I think DeeAnna is right about people using to much. One day after my husband had done a few loads of laundry, I noticed the detergent bottle was conspicuously empty, so I asked how much he used and he said, "I filled up the whole cap like you're supposed to." I had to explain to him about the lines inside! I'm still not entirely sure he is using less now. That said, after this bottle, it might be time to go back to the homemade powdered stuff, because my husband understood that, since I wrote the directions in huge letters on a label on the front.

 

[cursivearts]

To answer Ashley, the fragrance doesn't really carry over to the clothes. You can use it, if you want, to make the detergent smell nice BEFORE you put it in the wash, but your clothes won't smell like it, so there is really no point.

 

[dudeitsashley]

To answer Ashley, the fragrance doesn't really carry over to the clothes. You can use it, if you want, to make the detergent smell nice BEFORE you put it in the wash, but your clothes won't smell like it, so there is really no point.

Thank you for the reply I hadn't thought about the scent not sticking.

 

[Smee]

I like using lemon or orange EO in my detergent only because I like how it smells.
If I GOTTA do the laundry, at least let me enjoy something about having to do it

FWIW, I make my own softener using vinegar and whatever hair conditioner
is on sale, and that scent really doesn't cling to clothes, either.