Natural Laundry Soap (no shredding)

[Muzhik]

Two questions:

If I wanted to take the effort to mix some Fels Naptha in with this mess, would I melt it down and add it when adding the washing soda and borax?

If I wanted to use Downy Fresh Air as the scent, would I also add maybe 1/4 cup when adding washing soda, et al, or would I add it while stick blending it, waiting for the soap to set up?

 

[rubyslippers]

This sounds great-- (the laundry soap, not the canola disaster...heehee!) I would like to try it, but I have a brand new HE front loader machine. Is there any risk of damage to the machine using homemade detergent? Is it very sudsy?
We have soft water here, but I have been using water from my Britta filter jog for soap. Would that be ok?

I also have a HE front loader that was brand new when I first started using homemade laundry detergent 2 years ago. After extensive reading over the internet I came to the conclusion that it would not be a good idea to put the homemade detergent in the machine's soap dispenser because it does have a tendency to collect a gunky, thick powdery residue (this is what supposedly plugs up the line and creates a problem with the front loaders). I just toss my detergent on top of the clothes and run the machine. I have not had any problems using the detergent in this manner. And no, juicybath, it is not sudsy and I also have soft water.

For any of you that may be considering using the homemade detergent you may be very surprised how clean it makes your clothes and it also washes out the synthetic detergents that are contained in commercial detergents, and leaves your clothes feeling so soft. I have competely stopped using fabric softener because it is just not necessary.

And, on one other point.....I've not noticed any residue inside my machine.

 

[nattynoo]

Little bump for this thread......

Thought I'd give this a go.
Just finished putting my ingredients together in a bucket.
I used coconut oil & rain water instead of the distilled.
I live in the country (nowhere near any cities etc) & we collect our water hopefully it'll b clean enough... its all we drink...LOL.
So far it just looks seperated...see how it looks tomorrow.
Hope it works out as it seems to be very cost effective.

OMG!!!...I'm in laundery liquid heaven!!
Its only been 2 days & its ready....and its brilliant!!
At one stage there I thought it was going to fail but I kept with it.
It went thru a seperated look, then a crust type thing formed on top like lard floating on water, next it looked like yogurt set on top of water.
Today I gave it a really good whisk, came back in an hour & it had set completely. Whisked it again & I've got 5litres of fluffy cream like laundry liquid...well cream I would call it.
I've done a few loads with it.
I've got a front loader.
Used 1/2 cup per load.
There is no sudsing at all with mine but the clothes are lovely & clean.
I used eucalyptus oil for smell.
Sooooo............
THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU for this cost effective FANTASTIC recipe!!
I don't think I'll ever go back to regular detergent again.
& how cool is this for the enviroment & chemical free for my kids.

 

[xyxoxy]

Excellent!
Yes I've been using this for a little over a year now and see no reason to go back to buying laundry soap. This does such a great job and is so easy and cheap. A gallon lasts me well over a month and costs under $3.00 US.

Sometimes I have subbed PKO for lard and adjusted the lye amount... works just as well. I've learned that if I stick blend it incorporates faster and more evenly. But I end up with more of a custard than a cream. I scoop a little out like scooping ice cream and then shake it up in a little jar with water to dilute it before adding to the wash.

I love it.

 

[42things]

my first batch set up lovely.

I was thinking of adding an EO to it at this point, any suggestions?

I'm trying my first load of laundry with this right now...

I have very hard water and there's soap bits (scum) floating around on the top of the load.

is there any type of fat that wouldn't do that in hard water?

thanks.

 

[agriffin]

I'm trying my first load of laundry with this right now...

I have very hard water and there's soap bits (scum) floating around on the top of the load.

is there any type of fat that wouldn't do that in hard water?

thanks.

You can try using more borax to soften the water.

 

[42things]

The soap seems to work well though.

I used just over 1/2 c. in my top loader and everything is coming out nice and clean so... woot.

I decided to just use vinegar in the softener dispenser ... that seems to be taking care of the scum.

 

[Zhuliya]

Anyone uses your handmade soap /liquid detergent for the dishwasher?? Have you any idea if that's any good?

I've been using mine - which is basically half tallow and half olive oil CP soap liquidized with water - to clean the house (bathroom, kitchen, floors) and it's pretty good, but I'm nut sure whether I can use it for the dishes or not.

Any suggestion?

 

[carebear]

my suggestion is DON'T. too much foam - it'll work it's way through tiny cracks and across your kitchen floor. plus leave scum on some of your dishes.

 

[nattynoo]

I tried my coconut oil laundry soap in the dishwasher... just had to give it a try...LOL.
I'm one of those types that has to try things for myself.
It didn't froth everywhere but left HORRIBLE soap scum on everything. It had to be rewashed.

 

[rainbowkitty]

I made some at the beginning of the year (a 5 gallon pail) and we are STILL using it!! It's fantastic. I didn't put in nearly enough scent though. I'm wondering for those of you that scent it - how much you use?

We love this! Keep getting people ask if I sell it..lol..

 

[nattynoo]

Hi Tasha.
I used eucalyptus EO (its pretty cheap from the supermarket here, oz).
Can't remember how much.
I good splash :wink: pretty technical amount...hehehe.
I find my washing has a lovely euco smell to it. Definitely.
I really like it.
As for the vinegar I don't know.

 

[Sunny]

A couple of questions for anyone who has made this before!

-I have hard water, how much vinegar should I add to the rinse cycle to keep scum off my clothes and washer?
Or does this help at all?
Will adding extra borax help with the scum?


-How much fragrance oil should I add to this?
Will the fragrance survive the washer and dryer?
Has anyone tried essential oil?


Thanks, this recipe sounds really great.

 

[Zhuliya]

A couple of questions for anyone who has made this before!
-How much fragrance oil should I add to this?
Will the fragrance survive the washer and dryer?
Has anyone tried essential oil?

I always use EOs, even for my laudry detergent. I make liquid detergent because I find it easier to use (I mean, not with KOH but melting my CP soap with a lot of water) and in about 1liters of water I add 5-6 drops of lavender or eucalyptus EO. It leaves a little scent on the final dry laudry, but it is fainter and very different from commercial detergents - so of course I love it

 

[ironbrewer]

I made this laundry soap and it came out as a very thick gel. Is that normal, or should I add more water. I followed the recipe exactly, lard and all.

 

[dubnica]

I made this about a week ago and I love it. It came out really good. I used jasmine FO and it smells devine. Laudry came out clean, soft and smelling so nice. I will definitely make this again.



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[RikRaks]

gonna try this for sure! like right now, kids are off to bed, I'm off to soap...

Just made some, now to wait...... I added clean laundry FO from WSP which I used in my lard laundry bars, so yeah!

 

[Bubbles Galore]

Good grief, has anyone noticed that there has been 10784 views of this thread. We must have a couple of lurkers. LOL :wink:

 

[MikeInPdx]

Well...the thread has been up for a long time.

 

[nattynoo]

10,000 views, thats insane!! I must admit when I first made mine I re read this thread several times & have posted links to it as well.
LOL..... its a good recipe!!!!