Natural Laundry Soap (no shredding)

[Pepsi Girl]

I have been using the cream laundry soap for awhile now. I am making it with lard. When I first used it on a load of towels I was floored at how soft and fluffy they were! No fabric softener or anything. I love it and will continue using it for sure!

What do you mean by "cream laundry soap"?

 

[AngelMomma]

I keep this soap on hand all the time. It takes a few days to set up but it's really easy to make and works well in soft water. People with hard water will want to have it softened with borax or washing soda before adding soap.

1 gallon heavy plastic or glass container with wide mouth
1/2 gallon cold water
2.25 ounces lye
1 lb lard, melted
1/2 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax (up this to 1 cup if you can't find the washing soda)
Fragrance oil or essential oil of your choice (optional)
Hot water to fill the container

Add cold water to container. Add lye; stir well (this barely gets warm because lye is so diluted) Add lard, washing soda, borax, fragrance oil. Add hot water to finish filling the container and stir well with a wire whisk.

Whisk 3 times a day or so until set up. Initially, it will start with a glob of soap on top but will set up more each time you whisk it. After three days or so, you will be left with a nice, powdery liquid that you can use in your laundry.

Add 1/2 - 1 cup for a top loading machine. Dissolve in hot water before adding to a very cold wash. Otherwise, just add it while the machine is filling. Use less in a front loader; this one WILL suds if you add too much.

I was referring to the recipe posted in the OP.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

OK I guess I lost my mind for a little while!:?

 

[Hazel]

OK I guess I lost my mind for a little while!:?

Such a tempting straight line but I will resist.

I remember NancyRogers mentioning using old towels to wipe out her bowls, etc and then throwing them in the wash. I thought it was a good idea but I was concerned about unsaponified oils remaining in clothes. Of course, I don't make enough soap where this might be an issue.

 

[dagmar88]

Such a tempting straight line but I will resist.

I remember NancyRogers mentioning using old towels to wipe out her bowls, etc and then throwing them in the wash. I thought it was a good idea but I was concerned about unsaponified oils remaining in clothes. Of course, I don't make enough soap where this might be an issue.

I don't know if it has a specific name in English, but we call it "fatty lice" or "laundry lice". It's not lice, but a build up from scum and oils in the washer where bacteria thrive. It makes your washed clothes smell very yucky.

Maybe it's less of a problem with top loaders?
Anyway, I'd try using as little soap or detergent as possible and run a hot cycle after washing those towels with superfatted soap on them.

 

[Hazel]

Thanks for the pic! That doesn't look very nice. I think I'll stick with my usual method of letting the soap saponify in the bowl and on the spatula. Then I scrape the soap off into a container for scraps and use to fill a soap saver bag. I just use an organza bag for mine.

 

[Pepsi Girl]

Such a tempting straight line but I will resist.

I remember NancyRogers mentioning using old towels to wipe out her bowls, etc and then throwing them in the wash. I thought it was a good idea but I was concerned about unsaponified oils remaining in clothes. Of course, I don't make enough soap where this might be an issue.

Go ahead Hazel I can take it!:-D

And as for the unsaponified oils I didn't think that far ahead? So you think I should wait a day or so?

I hadn't read Dagmar's reply yet . That's totally yuck! So me are you saying that's from washing the towels after clean up or from using this laundry soap? I have a front loader HE?

 

[dagmar88]

I hadn't read Dagmar's reply yet . That's totally yuck! So me are you saying that's from washing the towels after clean up or from using this laundry soap? I have a front loader HE?

No, just from natural skin oils, excess detergent/soap and washing on lower temperatures often. I do my clean up like Hazel does.
I do think a larger quantity of oils would improve the chance of this slush forming in your machine if you don't run hot cycles regularly.
Had it once and hope I'll never have it again, so I decided to wash all my bed linen, (hand)towels, cleaning rags and animal beds at 194F (whites setting?), switched to laundry powder instead of liquid detergent and drastically cut back on the amount.
Washing at lower temps is a little more economical, but leaves a lot of bacteria like e-coli intact, or even enhances growth.

 

[Hazel]

Go ahead Hazel I can take it!:-D

Yes, I know you can because you have a great sense of humor and would know I was just teasing you. But someone else might read my comment, not realize I was joking and think "Wow! Rude people on this forum".

I don't remember if I mentioned this before but I always put vinegar with a little peppermint EO into the softener dispenser. I really don't know if this helps but I haven't had problems with scum build-up. Then again, I make my laundry soap with a lye excess and I don't use it for every load. I also only use warm water for washing.

 

[Lilac71]

I made the recipe according to Gekko's metric measurements using the CO. I'm an aussie too. Thanks Mike for the original recipe. The only change I made to Gekko's was to use KOH for the lye at the same qty because I didn't have any Sodium Hydroxide left. I prefer a true laundry liquid in my HE Front Loader, so this might dissolve better if some people are having trouble getting it to dissolve in their washer? It has taken the 3 days to fully saponify whisking or SB'ing several times a day, looks similar to the photos but is a bit runnier.
I also used Eucalyptus, Orange and Lemon Myrtle Essential Oils as they inhibit bacteria and smell fresh.

 

[soap_rat]

I just saw the first page on this, MikeinPdx has deleted his original post, or his acccount? There are no words there anymore....

 

[Hazel]

That is odd. I'll contact him and ask what happened. I'll send you a copy of the recipe so you can get started if you want. I use a variation of gekko62's recipe. Just scroll down a little and you'll see it.

http://www.soapmakingforum.com/showthread.php?t=4479&page=2

 

[DeeAnna]

Yes, I also see that Mike removed several of his posts today. I'm bummed ... he's got some really neat ideas and it's sad that his contributions are now gone.

The basic info is summarized in Posts 15, 70, and 128, in case someone wants to get the original gist of this thread.

 

[Dahila]

I can not find Mike's receipie for laundry soap:roll:

 

[Pepsi Girl]

I can not find Mike's receipie for laundry soap:roll:

It's gone, for some reason. But you might try sending him a PM .

 

[soap_rat]

Dahila, look at the post immediately above yours, it tells you which posts have the info you want.

 

[Dahila]

soap_rat I went from page one to the end there is not recipe for the soap. It is gone. Mike edited his post some time ago and is gone. Pepsi girl I send him pm and hopefully he will answer. Thank you so much for answering:razz:

 

[DeeAnna]

Dahlia -- Mike can delete his OWN posts, but he cannot delete or alter other people's posts. Look at post 128 -- Mike's original recipe is there. Video of the process in post 70. A metric (gram) version using coconut oil rather than lard in Post 15.

 

[Dahila]

DeeAnna thank you so much, without you I would not find it. Copied and saved and I will read again the thread, it does not seem difficult on video Thank you again,

 

[biarine]

I know this is an old post but it's interesting I wanted to watch the video posted but it unfortunately we can't view it here in uk. I read from the beginning until the end.