Homemade laundry detergent

[NetSkyBlue]

After only 2 weeks of following my New Year's resolution to separate "food" items from "household" items in the grocery section of my budget, I realized I spend a LOT of money on household products. So, I'm going to begin shaving down the "household" category by trying to make my own laundry detergent, following the recipe here: Homemade Laundry Detergent | Hillbilly Housewife

Does anyone else make their own cleaning products? Do you love it, or do you find the quality to be less than store-bought? Is it worth the hassle?

[bjl584]

I make a few cleaning solutions on the cheap.

1 part amonia and one part water cleans and degreases most anything.

1 part bleach and one part water works great to disinfect.

1 part white vinegar plus one part amonia plus one part water is an awesome glass cleaner.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by bjl584

1 part bleach and one part water works great to disinfect.

You learn this formula quickly as a pet owner

[creditcardfree]

I've made a very similar laundry detergent. The quantities are less, but otherwise the same your link. I used it for over a year. I thought I liked it, but noticed over time things were not as white as I prefer. I think some people use oxiclean to overcome that every so often. At any rate, I went back to regular detergent and like it again. It defintely saves money and over all things still get clean.

[riverwed070707]

If you do homemade laundry detergent, definitely do a liquid version like the one you posted. I've tried the powdered variety (several recipes) and it was way too hard on our clothes. Literally was wearing holes in them and dulling the colors.

As for cleaning, I use vinegar and water for just about everything -- floors, counters, upholstry, mirrors etc. When cleaning mirrors the trick is to use newspaper as your rag. Sometimes I add lemon or vanilla to give it a nice scent. For bathrooms and tough stains I use baking soda. Cover thouroughly, let it sit, scrub away. Takes a little elbow grease but does the trick. I also use baking soda when I shampoo my carpets. For clogged drains, coat drain with baking soda, let sit an hour or so and then add vinegar in 1/2 cup portions until is stops foaming up. Works like a charm.

Lastly, not a cleaning product per say, but I save oodles on shampoo and conditioner by making my own. I use these recipes from Only Dust in the Wind and my hair has never been healthier!

[bjl584]

Originally Posted by GREENBACK

You learn this formula quickly as a pet owner

Haha. Lab owners unite!

[NetSkyBlue]

I made this last night. It was very easy, took about half an hour. Though I think next time I will stir the soap less vigorously while melting it. It made it frothy on top, which never quite mixed back in. I don't think it will make a difference in effectiveness, but it's less attractive than it could be. It gelled overnight, and was kind of gloppy (I had read that this is normal).

1/3 the recipe filled 1 1/2 100 oz empty detergent bottles. I also added several drops of lemongrass essential oil for scent.

I put a load of towels through the washer this morning with 1/4 cup of white vinegar in the liquid fabric softener dispenser. The load wasn't quite through drying when I had to leave the house, but it smelled nice and felt soft.

I also read that adding a cup or so of store-bought detergent to the full recipe would help combat the gloppy-ness. If I can find some of the fragrance free/dye free stuff on sale w/coupon, I might try that.

I also need a funnel!

But I bought ALL the ingredients for less than one bottle of my regular detergent.

I think once I've gone through 4-5 of the gallon bottles of vinegar, I'll use those bottles and make a full batch of detergent.

In a few days I'll try it on my BF's greasy kitchen clothes. (He's a chef)

[Moonblossom]

I've always used the powder form of homemade laundry detergent and I have never had holes in my clothes or dingyness. But I also had oxiclean and dry bleach to mine and use soap I handmake myself.

[photo]

You don't have to go to such extremes -- from spending a fortune on detergent to making your own.

Two things can help a lot:

1. Buy the cheapest detergent that meets your needs (some people are fine with generic, but it doesn't work for everyone). Buy it on sale and with coupons.

2. Don't wash your clothing until it really needs it. Underwear needs to be changed daily, but sweaters and slacks rarely need laundering after one day's wear. When I'm in Europe, it isn't unusual for people to wear outer clothing for several days. Everyone is different, but our clothing usually isn't nearly as dirty as we think it is.

[mom-from-missouri]

I make almost all of my cleaners, except for bleach. Several recipes for cleaners and soaps are on my blog if anyone wants, but you can google and come up with tons of them.

They are also much safer in addition to being cheaper.

[nck4857]

I've been making laundry soap with this recipe for quite a while now. My wife is so picky about this kind of stuff, but she even likes it. It's simple, just 3 cheap ingredients and has probably saved me around $100 (we do lots of laundry) in just the past 6 months alone.

Making Homemade Laundry Soap

[disneysteve]

Originally Posted by bjl584

I make a few cleaning solutions on the cheap.

1 part amonia and one part water cleans and degreases most anything.

1 part bleach and one part water works great to disinfect.

Just an important safety tip. NEVER mix ammonia and bleach. The combination produces a toxic gas that can be fatal if inhaled in sufficient amount. Several times each year, I see patients who mixed cleaning solutions to scrub their bathroom or other part of the house, usually with little to no ventilation and they get sick from the fumes.

[GREENBACK]

Originally Posted by disneysteve

Just an important safety tip. NEVER mix ammonia and bleach.

This actually happened to my grandmother many years ago. It nearly killed her.

[NetSkyBlue]

After using about half my first batch (which was 1/3 the recipe) I switched to a slightly different recipe with much better consistency results.

1 bar Fels-Naptha laundry soap, finely grated (I used a cheese grater)
1 cup Borax
1 cup Washing Soda
2 gallons water

(I found all the ingredients at Walmart)

-Grate the bar of soap into a stock pot and add 1 gallon of water. Over medium-high heat, stir until soap is completely dissolved.
(The longest part is the soap grating. Also, stir slowly. I think this is part of the trouble I had with the first batch, I got it too "sudsy" on top and the suds never re-absorbed.)

-Add 1 cup Borax and 1 cup Washing Soda.

-Bring to a boil, stirring consistently, until it thickens.
(It got slightly thicker, not quite the consistency of gravy)

-Take off heat and add the other gallon of water.
(I poured it into a bucket with a pour spout before adding the second gallon, and also skimmed any suds off the top)

-Wait overnight for it to gel.
(It may be hard on top at this point, mine had a thick layer on top the consistency of fat that's been left to cool)

-Blend well with an immersion blender, then pour with a funnel into containers.
(It should be approximately the consistency of store-bought detergent now)


I added lemongrass essential oil to the first batch, but you couldn't smell a thing on the clothes once they were dry.

Now I use 1/4 cup white vinegar in the liquid fabric softener compartment (more if it's jeans or towels) and put several drops of essential oil on a washcloth and throw it into the dryer with the clothes. They come out clean and smelling lovely.

I got this recipe here:
Homemade Laundry Detergent - Tidy Tangle

[johna]

I usually use Purex detergent, which I cal find on sale for $1.99. It will wash 33 loads. I wasn't sue if the homemade stuff was safe for an HE washer. I do make other cleaning products for the home, including dishwasher detergent. The recipe is posted on my blog (the address is listed below). It works better than the cheap Walmart brand!

[Branden62225]

I think you could learn this formula quickly as a pet owner.

[leggzz66]

you can still use your fave soap, just cut it down to 2 tbsp. then add borax, baking soda, and use vinegar for rinse. sounds like a process, but it cuts down on the soap and money spent, better for environment, clothes dont smell like vinegar either, it like doubles scent of soap. its awesome, inexpensive and easy. i got clear wine bottles off ebay, i bought toppers, and use those. makes it easy and there to pour in. i lived in country of bible belt, so there were no bars, you could also go to local pubs and ask them for their bottles, heck the gallon jugs would do great and you wouldnt need toppers either, they have a built in pour also. i tried the ball they have out now, my daughter broke out bad! whatever its ionic thing is, it was very bad for my daughter. ive had a 20 wash bottle for about 100 washes now its still half full. ive cut my use down alot and its better on your clothes too.

[DumbSheila]

I did the homemade powder detergent for clothes for a few months but my husband hated it and insisted we go back to store bought. He started getting skin rashes but our clothes had no problems.

I did the homemade dishwasher detergent and it made our dishes disgusting so we went back to store bough rather quickly there.

[mom-from-missouri]

Originally Posted by DumbSheila

I did the homemade powder detergent for clothes for a few months but my husband hated it and insisted we go back to store bought. He started getting skin rashes but our clothes had no problems.

I did the homemade dishwasher detergent and it made our dishes disgusting so we went back to store bough rather quickly there.

Our situation is just the opposite. The store ones make my husbands legs burn and itch, turn bright red. So I make ours to ensure it has no perfumes or dyes and he has no issues with it. His cousin made some though and added perfumes which irrated her sons skin.

We have good luck with our dish soap as well.

Our septic and my HE front loader seem to be happy with it after almost 6 years of using it.

[sblatner]

I also did the homemade powder detergent for clothes for a month but my husband hated it and got skin rashes on his back. Cleared up when I went back to the store bought stuff. I think he might have been allergic to the fels naptha.

Originally Posted by DumbSheila

I did the homemade powder detergent for clothes for a few months but my husband hated it and insisted we go back to store bought. He started getting skin rashes but our clothes had no problems.

I did the homemade dishwasher detergent and it made our dishes disgusting so we went back to store bough rather quickly there.