HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT RECIPE

This is the recipe I have used for a while now. I had researched a bunch of different recipes and experimented around with Mom in the kitchen. This is the one we have liked the best. From what I read they all work pretty well, but I like this one and it works great. Even on Josh's work clothes.

HOMEMADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT RECIPE

The only ingredients you actually need for homemade laundry detergent are as follows:

1 cup washing soda (I use Arm & Hammer) Make sure you get washing soda and not baking soda. It is in a bigger box, I found it at HyVee
1/2 cup borax (I use 20 Mule Team)
1 bar soap (You can use Ivory or Fels Naptha. There are few other kinds you can use, but I like these the best. Sometimes I do half and half.)
Approximately 3 gallons plus 4 cups water

You will need a pan to cook the soap, a spoon to stir it while cooking, a measuring cup, and a cheese grater or knife to grate the soap bar. You will also need a large container to put the detergent in. I use a five gallon bucket and it works great.

Put four cups of water into a pan and put it on the stove on high until it’s at boiling, then lower the heat until it’s simmering. While it’s heating up, take the bar of soap and grate it with a cheese grater to make little soap curls. My favorite soap is to cut a bar of the Fels Naptha in half and cut a bar of Ivory in half and use half of each bar per batch.
When the water is boiling, start throwing in the soap a little bit at a time, then stirring it until it’s dissolved. Do not just toss in all of the soap at once, It dissolves better if you do a little at a time and stir till melted. Then add more until all the soap is added. Stir the soapy water with a spoon until all of the soap is dissolved. In the end, you’ll have some very warm soap soup. It is very important to get all of the soap dissolved well to make a good consistency for the detergent.
Next, get out your large container and add three gallons of warm tap water to it. I use a five gallon bucket: You can get them at Farm or Home Improvement stores or at Walmart in the hardware section. To this bucket add a cup of the washing soda and stir. Then add a 1/2 cup of the borax and stir. Then I add the soap soup mix and stir well. It helps to stir it really well to give you a good slime consistency for the end result. I use a large wooden stick to stir to get to the bottom.
Cover with the lid and let sit for 24 hours. It usually is fine to sit overnight and I don't usually have to wait the full 24 hours. If I make it during the day, it is usually ready in the morning. When it is done give it a good stir to mix it up again. It will be slimy, but sometimes the consistency varies. That is fine, it just depends on the soap.

I use 1/2 cup for regular loads or 1 cup for work clothes, towels, or heavy soiled loads. Use as little or as much as you like per load up to a cup. I also still use my regular stain remover as before on the kids clothes and other stains as needed. Do not be surprised that the soap does not make suds, or bubbles, it is not supposed too, and it works great and rinses clean. I also just use a plastic measuring cup to measure it and just keep it at the washer. You can put the soap into old detergent bottles to pour out also. If you do this, put a few marbles in each bottle to stir it up while shaking. I prefer just to keep my big bucket by the washer and scoop out as needed, but some prefer to put in detergent bottles. Do whatever works best for you.

You can also add drops of your favorite essential oils for fragrance if you prefer, but I like the clean smell of my two bars of soaps mixed together. Some people use Lavendar, or Pepperment oils. Just use as preferred

I love this detergent and it saves me so much money. I figured it all up and it costs under $2.00 a batch including water for me to make it the way I like. That is less than $2.00 for a almost 5 gallon bucket of laundry detergent. You can't even buy a small tiny bottle of the cheap stuff for that!!!!