Wednesday, November 30, 2011

DIY | Laundry Detergent

During my vacation for Thanksgiving, my sister, sister-in-law and I all decided to make some home-made laundry detergent using a recipe from Why Not Sew? that we found from Pinterest:

 

Here is what you will need:

1 bar of soap (any kind you want)
1 cup of Borax
1 cup of washing soda
a big pot (that holds more than 2 gallons)
a grater
a funnel
a long spoon
2 empty gallon jugs/containers

Step 1: Grate your bar of soap into a large bowl, or directly into the pot.

Step 2: Add one gallon of water to the large pot on medium heat and stir occasionally until the grated soap is dissolved.

DSC00700

Step 3: Add in the washing soda and Borax (both found at Wal-Mart…look on a bottom shelf). The mixture will thicken as you stir. Bring to a boil.
DSC00701DSC00703

Step 4: After the mixture is boiling, add the other one gallon of water and remove from heat. Mix well and let cool.

Step 5: Use a funnel to put the detergent in your containers.

We ended up making 2 1/2 batches (with different types of soap – thus the different colors).

DSC00704

Step 6: The directions recommend using 1/2 cups per load.

This detergent solution won’t get sudsy, but will do a great job of getting the clothes clean. You may have to shake up the jug before using as I noticed the soap clumped up, but it got my clothes clean!

The Why Not Sew? blog estimates the cost t0 be $6.00 for 576 loads. Worth the little effort for the savings!

1 comment:

Melissa said...

First, don't you LOVE Pinterest?! I have now tried a dozen or so recipes and have always wanted to try the laundry soap thing. Todd's clothes are so greasy after work I have been hesitant to try it. Looks like I should for that kind of savings!