I decided I wanted to make homemade laundry detergent recently. I looked up recipes, asked friends, and poured over pins on Pinterest. Via Pinterest I found Erin at Why Not Sew? and she had a recipe that I liked.
I bought my ingredients while doing my weekly grocery shopping. Her recipe calls for a bar of body soap but I used the Fels Naptha instead. And I only had one empty gallon jug so I halved the recipe. Also this gives me a smaller amount to start with in case I don't like it or want to try another recipe.
Spent less than if I bought my normal laundry detergent. (Fels Naptha bar was $1 or $2 and I only used half. Washing soda was $3, borax was $3 and I only used 1/2 cup of each. Got enough of each left to make several, several more batches.) There's a plus.
I made the detergent on Sunday afternoon, seemed like a pretty easy and quick process. There's another plus.
Smelled pretty good. Yet, another plus.
So far I've done five loads using the new detergent. They smell nice. They are extra soft (thanks to the washing soda, I think). I think we have a winner! The real test will come after I've worn something washed in it. I have a terrible allergy to something in laundry detergent that causes me to break out in hives wherever the clothes touched me and on occasion, swells my eyes almost shut. If it can pass that test, I'd say, we will no longer buy bottled detergent.
I was reading the box of Borax and there's several other things you can do with it. It can be a laundry booster, whiten whites, clean toilets, dishwashers, remove stains, and remove hard water stains.
I would love to hear from anyone that makes their own with tips and suggestions. If you have a different and better recipe or if you've concocted your own recipe, I'd love to hear it.
Tootles for now! I'm off to
