Homemade Laundry Soap - May. 6, 2008
Posted in Cookbook
My day started out badly today. Well, I can’t say it was really a bad start, just a rough one. My husband was out of jeans, and I was out of laundry soap. I’d forgotten to make some yesterday. Ooops! I’m so glad that this recipe really doesn’t take long to make. I’m usually pouring it into the cooling bucket in about fifteen minutes.
Laundry Soap
½ bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
½ cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!)
½ cup borax
Water
Pour 3 quarts hot water into a large stock pot. Add grated Fels Naptha Soap. Heat mixture on medium high heat until the Fels Naptha has dissolved completely. Add washing soda and borax. Continuing heating and stirring mixture until it thickens to the consistency of honey.
Carefully pour the hot soap mixture into a large bucket. Add 3 quarts hot water. Let sit for an hour or more to cool, stirring occasionally. Mixture will thicken as it cools.
Divide cooled mixture between two 100 oz. laundry detergent bottles and top with warm water. Use about ½ cup per load of laundry. These two bottles last our family about a month.
I’ve found that this is very gentle, low-sudsing soap. Okay, if you have hard water, it’s actually a no-sudsing soap. If you’re washing a particularly dirty batch of laundry, consider adding ½ cup of washing soda or borax to the wash water. Vinegar is also a great additive. It acts as a fabric softener, a deodorizer, and a brightener for your dark colors.
If you are having trouble finding the ingredients, check out the Arm & Hammer website for the washing soda and the store locator at the Dial Corporation’s website for the Fels Naptha soap. Borax is a pretty common product and can be found in the laundry detergent aisle of most grocery stores as well as Lowes and Home Depot stores.
The Fels Naptha Soap is very useful to have around. Not only is it a main ingredient in this laundry soap recipe, it is also an excellent pretreatment for tough stains. And, did I mention, it’s also and effective treatment for Poison Ivy.
I hope you try this recipe at least once. It’s gentle on your clothes, your washer, and your wallet.
Thanks for stopping by! Time to go push another load of laundry. I’m so glad my children do the folding!
Betty
Grace and peace be yours in abundance. – 1Peter1:2b
Comments
May. 6, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by Anonymous
How neat! You're so smart. I've never heard of making soap. :-) Thanks so much for sharing. By the way, I have a box of Borax (from a science experiment), and didn't have any idea what to do with it.
May. 6, 2008 - Oops...
Posted by shawtime
That was me, Betty.
May. 7, 2008 - Thanks!
Posted by Hmschlmommy1
I love soap-making recipes! I've actually been in the laundry all day today - trying to keep up with what we've started. Yay. Anyway - I know most of the ingredients here so - THANKS A BUNCH!
May. 7, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by bethanyrae
Hmm. That poison ivy thing is interesting. We have quite a bit of it around here. Thanks for all your your comments and thoughts about the chicken pen. Some I hadn't thought of, but some we had. Thanks!
bethanyrae
May. 8, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by MiryClay
You should get a homemaker of the year award. My recipe for laundry soap is...get in the car and go to the dollar general and buy some for 2 bucks. LOL. Hope you have a blessed day.
Love ya,
Lori
May. 10, 2008 - Untitled Comment
Posted by bbullard
Thanks for sharing this. I've not heard of most of these ingredients, but I am often looking for a way to get stains out of clothes when store-bought methodologies don't work, so I may have to check out Arm and Hammer's website. I love their laundry detergent (not too bad on the pocketbook) but I recently went to the very high-priced Tide in order to be sure that I get the ring out of my husband's dress shirt necks. Again, for what groceries are running now, I should check out your suggestions and more...
Happy Mother's Day!
