Homemade cleaners, and soap

[ozarklady]

I have been noticing how quickly the prices of laundry detergent are going up.
I did some online research and found some alternatives to the high priced, convenience formulas that we all use.
I saw their price break downs, but this was not current prices that I would see, if I checked the stores.
So, I went and personally bought the items to make this detergent, no I have not made it yet.
But, I have the recipe and the products for my price breakdown:

I did not figure the tax in, so this is not including about 10% which is the combined tax usually, here in Arkansas. But, I bought the products in different cities and they charge different rates.

Fels Naptha bar was: $1.35 which is 5.5 ounce bar, I get $.25 per ounce
Washing Soda was $2.89 for a 55 ounce box, so I get $.05 per ounce
Borax was $2.98 for 76 ounce box, so I get $.039 per ounce

1/3 bar of Fels is $.45
1/2 cup of washing soda is $.20
1/2 cup of borax is $.16
You dissolve the soap in water, then add ingredients, and then you put it all in a two gallon bucket and fill with water. That means that you end up with a total of 2 gallons of laundry liquid. You are to use 1/2 cup per load.
And by my calculations you would get 64 loads from this 2 gallons.
The laundry detergent cost you $.81 for those loads, plus a bit for water, and the heat to melt the soap... Without adding heat or water costs, I get $.013 per load of clothes.

I also bought a 2 ounce bottle of essential oil to scent my laundry soap, it cost me $2.00 wonder how much a drop costs, since that is all you use?

I think this is a winner price wise.

Stay tuned for testing the product!

[flowerpower]

Let us know how it goes.

[bluelacedredhead]

OzarkLady, Here's a recipe I've been using for over a year now. It's low sudsing, therefore acceptable for use in Front Loading machines. The source I originally found the recipe on, made an error and said to use Ivory bar soap, and then edited the recipe to say that it should have said a laundry bar soap. But the Ivory soap is pure and works well too, cuz that's what I use. As a matter of fact, my Grandma did all her laundry with Ivory soap flakes, just adding more bleach or washing soda when the laundry was needing a bit more oomph to remove grime or stains.

I think this one worked out to about .10 a load? I use it in powder form, unless I'm doing a cold wash. I find the grated soap doesn't dissolve properly in cold water.

www.towards-sustainability.com/2009/01/homemade-laundry-powder.html

BTW, my prices are based on the cost of items here in Canada.
Borax is $4.99 a box for generic.
Washing Soda was around $7 the last time I bought a box.
Laundry Soap bars are $3 something each. (never seen Fels Naptha up here).
Even at these prices it sure beats $9.95 for a jug of laundry detergent with natural ingredients, although there is a Canadian made brand that has Tea Tree Oil as it's active ingredient. I do buy it when it goes on sale for $8.
I won't buy those Chemical smelling solutions that are sold for $3/gallon...

[greenfinger]

I use a similar recipe with a full bar of ivory soap, instead of Fels. It works great! The concoction gels up a tad thicker than jello. I put it in shorter, wide pans to sit 24 hours, and use a hand held electric mixer to re'liquify'. Sometimes it separates a tad, just shake it up a bit before measuring. I use 1 cup per load=32 loads.
It took at least 9 months to go through the boxes of Borax and Washing Soda.

[cornishwoman]

Neat to know I'm not the only one that makes my own laundry powder,course hubby thinks its grand as we save money. My recipe is as follows,1 cup Vinegar (white)
1 cup Baking Soda
1 cup Washing Soda
1/4 cup liquid castile soap
Mix well and store in sealed container. I pour the liquid soap into a large bowl first,then the washing soda,then the baking soda STIR that up first ,then add the vinegar in small amounts,the mix will foam up at first,that's why you need a big bowl to mix it up in.It makes a rather thick paste while your stirring it ,just keep stirring and it will break down into a heavy powder,1/2 a cup for a full load works great. For fabric softener I add essential oils of Lavender ,Cedar and Tea tree oil, to a gallon bottle of white vinegar around 10 drops of each. I use equal parts of borax and baking soda for the dishwasher,then vinegar in the rinse compartment,also run the hot tap that connects to the washer till the water is hot hot,then I start the dishwasher,that seems to stop the residue on the dishes,which was a problem I was having.

[sandbar]

OzarkLady ... I will be very interested to hear how your recipe works.

BTW, we have a front loading washer. I wonder if we should use less detergent in it?

[ozarklady]

I am frankly blown away by how much higher the soap, washing soda and Borax are in Canada. I got the Washing Soda at a large international merchant. But, the other ingredients were a locally owned grocery store.
I also got a bar of casile soap, and a product called zote soap. For trying next time.
I didn't grate the bar of soap, I used my potato peeler on it... didn't take long.
And it melted in about 5 minutes? I have it all mixed setting in the pot aging for the 24 hours. So we shall see how it goes.
I have found many, many more recipes for cleaners online. Including lots of uses for vinegar and baking soda. I do like the prices of these better.

Right at the moment we are fine, financially, but we all face the unexpected bill, the something broke and now I have to replace it, and the less hours at work blues... I just think why am I spending so much on cleaners, I could use the savings to fund a "rainy day" account. So, I garden, raise tobacco, and explore cleaners...How else can I save money? Come on folks, I know alot of you know...

[bluelacedredhead]

Mar 18, 2010 19:30:54 GMT -5 sandbar said:

OzarkLady ... I will be very interested to hear how your recipe works.

BTW, we have a front loading washer. I wonder if we should use less detergent in it?

Sandbar, the recipe I use is for FrontLoading machines. I too, have a Frontloader and you need low sudsing for them.

I use One Tbsp of dry powder for a lightly soiled load; Two Tablespoons for Heavily Soiled. You may need to presoak if you have stains to remove.

Ozarklady, the higher prices here are based on several factors. The difference between the U.S. $ and Cdn $, although right now, they are very close. Also, that some things have to be imported, so shipping costs and import duty accounts for a portion of the total. It all adds up.

[mnjrutherford]

I want to give the laundry soap recipe a shot. Particularly since I can add my own fragrance. I do have a couple of questions though:

1. My husband (my oldest boy as well I think) have sensitive skin. Will this soap be more gentle than store bought? Is there an additive I could use that would protect them?

2. Blue, you mention "PURE" laundry soap... I have long wondered, what exactly constitutes "pure" in terms of soap? Are there other pure soaps other than Ivory?

2.

[bluelacedredhead]

Jo, here's a website I found. It's has a sale....ends today...hurry hurry
www.soapsgonebuy.com/

[bluelacedredhead]

Mar 19, 2010 7:01:10 GMT -5 mnjrutherford said:

I want to give the laundry soap recipe a shot. Particularly since I can add my own fragrance. I do have a couple of questions though:

1. My husband (my oldest boy as well I think) have sensitive skin. Will this soap be more gentle than store bought? Is there an additive I could use that would protect them?

Protect them? From what? Dirty Laundry?

[bluelacedredhead]

And Ozarklady, I forgot about this until this morning. I had a conversation about this a while back with a girlfriend in S. TX...
Zote soap is apparently good for Catfish bait too. You wanted to know how to save money? Doing your laundry and catching supper with a .99 cent bar of soap sounds like a great start.
www.mexgrocer.com/7255.html?productid=7255&channelid=FROOG

[mnjrutherford]

I waved good bye to $40 at the website Blue! Thanks a lot!

I got the detergent kit and some of the castile and pumice soaps. Good to find those, we actually need them!

Question on the bar soap... I keep hearing the word "grate". Can I chop with a knife instead? Or can I use the grater on the food processor? I don't have a "normal" grater any longer and until I can find a truly stainless steel one, I won't get a new one.

[mnjrutherford]

Mar 19, 2010 8:36:13 GMT -5 bluelacedredhead said:

Mar 19, 2010 7:01:10 GMT -5 mnjrutherford said:

1. My husband (my oldest boy as well I think) have sensitive skin. Will this soap be more gentle than store bought? Is there an additive I could use that would protect them?

Protect them? From what? Dirty Laundry?

;D I didn't see this till after posting the last remark. Protect them from the drying affects of most soaps. Their skin is so "tender" that right now they use Cetaphil lotion cleanser for bathing rather than a regular body bar or even liquid soap.

I got some of the castile soap with the hope it might be easier on their skin.

[ozarklady]

Wow, the zote smells good too. Much better smell for fish bait than catfish charlie! But, I won't smell like I have been fishing! tee hee. I can see the teasing I will get about my "girlie" tackle box, containing pretty pink soap. Oh I hope that it works!

In the homemade laundry detergent threads you can find, they often used Ivory soap in place of the Fels Naptha, so if you have sensitive skin, just substitute the soap that you normally use in the recipe.

I would test some of the borax, if sensitive to it, just omit it, and use baking soda in its place. This isn't rocket science, and we can mix and match. But, possibly allergies could be to the perfumes, and preservatives used to keep commercial detergents mixed well. I would rather shake my detergent than have more chemicals in it!

I mixed my laundry detergent yesterday, and I added a couple drops of lavendar essential oils to it, for a nice clean scent, that I like. When the grandkids came in, they all said, your house smells like soap! I couldn't smell it, I guess I had gotten used to it, while mixing, so it worked as an air freshener too. I can think of alot worse things for houses to smell like than soap!