In my quest to be frugal and more environmentally responsible I have tried several recipes for homemade laundry soap... without results that pass my criteria. The last batch I made was with borax, washing soda and Dr. Breener's liquid castile soap...... it didn't pass the test, either. What to do with all this liquid laundry soap?? I HATED to see it go to waste. I read the castile soap bottle and it said it can be used with dishes!! I have been using homemade powdered dishwasher soap (with washing soda and borax) for the past 4 years so when my batch ran out I used the liquid "laundry soap" I had made. Results?? LOVE it!!!! It might not meet the mark for laundry, but it does an excellent job in my dishwasher.Since then I have made 3 more batches with equal success. I don't know if it will work for everyone (our water is VERY hard... we use a softener... and is extremely high on the ph scale) but I am very happy with this recipe. I thought that I would pass along my recipe in case anyone wants to try it. You could easily make a smaller batch to give it a shot the first go round. Dr. Brenner's Castile soap is extremely versatile... can be used in so many ways!
Homemade Liquid Dishwasher Soap
(This makes 1 gallon. It costs me approximately $3 to make. I store it in 2 1/2 gallon jugs.)
Ingredients:
16 cups of water, divided
1 1/2 cups WASHING soda (this is NOT baking soda)
1 cup borax
1/2 cup Dr. Brenner's Pure Liquid Castile Soap (fragrance of your choice)
Directions:
1) Bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in washing soda, borax and liquid castile soap until dissolved.
2) Stir in remaining 8 cups water and allow to cool.
3) Pour cooled dishwasher soap into containers of your choice. It will "gell" up over next 24 hours.
To use:
give dishwasher soap a good shake to make sure everything is mixed well and to make it easy to pour out. I put it in both of my dispensers. Experiment with the amount you will need... I don't completely fill up my dispensers.
I hope you like it... Let me know if you try it. I enjoy making as many of our cleaning products as possible... I especially like this homemade multipurpose cleaner. I am very bummed that I haven't found a laundry soap that works for us.... If you know of any recipes I am willing to try them.
Have a BLESSED day, BE a BLESSING!
Heather
8 comments:
Have you tried the laundry soap recipe from www.thesimpledollar.com yet? I can't personally endorse it, as I haven't made it yet, but I typically trust Trent. He's good. :)
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/03/15/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent-and-save-big-money/
I tried homemade laundry detergent too a while back and it didn't cut it for me, either. Maybe well-water is the problem.
I want to make your all-purpose cleaner though, and give that a try.
I started a new face cleaning/moisturizing treatment yesterday ~ the "oil cleansing method." One part castor oil to four parts sunflower oil. Cheapest facial EVER! I only started it yesterday, so we'll have to see how it does for cleanser, but despite the dryness in the house due to the woodstove, my face still feels soft a day later.
http://frugallygreen.blogspot.com/search/label/Clean%20Green
That is a recipe I have made twice now, for the laundry soap. It seems to be working just fine for me. I haven't noticed anything negative about our laundry... some people have mentioned yellowing and smells after using home laundry soap but I haven't noticed any problems.
I haven't tried a dishwashing liquid yet because I get boxes of dishwashing stuff for real cheap with coupons and sales. But... when/if I run out of a supply I will attempt to make my own!
I don't have nor do I want to buy the liquid castile soap I do however have the bar soap since I use it to make my own laundry soap so can I just use the bar and melt in in water to have the same effect as the liquid castile?
For some reason my soap is in bottles but it's not gelling up HELP !!!
I don't know what happened to my laundry soap!! It won't "set up" or gel. The soap floats to the top and the liquid stays at the bottom. Help!!
Marla and Kaye.... I wish I could help you out! Mine has always gelled although now that I am about down to the bottom third of my bottle it is starting to separate, too. I just give it a good shake and use it.... it still cleans just fine.
I use the Duggar Family laundry soap recipe. It can be found on their site.
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