I scoured the Internet to find a homemade laundry soap that would work for our family. We settled on this one. It is simple. Easy to make. And easy to store. It is a conglomerate of all the non borax wash mixes I found. This is a great starter DIY thrifty project.
When I decided to start using homemade laundry soap I was very hesitant. I decided to start with just my clothes. It was the only way to know for sure if it would cause a skin reaction or not get the clothes clean. And, if someone was going to get an entirely new wardrobe due to a soap malfunction it should be me, right?
This soap was surprisingly wonderful. The clothes are left smelling clean. My machine has not gone dysfunctional. It is perfectly suitable for a front load washer, in my opinion, because I have not entered my laundry room and it be full of suds. The added bonus is I have not had to clean my washer since using this stuff. In the past I would occasionally get a funky smell in the wash and have to run a cleaning cycle with a special detergent. With this stuff I have not had to do that.
I have even washed cloth diapers with this stuff and it has worked well. If I have a particularly yucky mess I add Oxiclean in the drum. An example of a yucky mess would be the laundry following a stomach bug. I want the added security of disinfection without bleach. I will say no more.
Homemade Laundry Soap
For this you will need a mixing bowl, cutting board and knife (or a mandolin), One cup measurer, Tablespoon Measurer, and a storage container that will hold 4 cups.
1 bar of Ivory Soap
¼ Cup Kosher Salt
1 Cup Baking Soda
1 Cup Super Washing Powder
Begin by shredding the soap bar. I have used both a mandolin and cut it by hand. Both work well. Just get the soap as fine as you can.
Put the soap in a mixing bowl.
Add the salt and mix it till the salt breaks down the soap even further.
Add the baking soda and mix.
Add the washing powder and mix.
Put it in your chosen container.
Use one tablespoon per load.
I have a super capacity machine so I use a rounded tablespoon.
The best part of this soap is its extreme value.
By my calculation it is 5 cents per load. I knew it would be a savings but I was not expecting that level of value. To get started was a bigger chunk than buying traditional detergent but I have not had to buy anything else all year.
Here is the product breakdown. I used the scanner on my phone to find the prices so you may be able to find these products even cheaper. I purchased all of these items at our local Walmart.
Ivory Soap – 10 Bars – $6.70
Kosher Salt – 48 oz – $7.96
Super Washing Powder – 55 oz – $7.59
Baking Soda – 16 oz – $.64
I purchased a humongous box of baking soda. But if I had to do it over again I would buy the little boxes from the baking aisle. In my head, it seems it would keep its properties better than my now 9-month-old huge box. But I am no chemist so take my word with a grain of salt.
Enjoy your soap making.