Monday, November 29, 2010

~More Laundry Soap~

About a month and a half ago, I made my own laundry soap, following this recipe. It has worked really well! I'm so happy that I can make my own soap at home. It will really save a lot of money.

A few notes:
---I have found that laundry can't stay as long in the washing machine as it can with regular detergent. It starts to smell "sour" sooner. That's easy to remedy, it just means I need to trek down to the basement when I hear the washer beeping! (I should do that anyhow! LOL)
---I haven't had trouble with staining, or the laundry not smelling clean. It works very well.
---As I mentioned before, I do have to use liquid softener, to keep static cling at bay. I use scent-free softener.

My batch from last time was running low, so I made a double batch today. It ran out faster than I thought it would. I must have miscalculated the number of loads, or maybe I didn't use enough water in my first batch, because I really don't think I've done 64 loads in 6 weeks. Hmmmm.

8 comments:

Sara1977 said...

Hey Tammy, I love your blog and wanted to share my recipe for fabric softener.

1/2 cup baking soda
3 1/2 cups water
3 cups white vinegar

Add vinegar last and very slowly so it doesn't explode all over your kitchen. Stir well and add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance if you want. I use the clean linen scent.
Warning: DO NOT put this in a bottle and shake it up to mix!! Don't ask me how I know this.....let's just say my whole kitchen smelled very good that day. ROFL I do put it in an empty fabric softener bottle after I stir it and keep a lid on it. I left the lid off once, and it didn't work very well. I love this recipe. Very easy, cheap and nice smelling. Let me know if you try it.

sheridan said...

I don't use a fabric softener. I just add anout a half cup of vinegar to the wash when I start it. I have heard that you can add it during the rinse cycle, but I don't really keep track of it too much. It keeps the clothes from smelling and it is less expensive than a bottle of fabric softener.

Thanks for the detergent recipe though. I've been considering making my own for a while now. Guess I should just be brave & make it!

Katie said...

Thanks for the recipe!! :) And thanks to the person above for the fabric softener recipe.
I can't wait until Friday...I hope I can find all the ingredients here in town.
Love your blog!! :)

randi said...

i just made a new batch too. i love how inexpensive it is!

Sarah said...

*sigh* I've had felsnaptha soap and borax sitting in my laundry room for over two months with hopes of doing this. I can't get over my love affair with downy and it's amazing fresh scent. Perhaps some day...

Emily said...

Tammy, I finally got around to following the recipe yesterday (which was very exciting!), but after letting it sit for the 24 hrs, I noticed some of the ingredients had settled at the bottom in a kind of dense cloud. Does yours do that? I'm wondering if I didn't let the borax and washing soda sufficient dissolve when I stirred them in.

Unknown said...

Hello. I did my very first load with my homemade laundry soap. I felt I had to start the load with hot water to melt the detergent then I put it on warm but really want cold to save more money. It was alot of work hand grating the soap. My wash smelled clean but I will give it ah bit to determine if this is worth it. I usually use a dampened cloth and put some hair conditioner which I always seem to have extra bottles of (?) on the cloth and throw it in the dryer with a load for softener and does real well!

Tammy said...

Sara, thank you for the softener recipe. Does it keep static away? That's really the only reason I use fabric softener.

Sarah, you could still use Downy. :-)

Emily, I'm not sure...I give mine a good stir before I put it in my detergent bottle. It does kind of seperate, and look pretty cloudy.

Toodie, are you using a liquid homemade soap? I like the liquid because you melt the soap in the process of making it.