Homemade Laundry Soap

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letscook

Head Chef
Joined
Sep 18, 2004
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Location
The Finger Lakes of NY
I was watching a show The Duggars and they were making Homade Laundry soap. Just that day I had to buy soap and thought to myself this is getting so pricey- So I said I am going to try this. My intial cost was 7.78 - but the products i purchased will make more. so i figured it all out. The recipe makes 10 gallons of laundry soap and I made it for $1.60 and recipe does approx. 180 loads. I paid 9.90 for soap the did 92 load. I made the recipe December 30 and I just made a new batch yesterday.

I will never buy laundry soap again, It took some getting use to as it doesn't suds, but it does clean. I gave some to my daughter, as 3 boys 8,5,2 yrs old would be a good test. She loved it. Save so money and make your own. You can purchase a 5 gal bucket at Home depot for about 3-4.00 - I already had one. I save my 10 - 1 gallon milk jugs to out it in. Here's the recipe

TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP
We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2.
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value
4 Cups hot tap water
1 Fels-Naptha soap bar
1 Cup Washing Soda
½ Cup Borax
- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. NOTE: Do not walk away from it as it will boil over.
-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.
-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)
-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.
-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)
-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)
Inexpensive Fabric Softener Recipes
Recipe #1
1 Cup White Vinegar
Add vinegar to rinse cycle. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.
Recipe #2
1 Container of Name Brand Fabric Softener
4 Inexpensive sponges, cut in half or wash cloths
Pour entire container of softener into a 5 gallon bucket. Fill empty softener container with water twice. (2 parts water to 1 part softener) Add sponges to softener/water mixture. When ready to use wring out extra mixture from one sponge and add to the dryer as you would a dryer sheet.
 
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good for you! thanks for the recipe.

A few months ago, by default really, I made two batches of bar soap. I had a quanity of lard that had to go so I made goats milk soap. It is wonderful. We use it at all our hand sinks and for bathing. Only problem was obtaining the lye, practically had to sign an affidavit to order it.
 
Hello Beth,

Can you give me your recipe for bar soap? I live in an olive-oil producing area and would love to be able to make soap.

Thanks.
 
OK, that is just too cool for school. We have a lot of skin sensitivities in our house and I'm thinking this might be just the ticket to deal with them all. I'm just about to finish off one of my liquid detergent bottles too so the timing of this post is perfect. Thanks so much letscook.
 
On another board I frequent, members have had very positive results making their own laundry soaps. They said clothes came out clean, and didn't report any fabric issues or problems.
I'm lazy so I haven't tried it yet.
 
The clothes are cleaner to me and they don't have all that perfume smell to them, Everyone that has tried it has had no problem with skin breakout.
The selling point to my trial of this was besides the price of store brought was I had some of hubbie jeans in washer and forgot about them, so i ran them threw the wash again and looked inside and the water was dirty again. So that told me even tho no suds it was cleaning them great. I don't add any scents to it. the fel-napha soap is enough smell for me. Hope everyone else likes it to. Its worth the try.
 
I'm going to make some this weekend. I'll post back and let you know what we think of it.
 
That's a great recipe for laundry soap.
If you have a carpet cleaner that formula added with a cap full of liquid fabric softener makes a solution that cleans your carpets thoroughly.Without all the harsh chemicals,that eventually wears the carpet out,or fades it before it's time.
It's a great formula, that borax is very gentle,not only for people that suffer from chemical reactions to store bought soaps,but for pets who do as well.
The fabric softener is an added barrier to high traffic areas.And cuts down on that shocking static electricity...

Making your own soaps can be very expensive.I make glycerine MP soaps.I've been doing it for well over 12 years now.It's not a cheap hobby.It keeps me out of trouble :)
Finding Lye is going to get harder.Most hardware store no longer sell it.People who didn't read the warning labels,used it the wrong way have made it hard for some soapers to obtain it.
You have to sign waivers now to purchase it online.

Munky.
 
Hello Beth,

Can you give me your recipe for bar soap? I live in an olive-oil producing area and would love to be able to make soap.

Thanks.


Hey Snoop Puss, good to see you again..

I am not an expert on soap making even though I studied the process for two months before making mine...I don't believe there is a standardized recipe for making soap. I found it to be a convoluted process to come up with my recipe. I do know you need to use a lye calculator to determine your recipe, based of what fats and liquids you will use....here are links to some of the websites I studied..

http://www.thesage.com/calcs/lyecalc2.php

http://www.mullerslanefarm.com/soapmaking

http://www.soap-making-essentials.com/homemade-soap-recipes.html

for my first batch I used all lard...for my second batch I used 60% olive oil and 40% lard. I do know you should use average,middle of the road, olive oil. Do not use your good extra virgin olive oil!

Lye is hard to obtain in the US due to it being an ingredient for some type of illegal drug making.

After you look at the websites, please ask any questions that I may be able to answer!
 
good luck alix, Just remember do not walk away from the stove - It will boil over - the next day is you find it a gel just stir it up and it goes back to a thicker liquid. then just put it in your containers. Like I said I save my milk jugs.
 
Your welcome -- Got save where we can these days.

I also should mention on the fabric softner part, I find that the sponges brake off peices so I went to our local Dollar store and brought pkg wash clothes -when i go to use just dip it in the softner and then ring it out and throw into your dryer. I don't leave them in the container of solution. Also buy diferrent color ones then your normal wash clothes, easier to pick them out,
 
Thanks for the links Bethzaring. I've had a quick scout about the websites . I don't think the ingredients will be too difficult to get in this area. I bought some homemade olive oil soap in the nearby village, apparently made by somebody's grandmother. It was being sold by kids looking to raise money for the school, so I didn't get to speak to whoever made it. I've asked around locally for a recipe but among my friends it seems to be a forgotten art. I'll have to look out for a little old lady wearing eye goggles to protect against injury. If there's one about, she should certainly stand out from the crowd!
 
good luck alix, Just remember do not walk away from the stove - It will boil over - the next day is you find it a gel just stir it up and it goes back to a thicker liquid. then just put it in your containers. Like I said I save my milk jugs.


I've been making my own laundry detergents for awhile myself.
I found that adding a couple Tbs. of liquid glycerin per gallon of
finished detergent keeps it from clotting up so badly and separating.
 
I' ll have to give that a try-
Where can you find that ?
Thanks
letscook, if you are asking about glycerin, it's found in the pharmacy and cosmetics area of a big box store, or a pharmacy, not too expensive.

Also, glycerin is a by-product of the soap making process (saponification). It is what manufacturers take out of their soap to sell separately from whats left of the 'soap'.

I make my own soaps for a number (8 ?) of years now, the glycerin is still in it and it's moisturizing to the skin. I make it in a process called 'cold process' (not hot process, not melt and pour). I make a LOT of it, and use it to barter for other items (jams jellies seeds fabric etc).
I also make homemade laundry detergent, using my homemade soap. I just can't see spending money on detergent when it's so expensive. ~Bliss
 
I' ll have to give that a try-
Where can you find that ?
Thanks

Bliss answered it for me. I get mine at CVS in the cosmetic section.
it's not an item they place at eye level - my store places it at the
floor! but it's cheap, like 1.50 or so. the first time I read about
adding it I was really skeptical because the homemade detergent
separates and gels so much. I add the glycerin with a large wire
whisk after the finished detergent has cooled and then I slap a lid
on it and let it sit for 24 hours or so before I use it. it really works
well. when I first started making my own I would get irritated by
those little lumps that would gel up because they tend to not
always dissolve completely in this ancient washer here.:mad:
the glycerin made all the difference. and I'm not entirely sure
but I think that stirring in the soda/borax mixture AFTER boiling
down and cooling the soap makes some difference, too.
 
I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to assemble everything and find a time to do this yet, but its on my agenda for the weekend. Couple of questions for anyone:

1. Anyone put fragrance in? Like for example something citrusy or lavender maybe? I have some dried lavender from the summer.

2. Blissful, is there an amount for the glycerin? And are there different types of glycerin?

3. Cold process? Can you post your soap recipe somewhere? I'd love to try that too. I think bethzaring makes soap too so I'd love to see that thread get going.
 
I researched saponification for two months before I attempted to make soap. There is no one recipe. First you assemble your ingredients, then you use a lye calculator to determine the quantities of each of your ingredients. Here is a link of one of many websites telling how to make soap. It is best to have a scale that measures grams to weigh your lye.

Natural soap making, Soap formula, Soap making Supplies, Natural Soap bars, Soap Molds, Lye Calculator, and Soapmaking Kits.

I made soap twice, simply to use up some lard. The first batch was made from 100% lard for the fat and it really could have used a fragrance. The lye I bought came with a sample of blueberry fragrance and I used it in my second batch....very nice.

The directions to make soap made my head spin. But I was able to make about 10 pounds of very nice soap after careful research. Lye is nothing to sneeze at. Wear protective gear. And good luck, it really is a neat chemistry project.
 
I don't put any scent in it as i don't like heavy scented things.
Also with summetime approaching I don't were scented items due to bees , insects, love scented item.

Thanks for the glycerin info.
 
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