homemade laundry detergent/shampoo

[FarmerChick]

I don't care about my whites either. I have very little white stuff.

How can we? We all deal with animals and dirt and we are farmer types. Who can wear white? I sure can't.....LOL-LOL

Our socks....yup white for about 2 uses then Carolina Red Clay color. Or just dingey from mucky boots and stuff. I don't care about that one at all and yup, I buy undies and such in colors now also.

I tried white a few times. I bought a nice white shirt and within 6 hours it had a nice essential oil stain on it. I couldn't get that oil out for nothing, it is just there! Oh well......I never buy white anymore.

All my towels are colored also.


AND YES COLOR ADDS FUN TO LIFE!!!!!

 

[freemotion]

Well, I have a couple of cute white tops, like t's and tanks but nicer, that I wear when I want that "jeans and a t-shirt" look but not for stall mucking! Maybe they can become hand washables, or more likely, small loads occasionally done with store-bought soap.

 

[Helena]

My grandmothers used liquid bluing. On their whites in the laundry, and on their hair so it wouldn't be yellow or dingy. It's how the white-haired folks came to be known as blue-hairs.

I use Mrs. Stewart's liquid bluing for my homemade ink.

I get it at Kroger grocery store.

I use baking soda added to my laundry "soap" and don't use anything for lightening at all. So far, no problem.

 

[lorihadams]

I add 1/2 cup of baking soda to Farmerchick's recipe and I haven't had any problems either...we have well water too. We don't have a lot of white stuff either...I end up washing khaki stuff with my whites just to make a full load most of the time.

Who sees our socks anyway? They're inside our shoes...duh. Who cares if they are dingy, not me! I wear holes in the heels by the 10th time I wear them anyway and they end up as rags. Most of the time I go barefoot anyway and chad wears steel toed boots and they just eat his socks. I have to buy him new socks and underwear every 3 months or so. I'll take my cheap homemade soap anyday!

I'm glad everyone is getting some good ideas! I love this place!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

I've heard that if you want to keep your whites white you shouldn't run them through the dryer, because it will set any stains (including that dingey color).

Do any of you have High Efficiency washers? I'm nervous to try this deterent in mine. The fact that this detergent is low sudsing is promising, but do you use less detergent per load with a HE washer?

 

[big bertha]

DM,
We have HE washer. I use my homemade detergent in it. For normal soil amts I use 1 tablespoon (I use it in dry form), if it has heavier soil I use 2 Tablespoons. I think in one load I did use 3 T one time (probably a load of jeans with cow manure on them !!)
I love the homemade detergent. More so, I love the $ savings!

 

[DrakeMaiden]

Thank you big bertha! So it sounds like you generally use about half as much detergent, unless the clothes are really dirty.

 

[freemotion]

Holy cow, I made 11 batches of mix before running out of washing soda, and I almost had enough for 12....if I'd measured more accurately, not rounding the half-cup, I'd have 12. Still plenty of Borax left. I used 3 bars of fels naptha and 2 bars of homemade soap.

That comes out to about $0.88 per batch, and 1.4 cents per load....is that even POSSIBLE? Why isn't everyone making this?

I will make up the liquid tomorrow when I find an appropriate bucket. Has anyone tried making it using half the water and using a 1/4 cup measure instead of 1/2 when using it? Then it will fit into a gallon container?

You know, I can't just follow instructions without wanting to turn it into this big experiment!

OK, so here are the results of the "concentrated version" experiment: Don't try this at home! It got so thick in the one gallon jug that I had to warm it in a sink of hot water just so I could get it out, and that was still quite a challenge. I diluted that batch with another gallon of hot water and now it is usable, and I LOVE it! I will, in the future, mix it in my 2.5 gallon jug and pour that into smaller, more managable jugs for daily use.

It is very interesting to me that when I measure it and pour it into the washer, then rinse the measuring cup, the cup rinses squeaky clean on the first swish. Unlike commercial soap, which takes several rinses to clean the cup. Hmmm...

 

[OkieJonesClan]

You know, I haven't figured out why more people don't make their own laundry detergent either. I have passed this recipee on to more people than I can count. It works better than the store bought stuff, is great on the sensitive skin we have at my house and it is soooo cheap!! With the added benefits of being easy on the septic system and free of chemicals . . hmmm. Seems like a no brainer, doesn't it? I am glad that more people are starting to catch on to it. I still rank it as the greatest discovery in the past decade.

 

[melgsix]

Hello! Lorihadams, how do you incorporate the castile soap into the homemade laundry soap recipes given above, or do you just use in on its own?

I have liquid castile soap. Is that what you use? I'd love some tips! My DBF has sensitive skin and we only use All Free and Clear, but I've really been wanting to make my own to save on cash. Which reminds me, how much do you all find you end up saving when you make your own at home?

Thanks!

I don't think we save that much, but we have eczema(sp?) and this litterlly keeps my skin from peeling off.

I use one 4# box of borax, one 4# box of soda and one large or two small bars of grated soap. Layer it in a large canister, put the lid on, and shake like crazy. For a very large load i use 2/3 of a cup and less for smaller loads.