Poll on laundry soap

[savingdogs]

I can't answer some of the questions here, but we make our laundry soap this way:

In a five gallon bucket:

Grate one bar of Fels/naptha, Zote, or whatever soap you are using.
Boil one gallon of water, blend the two until the soap melts.

Add one cup Arm and hammer washing soda and one cup borax, mix until blended and the powder dissolves.
Fill the five gallon bucket with warm water.

Wait 24 hours. Shake or stir before using (I stir and refill smaller jugs periodically).

This recipe is very, very easy.

I use an HE washer and wash in cold water so I prefered the liquid style. It does kind of gel up the next day, the Zote more so than the Fels Naptha. With the Fels Naptha it is more like egg flower soup and with the Zote it is more like regular laundry detergent from the store.

Maybe someone can chime in with the way to make their boiling or dry recipes work, but this couldn't really be much easier. Hardest thing is grating the soap.

 

[hennypenny9]

Thanks Bee! I'm going to try this tonight. Last time it went past the gel stage and into the SOLID stage, so I have to watch that, lol! I have been saving my gallon vinegar bottles, and had a vague notion that I was going to use them somehow, and I'm sure this was it. But since it's taken six months to use up, I forgot!

I made my own soap from 100% lard, and grated it just after I unmolded it. It was so soft and easy I would recommend to anyone willing to try making soap from scratch. Now I still have a lot of grated soap, all I have to do is measure it. Since I've been using my unscented soap, the bit of Fels Naptha smells very strong and I would not go back to it. :/ Even really strong laundry detergent smell coming from someone near me makes me gag a bit. Who knew I'd get so weird about smells??

 

[Beekissed]

I'm the same way....and I used to make fun of my folks for being that way! I almost gag when I walk into a cloud of perfume in the store aisle now...used to, it didn't faze me.

OH, NO! I'm turning into my parentssssssss!!!!!!

 

[Farmfresh]

I made my own soap from 100% lard, and grated it just after I unmolded it. It was so soft and easy I would recommend to anyone willing to try making soap from scratch. Now I still have a lot of grated soap, all I have to do is measure it. Since I've been using my unscented soap, the bit of Fels Naptha smells very strong and I would not go back to it. :/ Even really strong laundry detergent smell coming from someone near me makes me gag a bit. Who knew I'd get so weird about smells??

That is how I make the soap I use in my laundry mix. It is either 100% lard or about 80% lard and 20% tallow, depending on what I have on hand. You simply can not make cheaper soap to use for laundry. I also keep the superfatting to a bare minimum. That keeps the cleaning power as strong as possible, since I am going to be adding other ingredients (borax, washing soda and baking soda) as well.

I also prefer a simple clean smell. If I want scent I would make a rinse with vinegar and maybe some EO.

 

[eggs4sale]

Please explain how the lard works. I don't understand. If I wiped lard on my shirt, wouldn't that be a heck of a stain to remove? But if I mix it in with soap, it makes it a stain REMOVER?

 

[savingdogs]

No they mean they are making cold process soap using lard as the oil.

 

[Beekissed]

E4S, LOVE the little washing machine smiley! We should have one of those on here!

We sure do need some specialized emoticons, don't we? Sort of like the ones on TEG and BYHs....it would be mondo sweet!

 

[kcsunshine]

E4S, LOVE the little washing machine smiley! We should have one of those on here!

We sure do need some specialized emoticons, don't we? Sort of like the ones on TEG and BYHs....it would be mondo sweet!

Duh! (Smacking herself on forehead). So that's what that little thingy is..I can see it now.

 

[hennypenny9]

So I tried the new method of dissolving the borax/washing soda in hot water and poring over the grated soap. Well, my soap did not dissolve. I ended up boiling it, and even then it still did not dissolve. I added more water and it finally dissolved. It's now in two old vinegar bottles. It's hard to tell the consistency, I'll see once I run a wash. I think the soap issue is my fault. I let the grated soap sit for a long time, so it was probably super dry. That's probably why I needed to add more than the original six cups, too. (I hope. If not then I'm totally lost!)

 

[savingdogs]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. I've seen several different recipes for laundry soap with different proportions of the same basic ingredients. Try it!