Powder Homemade Laundry Soap

[Farmfresh]

Would pure soap work instead of Zote or Fels Naptha?

Sure! I use a basic homemade lye in my laundry mix.

I prefer to grate up my soap for the next batch several days ahead of time. I keep the grated soap in my drying cabinet in an old tupperware container so that it dries out and is even easier to grind up in the processor.

 

[RobinsValleyVT]

I prefer to grate up my soap for the next batch several days ahead of time. I keep the grated soap in my drying cabinet in an old tupperware container so that it dries out and is even easier to grind up in the processor.

I think that's a great idea! I did leave the Fels Naptha out for a few hours between when I grated it and blended it, but I think a couple days would make a real difference.

 

[piecemaker]

Ok question time. I got my DD to try the homemade laundry soap, she was not overly impressed with it (I have been using it forever). The thing is they have hard water, so I was telling her about adding salt. What I (we) need to know is how much and she wants to know will Epsom salt work or is it better to use the water softener salt

Thanks

 

[Britesea]

well, I think our grandmas just used table salt. I use the potassium chloride because it isn't as hard on the plants (greywater system), and the cheapest way to get that is the water softener pellets. I have a 1 cup measure that I use to scoop it out, but I don't worry about making it exact because I have no idea if that's too much or not enough or just right. But... my clothes have been turning out just fine- no bad smells, no dingy whites....

My next step is to start washing by hand. I hear your clothes get a LOT cleaner

 

[piecemaker]

Thanks for the help

 

[Bettacreek]

Has anyone tried adding scents to their laundry soap yet? Either powdered or liquid. My parents like the homemade stuff, but won't use it anymore because they say "it just doesn't FEEL clean when it doesn't smell good". I have to admit that I also like to smell good when I put my clothes on.

 

[Britesea]

If you can hang your clothes up in the sunshine, they will smell better than ANY added scent. Fels Naptha has such a strong smell I'm not sure any essential oil would come through, but if you used handmade soap with your favorite scent added I imagine it would really be nice.

 

[Farmfresh]

A friend of mine adds EO to her homemade liquid soap that she makes using Ivory as the soap base. I have no ideas how much she adds. I also have no clue about using it with the dry recipe, but you probably could.

 

[Emerald]

I have been adding the salt(water softener salts, crystals not nuggets) I dissolve about 1/2 cup in a pint jar with boiling water(there are always some at the bottom cuz I think I hit saturation) and I add about 1/2 cup in with the soap and about 3 large tablespoons in with the vinegar/ laundry softener. I think it really does make a difference, the whites are much brighter.

But if good smelling is what they are looking for I would take some good EO and put it in some white vinegar with the rinse. That way the smell wouldn't be lost in the wash. it should be rinsed in.

 

[moxies_chickennuggets]

Hmmm...I somehow got the recipe wrong. I was using

Zote-1 bar grated
Fels Naptha-1 bar grated
Borax-2 cups
Washing soda-2 cups

My laundry has been coming out really clean though, and I would much rather use it than the store bought liquids. Store bought powders aren't worth the money saved to buy them.

I keep it in my sun tea jars....that I can't ue in the fridge any more because they leak. But, they make great powdered soap containers. And I use the scoop from the Oxy Clean. I just keep it in the jar.