powdered laundry detergent cold wash only?

[Kingsfarm]

because of the shredded bar soap.. do you have to wash only with hot water? am looking for a cold water detergent...can you help? Have MANY bars of Octagon soap bought years ago will this do in place of fels naptha bar..? I would think so....some one said they used Ivory soap bar for a person who was allergic....the receipe I have is 1 bar fels naptha soap - 2 cups borsx - 2 cups washing soda - 1 cup color safe bleach....mix well don't know how much it takes per load...

I read some are having trouble finding - Arm & Hammer washing soda - Walmart has it, bought some yesterday for cheap... I thought AH washing soda was the box of laundry detergent until I spotted the AH Super washing soda 2 weeks later....there has not been any at our store...Oh well, live and learn...Ha glad we can laugh at ourselves....

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

I use cold all the time.
If you are doing powdered, rather then liquid, you can pulse the grated stuff with part of the borax in the food processor to make it finer if you would prefer.

 

[Kingsfarm]

bubblingbrooks, thank you...which do you prefer to use and how much per load of dry detergent , can you tell me.... your receipes please, I enjoy reading all your advice ALL OVER THIS FORUM...thank you again...G

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

bubblingbrooks, thank you...which do you prefer to use and how much per load of dry detergent , can you tell me.... your receipes please, I enjoy reading all your advice ALL OVER THIS FORUM...thank you again...G

I am flying out the door in a minute. Will be back this evening, and I will post what I use for dry. I switched to that, as the space saving is incredible.

 

[miss_thenorth]

As BBrooks said, just grate the bar up real fine I use my food procesor first witht he shredding blade, ( the one you use to shred chees etc) then I put a blade(not usre what the blade is called, but he metal on that actually goes in the processor. Then I put a bit of grated soap, and some of my borax washing soda mix and mix it up inbatches, so the soap gets really fine and integrated withthe othert ingredients. I use the powdered version,- I find the liquid a wste of time, since the powdered works well. and I use cold water only. I use about 2 tablespoons per load, a bit more if the clothes are heavily soiled.

 

[Gallina Vecchia]

Laundry soap
1 cup grated Fels Naptha soap
1/2 cup 20 Mule Team borax
1/2 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
Mix all together and put into a container with a lid.

Use one Tablespoon per load, a little more if very dirty.

This is the usual ratio/mix that you will find all over the interwebs. I use a fine shred hand grater and don't have a problem with it dissolving in a cold wash. Our well water is very hard, so we have a softener. If it is not dissolving for you in cold water, you could just dump in your soap, run some hot water over it to soften and then switch back to cold.

I don't use Fels anymore, it worked great, but now I make my own laundry bar at zero super-fat. I would think that Octagon soap would be a great one to use. I can not buy that in my neck of the woods.

 

[Kingsfarm]

Gallina....fels naphta soap is (how many ounce bar)..zote is 14 ounce at albertsons...my octagon bar is only 7 ounce....do I have to use 2 bars for this receipe? any body know how many ounces is in a fels naphta bar?

 

[miss_thenorth]

Gallina....fels naphta soap is (how many ounce bar)..zote is 14 ounce at albertsons...my octagon bar is only 7 ounce....do I have to use 2 bars for this receipe? any body know how many ounces is in a fels naphta bar?

Thats a good questio. we don't have zote or fels naptha here in Canada, so I just use a laundry bar of soap. standard size. Never thought to question the size compared to the zote or fels naptha.

 

[JRmom]

Fels Naphta is 5 1/2 ounces. I use 1 bar with 1 cup washing soda and 1 cup Borax, 1 tablespoon per load. I use cold water except for whites and haven't had a problem (and only use a hand grater).

 

[Gallina Vecchia]

Just grate and measure out a cup, or whatever amount you decide to use. When I use my own soap, that is what I do, since I have never bothered to weigh the bars that I make. You can vary this amount to suit what you need. There are many recipes for laundry soap that are variations on this theme. I would not get too hung up on specific bar sizes- just do what works for you. Have fun - this type of laundry soap cleans really well for us (me: any kind of crud that gets on me at the hospital - use your imagination, him: foundry and machinery crud). I know a lot of people who use it on farm and kids clothes with great results.