Thursday, June 7, 2012

DIY laundry detergent




Laundry detergent!!!

(I thought if I wrote it like that, you might all get excited...)

Everyone uses it in some form. Well, everyone except the trolley man at my local shops. It's expensive to buy, but easy to make cheaply. Here's how I do it:
{I have to stop here for a second. Mr Accidental hates these tutorial posts, he would much prefer for every post to be about him. So I will keep everyone happy, and interject interesting facts about Mr A throughout the post. You're welcome. Now, back to your scheduled viewing... }
First up, collect your ingredients.


You'll need:

  • washing soda (not baking soda), 
  • borax; and 
  • pure soap. 

The basic recipe is 50% grated soap to 25% washing soda and 25% borax, by volume.
{Mr A wears large shoes. And you know what they say about large shoes...   Yes! Large socks!}
Grate up your soap. Keep the ends! (If you have them, so not you, Sorcha.) I find that two bars of grated soap make up three cups. Put them in your container.

I usually use sunlight soap, but I'm trying the Woolworths brand this time - it has the same ingredients and is far cheaper.
{Mr A grew up in Perth, and as a result he calls face washers "flannels".  I do not.  This causes some tension.}


Then add in 1.5 cups of borax.


And also 1.5 cups of washing soda.


I keep mine in a cereal container - the mouth is big enough to get my hand in, and it seals tightly but is easy to open single handedly.
{Mr A and I sometimes dream the same dream, even when we are apart. This is very distressing when we both dream we are getting divorced, and wake up cross at one another. But not all our dreams are bad! *Cough cough*}


Give it a good shake, add in your scoop, and you're done!


Well, almost...
{Mr A has salt and pepper hair. He's only 28. He started going grey when we started dating... ahem. Sorry darling. It makes him look very distinguished and wise, which is great for work, but doesn't it help him a jot at home - I know what he's really like. Hint: it's not often distinguished.}
Make sure you label any containers that hold home made cleaners with the contents of the cleaner. Then if someone ingests some accidentally you can summon the correct help, and it's also handy when it's time for a remake.


Finally... what to do with those soap ends?

Pump soap, obviously!
{Mr A is tall. A full 6'2", more in his boots. I can always find him easily in a crowded room. People also tend to move out of his way, which is handy in shopping centers on a Saturday. He's also really really good looking.}
So then, dear reader, reckon you'll give it a try? Or, if you make your own laundry soap already, is your recipe the same? Let me know, I love comments!

33 comments:

  1. BWahahahha.....love it....I'm afraid I kept scrolling to the next blue bit though lol My hubby is 6'4" and shopping with him is a pain because everyone stops him to help get stuff from the top shelves. Also from Perth (must be something in the water). I call them flannels but because my parents are English. Big problem in our house is I call it Peanut butter he calls it peanut paste - our children are always tense about how to ask for IT. lol

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    1. Peanut paste? I guess...it makes sense....but still.... No. Peanut butter it shall remain!

      The only downside I can figure from havng a tall husband is that he puts things on top of the fridge, and I never see them again!

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  2. Great tutorial, Mrs. A! Isn't homemade detergent just the best? I've been making my own for over a year and haven't looked back! I can't even stand walking down the laundry aisle at the store anymore because of all the overwhelming scents in the store bought stuff. The homemade stuff just leaves your clothes smelling...fresh and clean - that's it!

    Here's my similar recipe: http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/01/20/how-to-make-powdered-detergent/

    And here's my laundry freshening routine: http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2011/06/01/how-to-naturally-freshen-your-laundry/

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    1. Yes! I hate the smell too! It IS overwhelming. I feel the same about the cleaners aisle also. Bicarb and vinegar for the win!

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  3. I have recently started making laundry detergent this way, and use almost the same recipe as you do. I add in half a bar of grated Sard soap, which I find stops the whites going grey over time. When making one batch I was feeling decadent and used Dr Bronners pure castille soap, rose and lavender scented, instead of the plain old Sunlight. It was divine, but too expensive to do every time. We also substituted plain old vinegar for fabric softener, and it works a treat too. I thought the clothes would smell like vingear, but they dont!

    Does anyone have a good recipe for making dishwashing liquid?
    Karen

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    1. I use vinegar as a rinse too, especially on the cloth nappies. They have never smelled so nice or been so soft or absorbent before. It's amazing when a cheap solution works as well or better than the specialist stuff!

      I don't have a dishwashing liquid recipe yet, but I'll keep an eye out for you...

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  4. I have been making and using my own detergent for ages. Save so much money.

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  5. My laundry detergent was more or less the same and I really liked it, the only difference being that I used Lux flakes instead of tediously grating bar soap - found it impossible anyway with only one useful hand [stroke effects]. Then I discovered 'One Good Thing' by Jillee. She use s3 Tablespoons Borax [the real stuff, not borax substitute]
    3 Tablespoons Washing Soda
    2 Tablespoons Fairy Liquid soap ['Dawn' in the US, but 'Fairy' is the UK equivalent made by Proctor and Gamble]
    Put these ingredients in a 4.5 litre container.
    Pour on 4 cups boiling water and swirl until ingredients are dissolved in the liquid then let it cool.
    Fill almost to the top with cold water and Hey Presto, washing liquid - use about a cup per load.
    If things are very dirty, I add in a couple of tblsps. of sodium PERcarbonate - adds more oxygen to the mix.
    This stuff is SO easy and inexpensive to make, WHY do people waste their hard earned cash on the supermarket brands?

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    1. Now that is VERY interesting. I wonder, what's the Australian equivalent of dawn?

      I like the powder because it is concentrate - one tablespoon per wash, so it lasts for ages, but I don't need a huge container to store it. Still, yours sounds even more frugal than mine, so I will give it a try. Thanks!

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    2. Is the ffairy liquid soap, in the uk, is it washing up liquid or washing liquid for clothes

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  6. Definitely flannels. But my parents are mostly English.

    Glad gorgeous hubby and I don't have the same dreams.. I don't think he could cope with all the zombies.

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    1. Dude, I love that you have zombie dreams.

      But flannels... Why??? They aren't MADE of flannel! They are terry toweling! And used to WASH!! Gah...

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    2. GH and I have this argument a lot. I always assumed they used to be made of flannelette - like babie's nappies did. Theyre made of terry now, but I have ones mum used on Sister and I both that are definitely flannelette. To GH, a "flannel" is a flannel shirt. He got very confused when we first moved back here and I informed him the flannels were in the linen closet. Occasionally he still gets frustrated and will just shout "FACE CLOTH!!!!" at me.

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  7. I use Google Reader to read my blogs, which is great except for the fact that I can't comment. So many times, I read your posts and think, "ooh! Mental note that I need to comment next time I'm on a real computer and I can go to the website." And then of course I never do....just want to let you know that I comment often, in my head. I'll try and get those thoughts out into the Internet more often.
    I am all about the homemade stuff--I have been wanting to make detergent and have a box of Borax sitting in my basement back home in Colorado. I had trouble finding the washing soda in the States; I'll need to give it another go when I get home.

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    1. I do actually wonder regularly what you've been up to! I love reading your comments. (The real ones, not the psychic ones, lol)

      Check out this post: http://naturesnurtureblog.com/2012/05/08/ttt-turn-baking-soda-into-washing-soda/

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  8. What an eye-opener this post has been. I thought I was quite savvy buying all my washing powder in bulk at Big W but after reading this post and all the comments, I feel like I'm being let into a secret little club. I am definitely going to try this. Can the powder be used in a front loader? Does it froth up?

    Oh and 28?!!! I suddenly feel rather old.

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    1. Absolutely can be used in a front loader. It doesnt froth up much at all. Karen

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    2. I use it in my front loader, no worries at all! I only use a tablespoon at a time.

      28 indeed, he's my toy boy... But not by much :)

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    3. The recipe works best with the fine, almost powdery washing soda. Not the one with big crystals. Otherwise it's hard to get the dry ingredients to mix properly.
      My husband is a comfortable 6'1" but my son (22) is 6'5" with size 15 feet. Now he's a great ice breaker to go shopping with!

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  9. Yesterday when you posted about making pump soap (by the way, I now have soap soaking in a container by the windowsill - G has been given strict reminders that it is not to be mistaken for a tasty drink under any circumstances) I was wondering how you made your own laundry detergent. I love these tutorial posts. Where do you get your borax from?

    Love the Mr. A facts. Totally agree about the benefits of a tall husband - so easy to spot in a crowd, so handy for getting stuff down from a high shelf.

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    1. Ah ha! My plan for world washing method domination is well one the way... In your house anyway ;)

      I get my borax from woolies. It's hard to find, usually in the laundry aisle, and in a white container with a green lid. I usually have to ask someone, it's well hidden!

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  10. I had to giggle about Mr.A going grey and being only 28...

    My hubby is almost 35 and has a head full of thick hair and not a single grey. His brother is 18 months younger than him and is going grey and thinning... Luck of the draw init?

    I'm 28 and I have the odd grey. Hubby jokes that it'll get worse as Fatty gets older and he'll remain in his grey and wrinkle free time capsule...

    Curse him!

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    1. Luck of the draw, and also environment I reckon. I age quickly when I'm stressed, but now I'm at home I will be young forever! Muhahaha....

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  11. May have to go to the hardware I think to get my borax and washing soda....I have made this before but with the crystals and no borax, and for a super dooper lot, I grate a sard wonder bar into it, for extra dirty stuff....
    We also use flannels and eat peanut paste in our home......we also turn the light off, instead of switching the light off...not that our lights have handles???? weird, but then I am from South Australia, where we have fritz and wear bathers to the beach.

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  12. Just discovered your blog and loving it! I also make my own laundry detergent but I do the liquid version by melting my soap in hot water, adding the other ingredients and then adding lots more water. Makes about 6-8litres and lasts quite long. MUCH cheaper than store bought and works like a charm. I will never go back.

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  13. I make Rohndas washing liquid and love it. We use flannels here too (sorry). I can sympathise with Mr A my first grey was found when I was 5 yes that's right 5 Aaaaarrrrr. So looking at nearly 40 I am probably 90% grey and obviously colour it. He does sound very handsome though. Jodie.

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    1. I'm planning on going grey disgracefully. I even have a Pinterest board full of inspiring gray heads.

      Of course, I reserve the right to change my mind in the face of actual greyness!

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  14. Now, I've done it......as in , made it.....the blue plastic scoop which you pictured is one I have here , so do you use only one of those scoops....? Just one in a large wash or two? I am a detergent overloader, so I need therapy....please tell me how many you use...or I will stand there and put one in, and then another, and then another, just in case....

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    1. Strictly one tablespoon!! More is unnecessary, and will probably be hard to rinse out. If your clothes are mud-pie filthy and you're worried about stains, chuck in some napisan or similar too. I like to rinse with vinegar as well.

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  15. Due to having a STED waste water system, we are not supposed to put stuff like borax down the drain, so I just leave it out. The clothes still come out super clean without it, and I love the way they smell when they come in off the line...Mmh, laundry fresh!

    I don't think the absence of borax really matters, because isn't it the friction in the washing machine that does most of the cleaning anyhow? I'm sure it is.

    And the laundry soap makes them so soft!

    I have an old cereal container at home, sitting in the plastics cupboard not being used. Guess what I'm going to put it in when I get home? (If you guessed laundry powder, then you would be correct).

    ~S.

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    1. I should also mention that we say "flannel" and not "facewasher" in SA too. ;)

      But we do not call our fritz paloney. That's just silly.

      ~S.

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    2. Lol, best guessing game ever ;) I hope it works out for you!

      I love the fresh laundry smell. I have been known to bury my face in the towels on the line. In fact, I actually have a candle I was given that is supposed to smell like sun dried cotton! It almost does...

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