Homemade Laundry Detergent

I've been using the homemade laundry detergent for a few weeks now, and the results are fantastic! It is especially good at removing "organic" stains: blood, milk.....well, you know. I chose not to put a scent in mine, but I'm still using Bounce in the dryer, and the clothes smell fantastic. Today I decided to break down what I'm saving, and I was pleasantly surprised at the results. The homemade stuff costs about 10% as much. In other words, I'm saving 90% on my laundry detergent! The best part is, I don't have to run to Sam's Club every 3 weeks or so to buy the huge container of Tide.

To get started, I needed to invest in the supplies and the bucket to mix and store the detergent. I bought the smallest quantities I could, but I'm sure I have enough Borax and washing soda to last for years!

Here's a breakdown of what I spent to get started:

• 5 gallon bucket with lid from Home Depot, $3
  
• 5 gallon size paint stirrer from Lowe's (I already had mine, but they're free)
  
• 1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap from Giant Eagle, $1.49
  
• 1 box of 20 Mule Team Borax from Giant Eagle, $4.39. I'm sure I could have gotten this cheaper if I'd have shopped around.
  
• Washing Soda, $9.99. I couldn't find regular Arm and Hammer Washing Soda, so I bought pure sodium carbonate in the pool section of Home Depot.
  
• An old, empty detergent bottle, about 2 quart size
  TOTAL: $18.87
  

Next, I mixed up a batch of detergent, which took about 30 minutes or less. The kids helped, since I'm sure they thought I was crazy. I got the recipe from the book "The Duggars: 20 and Counting".

• 1 bar Gels Naptha soap, grated (on your kitchen grater) ($1.49)
• 1 cup washing soda (83 cents)
• 1/2 cup Borax (24 cents)

Grate the soap bar into a small saucepan. Cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves.

Put washing soda and borax in a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry-detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using.

Top loading machines: use 1 cup of mixture per load
Front loaders: use 1/3 cup per load *this watery gel is very low-sudsing

One fun thing I found is that this is an excellent stain remover when used full-strength. Just pour a little on the stain and rub it in, as you would with Shout. I also used a little to soak some badly stained items and it worked like a charm. I read online that Fels Naptha is kind of the original fabric stain remover. It used to be made with Benzene (which causes cancer and is harmful to unborn babies), but that ingredient is no longer included.

COST PER BATCH: $2.56 (makes 10 gallons). If you use 1/3 cup per load, cost is about 1.4 cents per load.


Compare to Tide HE: the big jug at Sam's Club is around $18, and does 120 loads. That's a cost of 14 cents per load.



So, I'm saving here, and making one less trip to Sam's Club (hooray!).