I have made my own Laundry soap for years. It is super easy, can be made multiple ways, and all are very economical. You should at least try once to make your own and see if you like it.
Liquid laundry soap
Ingredients:
- 1 Fels Naptha or zote Laundry Soap Bar (walmart $1:00)
- 1 Cup Borax (walmart $4.47 for whole box)
- 1 Cup Washing Soda ( walmart $4.00 for whole box)
- Water
- buckets with covers ( ask at a local bakery, they usually have some.)
Directions:
In a large pot start 4 cups of water to boil on high heat. Then grate, or cut into chunks the Fels Naptha and put into water. ( the smaller the chunks, the faster it will melt in water) Do not let water & soap mixture boil over. Stir until soap is dissolved, then add borax and washing soda. Keep stirring until dissolved. Remove from heat and put in 4 more cups of water. Stir. At this point you can do one of two things,
one is put this whole mixture into a bucket to sit over night. It will turn into a gel. Then store in bucket with cover on, taking out a cup of a time and dilluting with 7 cups of water, for use .
or… get three 5 gallon buckets and fill each with water, then pour 1/3 of mixture into each bucket, stir and use as needed. ( I just kind of eyeball this, don’t really measure)
My kids complained about the soap not having a fragrance, so I buy a small bottle of commercial laundry soap, and put one cup into each of my buckets . It is enough to fragrance the whole 5 gallon bucket.
- 1 box Super Washing Soda 3.7 lb
- 1 box Borax 4 lb 12 oz. size
- 1 box Pure Baking Soda 4 lbs
- 3 bars of Fels-Naptha or zote
- 1 container Oxy-Clean 1.3 lb (optional)
- large container to keep this in with cover.
- food processor- ( look for one at garage sale or goodwill)
The food processor is essential for this recipe. You need to get the laundry soap bar to be almost powder. Then you just pour all the ingredients into the container, and stir to combine. Or if it has a good cover, you can shake, or roll. Should make about 18 lbs. You use a couple of tablespoons per load.