Laundry detergent is another hard hitting area on our family budget, and in todays economy it seems that the price just keeps getting higher and higher. And, of course, the larger the family, the more laundry you do, which means of course the more detergent you will need. To combat this, my go to choice is to make my own laundry detergent. Yep, I make this too. For best results I use Fels-Naptha laundry bar. It runs only about $1 at Walmart.
This is Borax, and is found at most any grocery store including the military Commissary.
Washing Soda can be a little more difficult to find, but can be done. If don't have a store in your area that carries it, you can request that they carry it by giving them the UPC number! If you would like the UPC number for the Super Washing Soda, just leave me a comment, and I'll gladly post it for you.
Step one: fill a pot with hot water, set on the burner and turn on to high.
Step two: grate your Fels-Naptha soap into your water using a cheese grater.
The point here is to melt and disolve the soap into the water.
DO NOT boil the water, it will bubble up!
Here is what it will look like once it has completely disolved in the water.
Dump the pot of water in a 5 gallon bucket, I picked this one up at Lowe's for just a few dollars.
Add 1 cup Borax,
1 cup Super Washing Soda,
and because we have hard water and no water softener,
1 cup water softener (liquid or granular),
Stir until everything is disolved, and
Fill the rest of the way up with water
Make sure you put the lid on, to protect little ones.
Allow to cool over night and stir before using. It will gel up as it cools, and will need to be broken up before using. The more you stire the more it will break up.
This recipe is safe for HE washers!
Laundry Detergent
1 cup Super Washing Soda
1 cup Borax
1 bar Fels-Naptha
5 gallon bucket
1 cup water softener (if needed)
Desolve Fels-Naptha in pot of hot water. Dump pot into bucket and add in Super Washing Soda and Borax (and water softener if needed). Add more water and stir until disolved. Fill up with water, cover and cool. Use regualr amounts for machine (large amounts for top loaders and smaller amounts for HE).
Also works great to pre-treat stains! Rub on stain and let sit for a few minutes, then launder as normal.
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