DIY Laundry Detergent

WHO KNEW?!?!   I had no idea this existed, WHY didn't I know this 20 yrs ago???  I've gone laundry detergent crazy over here, I can't stop myself.  I've given everyone I can think of a sample of my new soap.   It's awesome.

Originally I wanted to make the dry, it looked easier and was quite pretty to look at. I headed out to Walmart to gather my supplies.  Oh I forgot, I happened to see ZOTE soap at Big Lots, I had no idea what it was but it kinda had the same look to it as FELS-NAPTHA. I looked it up online and found that some  people used ZOTE rather than the FELS-NAPTHA.  Hmmmm....  

So I gather borax, washing soda and F/N at my Walmart store, once I got home I immediately opened the F/N soap....  NOT crazy about the smell!  Ah!  So I jumped in the car, sped off to Big Lots to buy a bar of ZOTE.  Of course, when I got home what did I do?  That's right, ripped open the soap....  It was the most heavenly shade of pink and had a light lemon verbena scent, I was in love!   (Forgot to mention.... All the ingredients, including two bars of soap cost me a whopping $9.18.  Winning!)

I jumped in head first and never looked back, my kitchen was transformed into laundry detergent HQ.  I made dry and liquid, I just couldn't stop myself.  I've been using both types of detergent and don't have a favorite yet.

Check out the recipes below....

(The liquid detergent looks difficult but it's NOT, it's sooooo simple)

Homemade DRY Laundry Detergent

1 bar ZOTE soap grated (you can use ZOTE, FELS-NAPTHA, Dove or Ivory soap)

3 Cups Washing Soda

3 Cups Borax (if you have sensitive skin this can be reduced  all the way down to 1 Cup)

Combine ingredients well

(I used the small side on the grater but the ZOTE pieces came out a little larger than I liked so after mixing all the ingredients together  I place a cup or two in my blender and  pulse several times, dump into your container then  add more to your blender.  Do this until you have worked through the whole batch.  This works like a charm!)

Place in container with lid and that’s it.  Yup, it’s that easy.

Use 2 Tablespoons per load.

 

Additional  info……

If you prefer a little more fragrance pick up a jar of purex crystals and add a small amount to your detergent.

Fels-Naptha can be found in the detergent aisle at Walmart and costs around $1.

Borax 76oz   $3.97  Walmart

Arm and Hammer Washing Soda 55oz  $3.24  Walmart

ZOTE soap  .97 cents   Big Lots

 

*To make things even easier……  Grate up two bars of soap and use a full box of washing soda and full box of Borax.  I dump it all in a big bucket, mix it well then put it through the blender.  This makes perfect sense because when do you use Borax and washing soda?  It will just take up space until you need to mix more, might as well get it all done at one time!

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

1 bar ZOTE Soap (Big Lots  $1)

Borax (Walmart 76 oz.  $3.97)

Washing Soda (Walmart 55 oz.  $3.24)

Bring 6-8 C water to a simmer in a pot on the stove

Grate ZOTE soap and add to simmering water

Stir until completely dissolved (do not boil)

Add 3 Cups borax

Add 3 Cups washing soda

Stir until completely dissolved

Fill 5 gallon bucket half way with HOT water

Pour simmering soap mix into bucket of hot water and stir

Place lid on bucket allow to sit at least 5 hours or overnight

Remove lid, mix will be a gel consistency

Break up gel using hands or spoon to stir (mix will be lumpy)

(I don’t like lumpy detergent so I use my beaters to mix the gel until nice and smooth but this step is not required.)

Fill bucket to the top with water and mix thoroughly

Now you have detergent concentrate!

Fill your containers half way with detergent then fill up with water

That’s it!  Laundry detergent for about 2 cents per load.

*If you don’t like ZOTE you can use Fels Naptha, Dove or Ivory soap. I prefer ZOTE because it seems to dissolve better especially in cold water.  I love the light lemon verbena scent and of course its PINK!

* For extra sensitive skin you can reduce borax down to 1 Cup