Should I Make My Own Laundry Soap?
If you’re the kind of person who likes to buy a very basic laundry detergent to which you add your own bleach/fabric softener/etc, then you should DEFINTIELY start making your own laundry soap. It could save you hundreds of dollars each year. And the homemade soap works just as well as the national-brand laundry detergents.
On the other hand, if you prefer to buy the super-fancy laundry detergents with built-in bleaches and brighteners, you will be disappointed with the homemade laundry soap. It’s just plain-old soap – which works well for normal laundering but won’t tackle set-in stains or strong odors. You also have to stir or shake the soap before each use because it tends to separate. That said, as long as you add your own chlorine bleach, color-safe bleach, and stain pretreaters (not all at the same time, OBVI!), you’ll have perfectly clean clothes, AND you’ll save a bundle.
Just for kicks, I stained 2 rags with a variety of messes and washed them in a national brand vs the homemade laundry soap. Here are the results.
(generic laundry detergent: left – homemade laundry soap: right)
BEFORE:
AFTER:
As you can see, the homemade soap held it’s own, but neither performed all that great. Fact is, if you have set-in stains or grease stains, it doesn’t matter what kind of soap you use – you need a pretreater, and/or you need to soak your laundry. That’s just a fact of laundry life.
My favorite recipe is listed below. It stores easily in a 2-gallon bucket. The cost of the cheapest generic laundry detergent is about 14¢. The cost of this homemade laundry soap is less than 2¢ per load. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to buy additives like bleach and pretreaters – but in the end, it’s WAAAAAY cheaper to make your own laundry soap. Each 2-gallon batch costs about 75¢ and will clean 64 loads of laundry.
Homemade Laundry Soap
⅓ bar soap, grated (Fels Naphtha or Zote - Ivory works too) [35¢]
½ cup washing soda [20¢]
½ cup borax powder [20¢]
Add the grated soap to 6 cups water. Stir occasionally over medium heat until soap dissolves. Add the washing soda and borax. Stir until dissolved, and remove from heat. Pour 10 cups hot water into a 2-gal bucket, and then add the soap mixture. Stir. Finally, add 1 gallon of cool water. Stir before each use, and use ½ cup per load.
This soap is also a terrific general-purpose cleaner. Great for concrete and brick.
On the other hand, if you prefer to buy the super-fancy laundry detergents with built-in bleaches and brighteners, you will be disappointed with the homemade laundry soap. It’s just plain-old soap – which works well for normal laundering but won’t tackle set-in stains or strong odors. You also have to stir or shake the soap before each use because it tends to separate. That said, as long as you add your own chlorine bleach, color-safe bleach, and stain pretreaters (not all at the same time, OBVI!), you’ll have perfectly clean clothes, AND you’ll save a bundle.
Just for kicks, I stained 2 rags with a variety of messes and washed them in a national brand vs the homemade laundry soap. Here are the results.
(generic laundry detergent: left – homemade laundry soap: right)
BEFORE:
AFTER:
As you can see, the homemade soap held it’s own, but neither performed all that great. Fact is, if you have set-in stains or grease stains, it doesn’t matter what kind of soap you use – you need a pretreater, and/or you need to soak your laundry. That’s just a fact of laundry life.
My favorite recipe is listed below. It stores easily in a 2-gallon bucket. The cost of the cheapest generic laundry detergent is about 14¢. The cost of this homemade laundry soap is less than 2¢ per load. Keep in mind that you’ll still need to buy additives like bleach and pretreaters – but in the end, it’s WAAAAAY cheaper to make your own laundry soap. Each 2-gallon batch costs about 75¢ and will clean 64 loads of laundry.
Homemade Laundry Soap
⅓ bar soap, grated (Fels Naphtha or Zote - Ivory works too) [35¢]
½ cup washing soda [20¢]
½ cup borax powder [20¢]
Add the grated soap to 6 cups water. Stir occasionally over medium heat until soap dissolves. Add the washing soda and borax. Stir until dissolved, and remove from heat. Pour 10 cups hot water into a 2-gal bucket, and then add the soap mixture. Stir. Finally, add 1 gallon of cool water. Stir before each use, and use ½ cup per load.
This soap is also a terrific general-purpose cleaner. Great for concrete and brick.
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