Liquid Laundry Soap

Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

1 c. Liquid Castille Soap (I use Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild)
2 c. Water
1/3 c. Salt (I use non iodized)
1c. Washing Soda (a cousin of baking soda that can be found in the grocery store laundry isle)

Warm the salt, soda, and water in a sauce pan and stir constantly until mostly disolved/incorporated. This step takes just a few minutes! If you over heat or stop stirring, the soda and salt will solidify, so watch out! Transfer to a one gallon container.  Add castille soap and fill rest of the container with water. Put the lid on, shake about, and you are ready to wash!  Total time to make my batch was about 15 minutes.



Background

Have you ever read the ingredient label on a conventional bottle of liquid laundry detergent?  Growing up, I remember helping to fold clean laundry and making sure that all my father's undershirts were inside out.  Dad has sensitive skin, and a full day of seams touching his skin results in red patches. Other than that, I never questioned how laundry got done or what was used to do it.  As I mention in my "Welcome!" post, I struggled with the issue of laundry detergent, and it was probably a catalyst for this blogging journey :-).

This week, my Grandmother and I have put my homemade laundry soap to the test washing everything from bed linens and towels, to food stained clothes, a throw pillow my daughter threw up on, and doggy bath towels.  CLEAN, CLEAN, CLEAN! We are using the same amount of soap (1/4c.) per load and cleaning just as well.  Happy Jazzy!  Even skeptical Grandma feels the clothes are just as clean despite her worries about not enough sud-action.

And get this... It cost me less than $8 to make 256 oz (2 gallons) of liquid laundry detergent! I had been spending about $25 on 200 oz bottles of Free and Clear at BJs!

Additional Notes:

1. A washed out milk jug works, but so does a rinsed out store bought liquid laundry soap jug.  The 100 oz jugs are close enough to being a gallon, and the lids work as great measured dispensers.  A gallon is technically 128 oz, so you're soap will be a tad more concentrated, but you won't need a 1/4 measuring cup laying about!

2. If your water is hard or you are worried about not using a fabric softener, use vinegar! 1-2 T. Per load for the HE machine fabric softner tray and up to a 1/4 cup for regular old fashioned machines in the rinse cycle is all you need.

3. My sister-in-law has sensitive skin and in mentioning she would soon try this recipe, I thought to warn her about the washing soda, and realized I should warn everyone else too!  It says so right on the box, but just in case...  WEAR RUBBER GLOVES when handling washing soda directly!  Washing soda, a cousin of baking soda, will dry out your skin if you let your skin absorb it directly.  Baking soda does the same, but washing soda is a bit stronger.  I did not wear gloves when making my first batch, and my hands were dry and tight and itchy well into the next day.  So, to avoid that uncomfy tight dry feeling, I now wear my rubber dish-washing gloves when I handle washing soda.  I also keep my box of washing soda safely out of the reach of our labrador Gaucho and the kiddos :-)  Remember, this laundry soap rinses completely clean leaving no residue behind, including scent.  So clothes couldn't be milder against skin after washing :-)

4. Informational Links on why homemade laundry soap is so great for our bodies, our Earth, and our machines (including HE ones):
http://laundry.about.com/od/HomemadeLaundryProducts/f/Can-Homemade-Detergent-Be-Used-In-He-Washers.htm

http://www.laundry-alternative.com/detergentsinfo.htm

http://depts.washington.edu/exposure/latest_press_release.html

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