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Posted: 3/16/2009 11:11:55 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Raven_Fire]
the following was written by ms.raven:
"Take a large stockpot and bring 10 cups of water to a gentle boil. 
Into your gently boiling water mix in half of a bar of Fels-naptha grated finely. Melt the fels-naptha into the water while stirring. 
After the fels-naptha has melted into the water stir in 1 cup of Borax and 1 cup of arm and hammer washing soda stirring until all has dissolved. 
Let water cool down for a few minutes and then pour into 2 gallon bucket and dilute with warm water. 
If this mixture does not gel up for you can still use it. It may also end up looking more like egg drop soup. If this happens you can still use it or if it gels up too much in clumps place bucket in to hot water (make sure not to let the water get into the bucket) and let warm back up and stir thoroughly. 
To use: put ¼ cup into washer and wash clothes as normal. You can add essential oils to perfume laundry soap. Powered Laundry Soap. Very finely grate ½ bar of Fels-Naptha and mix 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of borax. Combine thoroughly. Use 1 teaspoon in to laundry. " 
you can use the soap with the bucket and plunger, the wonder washer or in your regualr washin machine. the old lady had been usin this soap for quite a while now and it really cleans stuff well. even my real dirty work cloths. i think she said its like 50 cents for 2 gallons of soap, way cheaper than the shit you get at the store thats full of chemicals, dye, and smelly crap. i guess you can use vinigar as a fabric softner in conjuntion as well. and no it doesnt make your cloths smell like cat piss. if you decide to go the powderd soap way add a Desiccant pack to keep it from clumping up. this is something else that most people dont think about and dont put at the top of ther elist, but like the tp thread, sanitation is very important. |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 11:15:32 AM EDT
[#1]
good post and great info. my wife makes her own laundry detergent as well, but she doesn't use the fels-naptha, what does it add?
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TX, USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 11:19:54 AM EDT
[#2]
I know a couple people who have started doing this. My sister in-law makes here own and gave me some, it worked better than the cheap stuff that I buy and she makes it really cheaply too. I may have to look into this myself.
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Posted: 3/16/2009 11:29:23 AM EDT
[#3]
Originally Posted By Cacinok:
good post and great info. my wife makes her own laundry detergent as well, but she doesn't use the fels-naptha, what does it add? she said its the soap part. the others are "soap boosters" |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 12:19:48 PM EDT
[#4]
Originally Posted By Raven_Fire:
Originally Posted By Cacinok:
good post and great info. my wife makes her own laundry detergent as well, but she doesn't use the fels-naptha, what does it add? she said its the soap part. the others are "soap boosters" ah. i guess i should have caught the "booster" part from their boxes. doh. i wondering now how exactly my wife makes hers. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 12:55:05 PM EDT
[Last Edit: SparticleBrane]
[#5]
My fiancee and I made our own laundry detergent awhile back using this recipe (first one at the top). Quoted for reference:
TIPS FOR LAUNDRY SOAP: We use Fels-Naptha bar soap in the homemade soap recipes, but you can use Ivory, Sunlight, Kirk's Hardwater Castile or Zote bars. Don't use heavily perfumed soaps. We buy Fels-Naptha by the case from our local grocer or online. Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found on the laundry or cleaning aisle. Recipe cost approx. $2.
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value 4 Cups hot tap water 1 Fels-Naptha soap bar 1 Cup Washing Soda ½ Cup Borax - Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. -Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken. -Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel) -Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. -Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons. -Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads) -Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads) Most 'homemade' recipes are some combination of a Fels-Naptha bar, washing soda, and borax. We have found this particular recipe to work very well for all our laundry, and it works especially nicely on stains. If those cases in the first photo that the OP posted are full of said ingredients, that is literally enough for 30 years of laundry.  One 5-gallon bucket of the stuff we made will probably last us at least a year, possibly more, at the rate we do laundry.
My fiancee had a chocolate stain on a pink/purple sweatervest that sat there for about a month before we got around to cleaning it. I poured a small amount of our laundry soap onto the stained areas, rubbed for a few seconds, let it sit for maybe 20 minutes, then washed the vest. The stain was completely gone when it came out of the washing machine.  So far it has worked nicely on chocolate stains and on blood stains. Haven't tried it on anything else yet.
Note for those who haven't done this before –– these homemade recipes DO NOT suds up like the ones from the store. They still work nicely though, and clothes come out smelling fresh, but lack an overpowering fragrance. It's a nice balance. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 1:06:16 PM EDT
[#6]
Is the homemade soap safe for the high efficiency (HE) washers?
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Posted: 3/16/2009 1:30:20 PM EDT
[#7]
Thanks for the information. We bought a bunch of cases of laundry soap on sale 2 years ago, and only have 15 or so gallons left. I have been watching the sales, but I don't want to buy it at today's prices, when I bought cases of wisk at 2.99 a bottle. Even on sale it has been close to twice that today. Little ones in cloth diapers result in a lot of loads of laundry.
Thanks again for the idea. I never thought about this. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 1:34:16 PM EDT
[#8]
Originally Posted By CommanderBooyah:
Is the homemade soap safe for the high efficiency (HE) washers? I would think it should be, the High Efficiency soap is just formulated not to get as bubbly as regular soap. The one poster said this will not be as sudsy as regular soap so it should be ok. We have a HE front loader, and the HE soap has not been on sale at a "good" price for a while around here. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 1:48:25 PM EDT
[#9]
How is this mixture for people with sensitive skin? I know fels naptha packs a real whollop on it own.
For clarity I DO NOT have sensitive skin. I am a manly man  . The wife is kinda dainty though
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OK, USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 2:07:15 PM EDT
[#10]
Originally Posted By cougargnw:
How is this mixture for people with sensitive skin? I know fels naptha packs a real whollop on it own. For clarity I DO NOT have sensitive skin. I am a manly man . The wife is kinda dainty thoughi'm damn manly myself, but excema sucks. the home made soap my wife has made, has been better for me, b/c a lot of the perfumes in commercial soaps bug the hell out of me. she adds essential oils to get whatever smell she wants and those don't irritate the skin. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 2:17:37 PM EDT
[Last Edit: cougargnw]
[#11]
Originally Posted By Cacinok:
Originally Posted By cougargnw:
How is this mixture for people with sensitive skin? I know fels naptha packs a real whollop on it own. For clarity I DO NOT have sensitive skin. I am a manly man . The wife is kinda dainty thoughi'm damn manly myself, but excema sucks. the home made soap my wife has made, has been better for me, b/c a lot of the perfumes in commercial soaps bug the hell out of me. she adds essential oils to get whatever smell she wants and those don't irritate the skin. Thats good info. My buddy has excema and has a hard time with it on occasion due to soaps. I will pass this along to him as well. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 2:52:56 PM EDT
[#12]
This is not a tag...Thanks for the info, excellent idea.
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Posted: 3/16/2009 4:24:28 PM EDT
[#13]
great info. thanks.
my wife will not do this, cuz she's weird about soap, but i would like to try and use it on my work cloths. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 5:53:05 PM EDT
[#14]
Originally Posted By bone33:
great info. thanks. my wife will not do this, cuz she's weird about soap, but i would like to try and use it on my work cloths. put some in an old jug and see if she even notices. other than the smell, i doubt she would. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 6:18:42 PM EDT
[#15]
wow
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Posted: 3/16/2009 6:30:07 PM EDT
[#16]
Very cool I'll have to show my Hippy, ops-the wife
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Posted: 3/16/2009 6:43:06 PM EDT
[#17]
I going to try this out in the next few days. Thanks for the info.
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Posted: 3/16/2009 7:01:18 PM EDT
[#18]
just got ingredients, stand by for suds.
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Posted: 3/16/2009 7:04:29 PM EDT
[#19]
Originally Posted By TaylorWSO:
just got ingredients, stand by for suds. its pretty straight forward, let me know how it works out, oh yea, one other trick she used one of the little grinder things to chop up the nappa soap from bigger pieces. |
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Posted: 3/16/2009 7:41:02 PM EDT
[#20]
Originally Posted By Raven_Fire:
Originally Posted By TaylorWSO:
just got ingredients, stand by for suds. its pretty straight forward, let me know how it works out, oh yea, one other trick she used one of the little grinder things to chop up the nappa soap from bigger pieces. well I should have read closer before I bought. I was thinking the 20 dollars I just spent would make 2-3 bottles of soap, well I now have the ability to make about 40 gallons of laundry detergent
I tried to use a old blender to chop up the soap, but some got stuck, tried to add water to "mix it out" ended up with a ton of suds
Well I have about 2 gallons cooling off-we'll see tomorrow after my first load. I was bitching about the price of detergent at the store yesterday-glad I waited. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/16/2009 11:34:55 PM EDT
[Last Edit: SparticleBrane]
[#21]
For those of you with kids –– this would be a cool "kitchen science" project that is actually useful and actually works.
Is the homemade soap safe for the high efficiency (HE) washers?
If you look at the recipe I posted you'll note that the 5 gallons it produces (and thus the 10 gallons it actually makes after diluting 1:1 with water) is enough for 640 loads in an HE washer, using the recommended amount. |
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Posted: 3/17/2009 12:33:00 AM EDT
[#22]
Been using the liquid recipe(With Zote Soap instead of Fels Naptha) in my HE Maytag Epic for a year now and have had no problems. It doesn't sud up like regular detergent, and if you do get suds just use less detergent.
A good fabric softener as mentioned above is vinegar, but add a half cup of baking soda to the actual laundry(chuck it in the machine) for better results. |
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OK, USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 12:35:54 AM EDT
[#23]
Originally Posted By TaylorWSO:
just got ingredients, stand by for suds. you sir are a wild man. 
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Posted: 3/17/2009 1:08:28 AM EDT
[#24]
where do I buy that stuff?
does it smell allot? I just bought some gain and I am about to have a damn asthma attack. It smells like 100 wiminz are in my kitchen. |
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AR, USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:00:36 AM EDT
[#25]
tag for draggin back up when I've got time to make a shopping list
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:17:53 AM EDT
[#26]
cool
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:31:01 AM EDT
[#27]
Excellent info...
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:32:48 AM EDT
[#28]
Originally Posted By Waldo0506:
where do I buy that stuff? does it smell allot? I just bought some gain and I am about to have a damn asthma attack. It smells like 100 wiminz are in my kitchen. you shoudl be able to buy the stuff at almost any grocery. sometimes the washing soda is a bit hard to find. even walmart should have all of it. i ordered the cases through the almish and saved quite a bit. it has a very very slight soap smell. least to me. |
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Posted: 3/17/2009 9:01:32 AM EDT
[#29]
Awesome post. I sit here now out of laundry detergent and as I was writing it on the grocery list, I was thinking of what a total rip off it is. I'll be trying this instead today. Thanks!
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MI, USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 9:05:54 AM EDT
[#30]
I got home yesterday from Costco, and was bitching about how expensive the detergent was that I bought. 5 min later I pulled up this forum, and saw this post (obviously didn't post yesterday!)
Wife thinks I'm crazy, but she know's I'm going to be buying the ingredients soon! K |
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Posted: 3/17/2009 11:08:43 AM EDT
[#31]
Originally Posted By TaylorWSO:
Originally Posted By Raven_Fire:
Originally Posted By TaylorWSO:
just got ingredients, stand by for suds. its pretty straight forward, let me know how it works out, oh yea, one other trick she used one of the little grinder things to chop up the nappa soap from bigger pieces. well I should have read closer before I bought. I was thinking the 20 dollars I just spent would make 2-3 bottles of soap, well I now have the ability to make about 40 gallons of laundry detergent
I tried to use a old blender to chop up the soap, but some got stuck, tried to add water to "mix it out" ended up with a ton of suds
Well I have about 2 gallons cooling off-we'll see tomorrow after my first load. I was bitching about the price of detergent at the store yesterday-glad I waited. so how did it turn out? pics man |
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USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 11:28:32 AM EDT
[#32]
Use a cheese grater to grate the soap before melting it on the stove. It takes quite awhile but works well.
I just bought some gain and I am about to have a damn asthma attack. It smells like 100 wiminz are in my kitchen.
The liquid solution has a slight smell (smells of Fels-Naptha bar soap which shouldn't be a surprise) but after washing, the clothes have almost no scent at all, but somehow they smell "clean". Hard to describe. There isn't an overpowering scent left on your clothes for the rest of the day like many commercial detergents. I can't stand smelling like Gain all day.
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Posted: 3/17/2009 11:41:10 AM EDT
[#33]
Damn good post, OP!
Honestly though... I've never heard of those products. Then again, I enjoy spending time in the laundry aisle at Walmart about as much as visiting the dentist (and I have good teeth). I'm going to give it a spin. John |
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Posted: 3/17/2009 4:57:02 PM EDT
[Last Edit: TaylorWSO]
[#34]
Originally Posted By Raven_Fire:
so how did it turn out? pics man Not much to take a picture of. I put half of it in the old tide bottle and the left over in a jug. It is a little chunky as it needs to be diluted a little more. My pot wasn't big enough to add all the water when cooking/mixing. I did wash a dirty jacket last night and it was fine, cleaned all the grease/satins. without the overpowering smell. The best part only used a small amoutn compared to regular detergent. Im hooked ETA upgraded to a small 2 gallon gas can (new) for 3 bux and it works perfectly to hold all 2 gallons, plus the pour spout is nice 
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Posted: 3/17/2009 7:15:10 PM EDT
[#35]
looks like I got a weekend project
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USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:04:18 PM EDT
[#36]
Thanks for the recipe. The wife and I are on board. Commercial detergent and other consumables are getting too expensive.
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:24:59 PM EDT
[#37]
I cant find ANY of the ingredients...
Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General... Any suggestions on where to look? |
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VA, USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 8:46:50 PM EDT
[#38]
tag 4 later
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Posted: 3/17/2009 9:28:15 PM EDT
[#39]
Funny, but I was just thinking about this topic the other day, while I was considering the economics of buying a new washer and dryer, plus the headaches of having service done on them when they break.
With the economy being what it is, I suspect you are going to see a trend of people going back to hand washing their clothes the old fashioned way. |
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Posted: 3/17/2009 9:36:37 PM EDT
[#40]
Tag for when my box of tide runs out
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USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 9:50:32 PM EDT
[#41]
Originally Posted By buckmaw:
I cant find ANY of the ingredients... Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General... Any suggestions on where to look? Fels-Naptha bar –– local hardware store. Borax –– should be available at most retailers, and I got washing soda at Harris Teeter. With that being said, this could be useful: Soaps Gone Buy |
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Posted: 3/17/2009 9:56:24 PM EDT
[#42]
OST so I can find the ingredient list the next time I go to Walmart.
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IL, USA
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Posted: 3/17/2009 11:51:58 PM EDT
[#43]
I know what I'm doing for laundry detergent from now on. Thanks Mrs. Raven!
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Posted: 3/18/2009 1:33:19 AM EDT
[#44]
Originally Posted By SparticleBrane:
Originally Posted By buckmaw:
I cant find ANY of the ingredients... Walmart, Walgreens, Dollar General... Any suggestions on where to look? Fels-Naptha bar –– local hardware store. Borax –– should be available at most retailers, and I got washing soda at Harris Teeter. With that being said, this could be useful: Soaps Gone Buy I found out that the Do It Yourself chain of stores have the stuff in stock. I'm running down there tomorrow to get the stuff... My wife just looked at me funny when I told her what I was doing... |
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Posted: 3/18/2009 11:01:46 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Shooter7]
[#45]
Colgate's Octagon soap seems to work pretty well too.
Try this: 1/2 bar Octagon soap grated. 1/2 cup Borax 1/2 cup Arm and Hammer washing soda Melt soap, mix in powders. Dilute with warm water to yield 3 gallons of liquid detergent. 1/2 cup liquid detergent per load. Comes out to about .35 cents per gallon or less depending on what you pay for the ingredients. |
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PA, USA
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Posted: 3/19/2009 2:08:26 PM EDT
[Last Edit: torstin]
[#46]
it looks as if there are a fair number of people selling the ingredients individually or in soap kit form on ebay. i did a search for fels naptha and also washing soda. i'd be curious to know what average or good prices are for the various ingredients. i suspect shipping costs will be a huge factor, but maybe not.
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Posted: 3/19/2009 3:29:39 PM EDT
[#47]
Ideas like this are on a lot of "simple living" websites.
The simple living websites I like tend to be full of cheap ways to get things done even if it takes a little bit of your time and some muscles. My aunt recently got a high efficiency washer so I got some regular laundery detergent at a nice price. But with today's prices of laundery detergent and my stash about gone I am probably going to make some up myself. One hint for people, when you start doing stuff like this it is best to have the pot and measuring cup and similar stuff for projects like this. I have some beat up old stuff I keep around for projects. Vinegar has all kinds of uses, I have a book around here somewhere about it but I have not seen it for a while. That is part of why I have been getting rid of some stuff, sucks to know you have something but not be able to find it easily. Thanks for the pics and post. |
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USA
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Posted: 3/19/2009 5:10:32 PM EDT
[#48]
I rinsed out a 50oz Tide liquid detergent container, and marked (according to measuring cups) the halfway point and "full" point. Makes it easy to do the recipe I posted –– fill to the halfway point with the soap you make, then fill to the top with water. Repeat, after it runs out.
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Posted: 3/19/2009 5:37:58 PM EDT
[#49]
Originally Posted By FlatlinesUp: tag for draggin back up when I've got time to make a shopping list  |
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Posted: 3/19/2009 5:59:51 PM EDT
[#50]
Tag. Going to try to get the wifey to try this with some of our homemade soap. If she agrees, we will do an AAR.
Freedom |
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