Candybee Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I am bringing back this thread because I want to try making my own laundry detergent. My question is how much of the homemade detergent do you put into each wash load? Anyone know? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 I am bringing back this thread because I want to try making my own laundry detergent. My question is how much of the homemade detergent do you put into each wash load? Anyone know? about 1 tablespoon per load. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loolee Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 yes, 1-2T depending on how dirty it is.I've also heard of people adding phosphates into this mixture for extra cleaning ability. TSP is available at Lowes or Home Depot.And another friend found some powdered Purex fabric softener to add for scent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loolee Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 I was also looking at the fels-naptha ingredients and it looks like they use a combination of coconut, palm and tallow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 That's amazing that you only need 1-2 tbs per load of laundry. Think how much money I will save!! Yay!! So I bought the Borax and washing soda last night-- the big boxes. Together they were less expensive than a large tub of commercial laundry detergent. Plus I'm thinking they will last a whole lot longer than any commercial brand I could buy at the store.I have some soap shreds and leftover pieces of soap so I am going to use these to make it. The oils in these are primarily olive oil, coconut oil, and lard so they should work fine. Will just have to wait and see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Any oil high in lauric acid should work well in laundry soap. In all the testing I've done, coconut ranks first with PKO a close second. I didn't care for lard at all. As liquid laundry soaps made with KOH the coconut again ranked first. PKO clumped strangely in my tests.If you're using shreds from bath soap that have been superfatted, you may want to add a wee bit of lye to reduce the free floating oils (especially conditioning oils) that will deposit on your clothing in the wash. The oils remaining on the clothing will lead to dingy colors. If you've kept good notes, you should be able to calculate the amount of extra lye needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewls819 Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 (edited) I was going to make some stain sticks this weekend using coconut with o% discoount. Edited May 25, 2012 by Jewls819 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Any oil high in lauric acid should work well in laundry soap. In all the testing I've done, coconut ranks first with PKO a close second. I didn't care for lard at all. As liquid laundry soaps made with KOH the coconut again ranked first. PKO clumped strangely in my tests.If you're using shreds from bath soap that have been superfatted, you may want to add a wee bit of lye to reduce the free floating oils (especially conditioning oils) that will deposit on your clothing in the wash. The oils remaining on the clothing will lead to dingy colors. If you've kept good notes, you should be able to calculate the amount of extra lye needed.Thanks for the tip TallTayl. Unfortunately I don't know if I can wrap my brain around trying to figure out just how much lye to add. I did check out the laundry detergent I made and the top layer does feel a bit oily. I will try to figure out the amt of lye I need but I think the best I can do is give it my best guestimate.The other problem I am having is I followed the directions for making it and it sure has a lot of water in it. It feels more like watered down hand soap. I am thinking I added too much water and will add some more soap shreds, Borax, and washing soda. The instructions for adding water are pretty vague. I just need to figure out exactly what works for me and write down the new recipe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Update. I just measured out my laundry detergent and I made exactly 1 gallon. I didn't have a 2 gallon bucket per the instructions.But the 1 gallon I made is very watery. Is this right? Or do I need to add one more gallon of water to make it two gallons. The instructions say to use a 2 gallon bucket and top it off with water. That sounds like filling it up with 2 gallons to me.This stuff is so watery I can't believe 1 tablespoon will clean a regular load of wash.I really need more info on the full amount of water I should use. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loolee Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 Jewls, I saw on another soap forum a recipe for a turpentine stain stick! I want to try it just because it sounds so... odd! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megandgarr Posted May 29, 2012 Share Posted May 29, 2012 I have been making the laundry soap using 1 cup borax, 1 cup super washing soap & 1 bar of fels-naptha for a little while now, however I use the dry version in my HE front loader and it works great. I use 1 Tbsp per load but I will increase it to 2 TBSP with whites. I am not sure if this tip has been mentioned so disregard if this is duplicate info. It helps to put the bar of fels-naptha in the microwave for about a minute or so. The bar expands and gets puffy but once cooled, it crumbles pretty easy. I think that is a bit easier than using a cheese grater before grinding it in the food processer/blender. I saw that tip posted on another website and glad I found it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 Well I doubled my ingredients so I now have 1 gallon of detergent using 1 cup borax, 1 cup washing soda, and 1 cup soap shreds. Its nice and thick like regular laundry detergent. I have used it several times now (along with my homemade fabric softener) and it works great.I am working on a soap recipe thou for the detergent. Its gonna be mostly coconut oil but I want to experiment and see what works best. I suppose I should try the Fels-Naptha soap too but I like the idea of making my own "cleaning" soap I can use for making laundry detergent, pre-wash cleaning stick, and for all purpose household cleaning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IwantItgreen Posted May 30, 2012 Share Posted May 30, 2012 I use the dry like megandgarr and use about 1 T per load. Now after about a year, i've decided to stick with reg. detergent for my whites. But the homemade is perfect for towels, work clothes, & etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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