This week, I made a new batch of homemade laundry soap. Now, I know there are hundreds of recipes out there, and people have different opinions about ingredients and methods. I’ve tried a couple different recipes, but I’ve found that the clothes, though technically, don’t always come out looking, feeling, or smelling that clean. I wanted to do something about that this time.
I make my own laundry soap because my daughter is allergic to dyes and perfumes found in store bought laundry soap. Since making my own (for the past 4 years), her eczema is WAY better and she doesn’t sit around and itch all the time. When we borrow clothes from others or get hand-me-downs and I don’t wash them first, or when her clothes accidentally get washed by store bought soap, we see a huge flare-up in her eczema. So at least I know this soap helps her.
Still, now that I’m also washing cloth diapers, I haven’t been thrilled with how clean the diapers are getting. I’m having to wash them twice every time, and one of those loads I am using chlorine bleach, which I know isn’t best, but sure makes a difference for our youngest.
So when I ran out of our last batch (which lasted about a year), I decided to do a huge batch and change a few things. Here’s the final recipe. I’ve used it a few times already and find the clothes look, feel, and smell a lot cleaner. However, I haven’t used it enough on the cloth diapers to have a final opinion about its performance on cloth.
UPDATED HOMEMADE LAUNDRY SOAP
- 4 bars Fels Naptha soap, grated
- 1 container OxyClean Pure (free of dyes and perfumes)
- 1 box Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (available in the laundry aisle, usually near the Borax)
- 1 box Borax
- 1 box powdered color-safe bleach
Combine a few cups of grated Fels Naptha and OxyClean in blender. Blend until soap is coarsely ground. Empty into large storage bucket. Repeat with more soap and powdered ingredient (it can be OxyClean, Washing Soda, or Borax. I wouldn’t blend the bleach…) until all the soap has been ground. (I like this step because it makes the soap more concentrated and easier to dissolve.) After all the soap has been ground, combine all the ingredients in the large bucket. Stir or shake to mix thoroughly.
TO USE: Add 1-2 Tbs detergent to a full load of laundry.
I have been asked if this recipe is safe for HE washers. I’m not an expert, so I don’t want to say yes or no, but I did notice that a few of the ingredients had on their boxes “HE safe”. Since that wasn’t important to me, I didn’t check on all the boxes. But I’d assume if all the ingredients alone are safe, then the final product will also be safe. You’ll just have to check the ingredients for yourself.
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Cheri said:
Hey Emily, I’m not sure about the size of the box. I just bought what Walmart had. I’ll have to look the next time I’m in that aisle and let you know.
[Comment imported from blog at 11:11 pm on June 13, 2013
Sorry one more question, what size of box are we talking of the color safe bleach and the oxyclean? Thanks!
Cheri said:
Hey Tiffany! The Fels Naptha Soap is usually right in the laundry aisle, usually toward the end of it, in the same place as the Borax, Washing Soda, and, often, Oxyclean. Sometimes it is harder to see, because they’re smaller, and sometimes I’ve seen them way up on the top shelf, but I’ve always found it, in every grocery store and Walmart I’ve tried to find it in. Good luck!
[Comment imported from blog at 2:24 pm on March 9, 2013
Cheri said:
Hey Tiffany! The Fels Naptha Soap is usually right in the laundry aisle, usually toward the end of it, in the same place as the Borax, Washing Soda, and, often, Oxyclean. Sometimes it is harder to see, because they’re smaller, and sometimes I’ve seen them way up on the top shelf, but I’ve always found it, in every grocery store and Walmart I’ve tried to find it in. Good luck!
[Comment imported from blog at 2:24 pm on March 9, 2013
Cheri said:
Emily, I haven’t tried the slop method. I have a friend who does it that way and loves it. I’ve found the powder to work just fine for me. What is it that isn’t working for you? Is the soap not dissolving? If that is the case, that’s why I grind the soap in the blender/food processor with some of the powder ingredients to get it to a finer texture. Maybe that would help?
[Comment imported from blog at 2:22 pm on March 9, 2013
Cheri said:
Emily, I haven’t tried the slop method. I have a friend who does it that way and loves it. I’ve found the powder to work just fine for me. What is it that isn’t working for you? Is the soap not dissolving? If that is the case, that’s why I grind the soap in the blender/food processor with some of the powder ingredients to get it to a finer texture. Maybe that would help?
[Comment imported from blog at 2:22 pm on March 9, 2013
Tiffany said:
Where can I find the Fels Naptha soap? I’m really interested in trying this recipe out. 🙂
Tiffany
[Comment imported from blog]
Tiffany said:
Where can I find the Fels Naptha soap? I’m really interested in trying this recipe out. 🙂
Tiffany
[Comment imported from blog]
Emily said:
Cheri,
Have you tried the slop method kind? I tried a powder mix and it didn’t seem to work as well as when you melt the soap and make this gooey stuff. However my recipe didn’t call for the oxy-clean or the powdered bleach…good ideas. Where do you get the powder bleach at? I run out of the gooey stuff too fast, but I am using my powdered stuff as I made a big batch, but as powder, it doesn’t seem to work as well in that for for me. I’ll have to try this recipe when my batch runs out.
[Comment imported from blog]
Emily said:
Cheri,
Have you tried the slop method kind? I tried a powder mix and it didn’t seem to work as well as when you melt the soap and make this gooey stuff. However my recipe didn’t call for the oxy-clean or the powdered bleach…good ideas. Where do you get the powder bleach at? I run out of the gooey stuff too fast, but I am using my powdered stuff as I made a big batch, but as powder, it doesn’t seem to work as well in that for for me. I’ll have to try this recipe when my batch runs out.
[Comment imported from blog]
Where can I find the Fels Naptha soap? I’m really interested in trying this recipe out. 🙂
Tiffany
Hey Tiffany! The Fels Naptha Soap is usually right in the laundry aisle, usually toward the end of it, in the same place as the Borax, Washing Soda, and, often, Oxyclean. Sometimes it is harder to see, because they’re smaller, and sometimes I’ve seen them way up on the top shelf, but I’ve always found it, in every grocery store and Walmart I’ve tried to find it in. Good luck!
Cheri,
Have you tried the slop method kind? I tried a powder mix and it didn’t seem to work as well as when you melt the soap and make this gooey stuff. However my recipe didn’t call for the oxy-clean or the powdered bleach…good ideas. Where do you get the powder bleach at? I run out of the gooey stuff too fast, but I am using my powdered stuff as I made a big batch, but as powder, it doesn’t seem to work as well in that for for me. I’ll have to try this recipe when my batch runs out.
Emily, I haven’t tried the slop method. I have a friend who does it that way and loves it. I’ve found the powder to work just fine for me. What is it that isn’t working for you? Is the soap not dissolving? If that is the case, that’s why I grind the soap in the blender/food processor with some of the powder ingredients to get it to a finer texture. Maybe that would help?