Going Green on the Dairy...part one
No...this won't be a gross green post. "Green"... as in, you know...environmentally friendly.
A few weeks ago a cousin emailed me a recipe for homemade liquid laundry detergent. A pretty simple recipe. I tried it and actually like it, except for the fact that it separates and gets kind of clumpy. You have to shake it fairly vigorously to get it back to a liquid-y form. Nonetheless...it seems to work well, even on hubby's nasty chore clothes. Though I still do spot-treat them.
Here is that recipe:
(All ingredients can be purchased for under $5-6 for all! and will make several batches.)
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap
1 quart Water (boiling) + 2 more gallons of room temp water
2 cups Bar soap (grated) Use Naphtha soap bar (other can be used, but make sure there's no oils in it; 2 cups is all but a small chunk of the Naphtha soap/ I used the whole bar)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Super Washing Soda (it’s an Arm & Hammer box found next to the Borax-must use exactly this!)
*Heat 1 quart of water to a boil in a medium-sized pan
*Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water, stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
* Pour the soap water into a large clean pail or 5 gallon bucket and immediately add the borax and washing soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
*Add 2 gallons of room temperature water (not hot / not cold) stir until well mixed.
*Cover pail/bucket leave overnight (will gel) Wait till soap has sat overnight before filling bottles.
*You may add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons once soap has cooled:
Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. (I didn't see the need...the Naphtha I used was scented and that was enough to "flavor" the whole batch.)
*Shake bottle before each use (does separate when it sits)
*Use ¼ to ½ cup per load. For chore clothes I used 3/4 cup.
Save up and rinse out old bottles to store this in. It makes well over 2 gallons. I used a couple 1/2 gallon milk jugs as well as old laundry detergent bottles.
Note: soap isn't as sudsy as you might be used to but do not worry it has nothing to do with the cleaning power.
*Note to self...do NOT try to do this whole process 15 minutes before time to make supper. It takes much longer than you might think to grate a bar of soap! And it takes even LONGER than that for said grated soap to dissolve..even if you DO keep the heat on.
A few weeks ago a cousin emailed me a recipe for homemade liquid laundry detergent. A pretty simple recipe. I tried it and actually like it, except for the fact that it separates and gets kind of clumpy. You have to shake it fairly vigorously to get it back to a liquid-y form. Nonetheless...it seems to work well, even on hubby's nasty chore clothes. Though I still do spot-treat them.
Here is that recipe:
(All ingredients can be purchased for under $5-6 for all! and will make several batches.)
Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap
1 quart Water (boiling) + 2 more gallons of room temp water
2 cups Bar soap (grated) Use Naphtha soap bar (other can be used, but make sure there's no oils in it; 2 cups is all but a small chunk of the Naphtha soap/ I used the whole bar)
2 cups Borax
2 cups Super Washing Soda (it’s an Arm & Hammer box found next to the Borax-must use exactly this!)
*Heat 1 quart of water to a boil in a medium-sized pan
*Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water, stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.
* Pour the soap water into a large clean pail or 5 gallon bucket and immediately add the borax and washing soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
*Add 2 gallons of room temperature water (not hot / not cold) stir until well mixed.
*Cover pail/bucket leave overnight (will gel) Wait till soap has sat overnight before filling bottles.
*You may add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons once soap has cooled:
Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil. (I didn't see the need...the Naphtha I used was scented and that was enough to "flavor" the whole batch.)
*Shake bottle before each use (does separate when it sits)
*Use ¼ to ½ cup per load. For chore clothes I used 3/4 cup.
Save up and rinse out old bottles to store this in. It makes well over 2 gallons. I used a couple 1/2 gallon milk jugs as well as old laundry detergent bottles.
Note: soap isn't as sudsy as you might be used to but do not worry it has nothing to do with the cleaning power.
*Note to self...do NOT try to do this whole process 15 minutes before time to make supper. It takes much longer than you might think to grate a bar of soap! And it takes even LONGER than that for said grated soap to dissolve..even if you DO keep the heat on.
Comments
The Naphtha soap I found in the laundry aisle of the grocery store. It's just a little bar of soap. You can usually find the 20 Mule Team Borax (that's the full name of it, in a green and white box) down that aisle also, or sometimes with the cleaning supplies. The Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda can usually be found down the same aisle, it's a yellow box. They are both powdered laundry additives. If you'd like, when I get more boxes of them I'll post pics of them so you can have a visual. Let me know. Good luck.
Also, I ought to add a note. On heavier clothing, especially if it's REALLY nasty chore clothes like jeans and/or coveralls, use a cup or two of it on them.