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Saturday, 12 May 2012
Tuesday, 1 May 2012
How to make liquid laundry detergent at home
So,.....you want to know how to make your own liquid laundry detergent at home, start saving loads (pun intended....haha...) of $$$, have a product that's as good of quality, if not better, than store-bought and get the satisfaction of knowing you made it yourself?? Well, you came to the right place!!
I will start off by disclosing that this is not an original idea of my own. I have no patent or guarantees on this, just my own testimony that it is something that works hard enough on my mechanic husband's clothes and gentle enough for my infant's sensitive skin. My mother sent me a "recipe" for doing this a few years back and we are ever the frugal family, so I decided to give it a shot. I've been making and using this product since 2009. After making a batch or two, I couldn't find the recipe my mother had sent me, so had to research the directions again. There are several ways to make this detergent, this just happens to be my twist on it. I remembered basics, but had to add and subtract things until I found what worked for me and my family. So, just remember, some people use a little more or a little less of certain items, but this is my favorite recipe, so feel free to use it if you like. That's all I'm trying to do is just share my version with you all.
This is what you'll need to get started:
* 20 Mule Team Borax
* Arm & Hammer Washing Soda---Not Baking Soda
* Fels-Naptha Heavy Duty Soap bar (acceptable substitutes---Ivory Soap bar, Zote soap bar)
* 5 gallon bucket
* Optional: Essential Oils (to add your own fragrance of choice---I, personally, have not experimented with this, just yet, so am not certain how much to add or how effective it is)
-----(All brand names are copyright / trademark names. I am not trying to steal these names in any way or form, just sharing the specific ingredients I use for making this recipe in the home.)-----
Steps / Guidelines to follow:
1- Grate the full bar of soap
2- Fill bucket half full with hot water
3- Melt the grated soap on the stove in a pot of about 2-4 cups of low boiling water (stir constantly and be sure to keep the boil low as it will most likely overflow if you leave it unattended or too high---this usually, takes me about 5 minutes, or so. Make sure it is all completely melted with no chunks or flakes floating around.)
4- Add the melted soap to the bucket of water. Also, add 1 cup of the Borax and 1 cup of the Washing soda. Stir until well mixed. (I saw one person's idea of using a paint mixer attachment to reach further into the bucket, which would be very handy, but I use a long-handled cooking spoon)
5- Finish filling the bucket to the top with more hot water and mix one more time.
6- Seal lid over top of bucket and let set overnight.
7- Mixture should be very gelled when you check the next morning. This is where a paint mixer would be very handy. Mix it up again and it's ready to use!
Sometimes I leave my detergent in the bucket and just scoop it out for use, occasionaly stirring it up. Other times saving an old detergent bottle or any empty container with a lid and handle is handy, too. If you decide to use a container, all you need to do is just shake it up a little each time you use it because it may settle a bit and will break up those bigger gel chunks that may be difficult to get in the bucket.
When it comes time to use, I recommend:
* 5/8 c. for a regular top-loading machine
* 1/4 c. for a front-loading (HE) machine
For those who are concerned about the use in HE machines, I found this helpful information and give full credit to www.icanteachmychild.com (a website that has another very similar version of how to make the detergent):
They wrote into LG to see if they would approve the use of this laundry soap and this is the reply they received:
Dear Customer,
LG always recomends to use detergents which has "he" logo on it. Even we do not recommend if its written "he compatible."
Because oversudsing can create residue buildup in drum, it will be necessary to perform cleaning to remove this residue.
So until we do test in our labs we cannot assure the detergent you make at home is advisable. It might affect washing washing performance.
Best Regards,
LGE--Dubai
Then, they found some contradictory information:
"The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don't be alarmed. Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as traditional washers. You will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener or in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely."-From SoapsGoneBuy.com
So, the decision is yours as to whether or not you want to use this detergent. Personally, I feel comfortable knowing this soap does not sud at all and that it is really safe to use. I've been using it for a few years now in both top-load and front-load (HE) machines, never had any issues and plan to continue using it as long as I can!
For those of you in Guam, there will be a variety of this detergent available at the Magnilao market on Thursday nights this coming Thursday, May 3. Come say "hi" if you get a chance! If your bring me some clean, empty containers I will give you a surprise bonus!
I will start off by disclosing that this is not an original idea of my own. I have no patent or guarantees on this, just my own testimony that it is something that works hard enough on my mechanic husband's clothes and gentle enough for my infant's sensitive skin. My mother sent me a "recipe" for doing this a few years back and we are ever the frugal family, so I decided to give it a shot. I've been making and using this product since 2009. After making a batch or two, I couldn't find the recipe my mother had sent me, so had to research the directions again. There are several ways to make this detergent, this just happens to be my twist on it. I remembered basics, but had to add and subtract things until I found what worked for me and my family. So, just remember, some people use a little more or a little less of certain items, but this is my favorite recipe, so feel free to use it if you like. That's all I'm trying to do is just share my version with you all.
This is what you'll need to get started:
* 20 Mule Team Borax
* Arm & Hammer Washing Soda---Not Baking Soda
* Fels-Naptha Heavy Duty Soap bar (acceptable substitutes---Ivory Soap bar, Zote soap bar)
* 5 gallon bucket
* Optional: Essential Oils (to add your own fragrance of choice---I, personally, have not experimented with this, just yet, so am not certain how much to add or how effective it is)
-----(All brand names are copyright / trademark names. I am not trying to steal these names in any way or form, just sharing the specific ingredients I use for making this recipe in the home.)-----
Steps / Guidelines to follow:
1- Grate the full bar of soap
2- Fill bucket half full with hot water
3- Melt the grated soap on the stove in a pot of about 2-4 cups of low boiling water (stir constantly and be sure to keep the boil low as it will most likely overflow if you leave it unattended or too high---this usually, takes me about 5 minutes, or so. Make sure it is all completely melted with no chunks or flakes floating around.)
4- Add the melted soap to the bucket of water. Also, add 1 cup of the Borax and 1 cup of the Washing soda. Stir until well mixed. (I saw one person's idea of using a paint mixer attachment to reach further into the bucket, which would be very handy, but I use a long-handled cooking spoon)
5- Finish filling the bucket to the top with more hot water and mix one more time.
6- Seal lid over top of bucket and let set overnight.
7- Mixture should be very gelled when you check the next morning. This is where a paint mixer would be very handy. Mix it up again and it's ready to use!
Sometimes I leave my detergent in the bucket and just scoop it out for use, occasionaly stirring it up. Other times saving an old detergent bottle or any empty container with a lid and handle is handy, too. If you decide to use a container, all you need to do is just shake it up a little each time you use it because it may settle a bit and will break up those bigger gel chunks that may be difficult to get in the bucket.
When it comes time to use, I recommend:
* 5/8 c. for a regular top-loading machine
* 1/4 c. for a front-loading (HE) machine
For those who are concerned about the use in HE machines, I found this helpful information and give full credit to www.icanteachmychild.com (a website that has another very similar version of how to make the detergent):
They wrote into LG to see if they would approve the use of this laundry soap and this is the reply they received:
Dear Customer,
LG always recomends to use detergents which has "he" logo on it. Even we do not recommend if its written "he compatible."
Because oversudsing can create residue buildup in drum, it will be necessary to perform cleaning to remove this residue.
So until we do test in our labs we cannot assure the detergent you make at home is advisable. It might affect washing washing performance.
Best Regards,
LGE--Dubai
Then, they found some contradictory information:
"The above recipes will NOT make suds in your washer so don't be alarmed. Fels Naptha Soap is a pure soap and typically makes little or no suds in the water. This makes it perfect for use in the new HE washers as well as traditional washers. You will also notice the need to either reduce your laundry softener or in most cases you can even eliminate the use of softener completely."-From SoapsGoneBuy.com
So, the decision is yours as to whether or not you want to use this detergent. Personally, I feel comfortable knowing this soap does not sud at all and that it is really safe to use. I've been using it for a few years now in both top-load and front-load (HE) machines, never had any issues and plan to continue using it as long as I can!
For those of you in Guam, there will be a variety of this detergent available at the Magnilao market on Thursday nights this coming Thursday, May 3. Come say "hi" if you get a chance! If your bring me some clean, empty containers I will give you a surprise bonus!
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