In short — I’ve been loving it!
So much so, in fact, that I tweaked the recipe a bit to make it stretch even farther and I’m loving it still.
For one batch of powder detergent I’m still using the one bar of Fels Naptha, but I doubled the other two ingredients.
Homemade Powder Laundry Detergent Recipe
- 1 bar Fels Naptha (cost: $1.29)*
- 1 cup Borax (cost for 76 oz. box: $2.79)**
- 1 cup Washing Soda (cost for 55 oz. box: $2.05)**
I’m still using 1 Tablespoon per load.
(*Price is from my local Kroger ~ **Price is from my local commissary)
Cost Per Load
According to my calculations, each load costs approximately eight cents. Obviously, that cost can vary based on the price you pay for the ingredients.
How does that compare to the cost per load for the laundry detergent you are currently using? (Or what is your maximum price you will pay for laundry detergent, those of you who are not loyal to a brand but rather buy the best deal based on sales and coupons?)
I came across a great video from Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar via Money Saving Mom showing how to make a gel laundry detergent, for anyone who may be interested. Money Saving Mom’s post, “Four Ways to Save Money on Laundry Detergent” is definitely worth a read as well. And I didn’t wade through the over 200 comments on her post, but her readers gave lots of good tips from what I saw when I skimmed through.
I do know I’m interested in learning how to edit videos like that. Anyone have any pointers? Any (preferably free) video editing software/site they like to use?
To Sum It Up
I will continue making my own laundry detergent for the foreseeable future. It’s working great, and it’s cheap. My only complaint is the work sifting the grated soap. (The actual grating is no big deal.) It’s a real workout! I tried to encourage my 14yo son to lend a hand and pump up his tennis arm at the same time, but even he tuckered out! I made double the amount this last time, so I can go for a stretch now. But I’m on the lookout for a second-hand salad shooter or food processor, as some of you have recommended for fast and easy shredding of the soap bar.
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
I have been making our own washing liquid for 2 years now and love it and will never pay for the overpriced store products again. My ingredients are a bit different, instead of the bar of soap i use a cup of dish washing liquid, the kind doesnt matter, i prefer dawn due to the grease cutting abilities, and a cup of washing soda and a cup of borax. I add the dishwashing liquid to 6 cups of water over heat, add the borax and washing soda and stir until dissolved, then add to 2 gallons of water and stir, its wonderful and does not glob up at all. I have 3 year old twin boys and it gets all of our clothes clean.
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Yep, we’re still making ours too and we love it. Check out diyNatural.com for the recipes we use.
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jolyn Reply:
March 30th, 2010 at 10:16 am
I think your recipe contributed to my original attempt! I think I linked to it in my first post on making about making laundry detergent…? I have found that the Fels Naptha is so effective that I can double the Borax and Washing Soda mix, stretch the batch even farther, and still love it!
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jolyn Reply:
March 30th, 2010 at 10:20 am
Oh, and I finally added your links to my Linky-Linky nav bar tab.
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Nice! I still haven’t crossed that frontier yet. . . but someday. thanks for the inspiration.
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The recipe I have for the detergent only calls for 1/3 of the fels naptha bar of soap, but if using a different soap to use the whole bar. I am assuming it is because fels naptha is a more concentrated laundry soap. Anyway, decreasing the amount of the fels naptha makes it cheaper per load. Although, I use a 1/3 -1/2 cup in my loads.
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jolyn Reply:
March 30th, 2010 at 9:11 am
How much Borax and washing soda do you add to the 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha? I could totally see myself tweaking the recipe yet again.
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Thanks for the update on this
. I just need to get some washing soda when I’m next at the store and I’m going to make up a batch!
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