I am passing this along for any and all that want to use it. I have been making it for almost a year now and infact, many of my neighbors make it and use it. Not only does it do the job as well as the commercial stuff, Tide, Gain, etc; but it costs about $0.70 per gallon. Big savings.
You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax.
The Soap: The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha.
Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda. They are not the same thing. Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate). It is a white powder. Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders. The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store.
Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. It is a white powder. It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Team. It comes in a 76 oz. box. You should be able to locate this in the laundry detergent aisle.
The Recipe
Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe:
Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha
˝ cup washing soda
˝ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~
Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. Mix the soap thoroughly to mix up the gel. I put mine in an old liquid soap container so that I don’t have to mess with a 2 gallon bucket. Shake before using. You use 1/3 to ˝ cup per load.
**A few things to note about the soap**
~The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.
~The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.
Optional: If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ˝ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice.
Hope this post is in keeping with the spirit of Helping Hands.