Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Works for ME Wednesday...Emergency Laundry soap


Please tell me that I'm not the only person who forgets to buy laundry soap before it runs out!

Recently, I bought all the ingredients to make my own laundry soap. I've seen quite a few people talking about how easy it is to make & how much money they have saved. I bought the ingredients, but I never took the time to actually put them together & make liquid laundry soap. Plus, since I've been meaning to make my own, I also didn't buy a new bottle the last time I went shopping. On Monday I realized that I was totally out of laundry soap & REALLY needed to wash a couple loads of wash. The laundry soap recipe requires a bit of prep time, plus you are supposed to let it cool to thicken once it is made, so that was out. I didn't have the time or money to run to the store for a bottle of detergent, so I improvised.

I have a front loading Kenmore HE washer. I normally use liquid laundry detergent, but decided to give making my own powder a try & see how it turned out. I opened up the drawer where the detergent goes into the washer, removed the little divider that keeps the liquid soap from running down into the washer before the start of the cycle & added my ingredients.

I measured out 1 Tablespoon of Borax, 1 Tablespoon of washing soda & then grated about 2 teaspoons of Fels Naphtha soap. I set my washer for a HOT wash & a cold rinse, loaded the towels & pushed Start.....hoping it would turn out OK. I was pleasantly surprised when it finished. The towels looked & smelled clean and there was no soapy feeling. Next, I repeated the same process, only this time I set it for a cold wash & cold rinse to wash a load of dark clothes.....even in the cold water it worked just fine!!!!

I still plan to mix up the liquid detergent recipe, but in a pinch making a single portion directly into the soap dispenser on the washer worked GREAT!!!

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4 comments:

~*Michelle*~ said...

Ohhhhh good stuff to know! I always run out of detergent at the worst time!

Anonymous said...

Hey that is great to know in a pinch. I do love the prepared homemade laundry soap as well.

Mama Melissa said...

i actually love to be able to make my own laundry soap these days. yes, i am weird. i don't even use the fels napa (or whatever it's called)... i bought bar ivory soap on sale. i take one bar of soap and grate it up, take 2 cups of borax and 2 cups of washing soda and mix it all up in a bowl. i put a lid on it and put it in the laundry room!! i use 2 TBS per load. :) works like a charm!

and, yes, i almost ran out of regular laundry soap, and i was happy that i had more bar soap upstairs and could just make more! it really does work for me, too. :)

melissa

Unknown said...

I've been wanting to make my own detergent for a while but am afraid I'll mess it up. Besides, I cannot find Fels Napa. Good for you for being so smart and frugal.