Monday, April 4, 2011

Recipe: Liquid Laundry Detergent

This is definitely not as delicious* as the other recipes I have posted but it is a recipe that I am eager to utilize. 

My mom gave me a sample from a batch that she made and I used it for a few loads of laundry.  It worked perfectly!  My honey has sensitive skin and he didn't get itchy or anything.  We are currently finishing up a jug of the store bought stuff and then I plan to whip up my first full batch of this and move on over to the world of homemade laundry detergent.

*Do not eat this.  That would be silly and would almost certainly make you ill.

Liquid Laundry Detergent

Makes one gallon -- enough for approximately 16 loads of laundry.

Ingredients:
  • 1/3 bar Ivory soap, grated
  • 2 cups water, plus 14 additional cups
  • 2 Tablespoons borax
  • 1 Tablespoon baking soda or washing soda

Directions:
Melt the soap flakes in the two cups of water over medium heat.  Stir to dissolve.  Pour into a 1-gallon container and add enough water to bring it to a half gallon (~6 cups water).  Add the borax and washing soda, stirring to dissolve.  Top off with water to make one gallon.  (~8 more cups)  Stir.

Use 1 cup per load. 

Notes:
Both washing soda and borax can be found in the laundry aisle of most grocery stores.  Washing soda is a hard water treatment.  You can increase the amount of washing soda to 1/4 cup if your home has hard water. 

Instead of using a commercial fabric softener, add 1/2 cup white vinegar in the rinse cycle. 

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