homemade laundry soap

**pop goes the weasel** · 05-15-2009, 01:00 PM

I am going to make my first batach of laundry soap and I was wodering if you can use bleach with it. Our water is hard and about 2-3 times a year Ihave to bleach them to get them white again. Thanks for the help

**Luckybustert** · 05-15-2009, 01:08 PM

We have very hard water too. I haven't tried using bleach with the homemade laundry detergent, but I have added OxyClean to it and my whites come out very clean and bright. Even old set-in stains are coming out!

**JenMarie** · 05-15-2009, 02:04 PM

I haven't used bleach with it either, but I would think it should be fine. I sometimes add extra washing soda and soak my whites in the machine for an hour before I wash. That works pretty well. Also hanging whites outside in the sunshine will bleach them.

**rowdy35** · 05-15-2009, 03:02 PM

i use bleach when I need to and it is working fine

**heartofmine** · 05-15-2009, 04:17 PM

I also use bleach without any problems as well as using Oxyclean.

**GenB** · 05-15-2009, 04:20 PM

Originally Posted by Luckybustert

We have very hard water too. I haven't tried using bleach with the homemade laundry detergent, but I have added OxyClean to it and my whites come out very clean and bright. Even old set-in stains are coming out!

Ditto! I've got super hard water. I rarely use bleach but I do use oxyclean. My whites look great.

**Grainlady** · 05-15-2009, 05:43 PM

You can use homemade laundry detergent and chlorine bleach.

HOWEVER, if you use vinegar in your rinse, don't use it when you are using cholorine bleach (never combine chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar).

You'll probably be fine adding bleach occasionally, but if you have iron deposits in your water, it can interact with chlorine bleach and it can make rust stains on clothes. I can't use chlorine bleach in our laundry very often because it mixes with manganese in our hard water and it makes whites yellow - not white. The only time I add chlorine bleach is if I need to sanitize clothes/linens, and for that you can use MUCH less - one to two tablespoons will sanitize a load. Oxygen-type bleaches should be substituted for chlorine bleaches because they do not react with dissolved iron in hard water. Oxygen-type bleaches also work best in hot water.

Something you might try in your whites is to add 2 T. of Cascade Dishwasher Detergent along with your homemade soap (each load). Cascade contains phosphates that homemade soap and detergents don't have in them. Years ago, phosphates were recommended for use with detergents in hard water to help them clean better, so this may work instead of harsh chlorine bleach. I used to use Cascade as an add-in along with a dry version of homemade laundry soap (containing ZOTE) and thought I had better cleaning action. Cascade also contains enzymes that help to lift stains.

After a few months of hard water and soap in your homemade laundry mixture, you will find your whites will get gray because soap scum will build-up due to hard water. That's the main difference between soap and detergents.

If you use ZOTE in your homemade mixture, it contains an optical brightner which will make the whites look whiter than using Fels Naptha or bath bars in the mixture. Fels Naptha used to contain Naptha, which is a great cleaner, but is also a nerve toxin, so it has been removed from Fels Naptha for a number of years.

Because your water is hard, you may need more homemade laundry soap per load to clean clothes, and you'll also get better results if you wash the clothes in the hottest water for the fabric types. Neither soap nor detergents clean effectively in water 65°F or colder. Detergent manufacturers and care lables define cold water as 80°-85°F, and it's not recommended for heavy dirt.

White clothes and linens turn gray if not enough soap or detergent is used, or if clothes are not thoroughly rinsed. To remove soap scum accumulated on clothes from hard water + soap, try this method from a Cooperative Extension Information Sheet:

* Wash the clothes again in HOT water.
* Add enough water softener to make the water feel slippery (about 1-cup).
*If the water becomes sudsy, the clothes were not rinsed enough. Wash them again adding only water softener.

Yet one more tip to whiten clothes is to add 1/2 c. hydrogen peroxide to the rinse, rather than harsh chlorine bleach.

**Luckybustert** · 05-15-2009, 05:54 PM

Originally Posted by Grainlady

HOWEVER, if you use vinegar in your rinse, don't use it when you are using cholorine bleach (never combine chlorine bleach with ammonia or vinegar).

Something you might try in your whites is to add 2 T. of Cascade Dishwasher Detergent along with your homemade soap (each load).

I knew not to mix ammonia and bleach, but I didn't know about not mixing with vinegar so that's very good info for me -- thanks for the warning!

And I had forgotten about the dishwasher soap.....when my kids were younger and we lived in Hawaii, they'd get all that red dirt just ground into their clothes and I would get it out by adding some Electrasol to the wash. I had forgotten all about that until you mentioned adding Cascade.