What essential oils do you use in homemade laundry soap?

**leighcat** · 04-20-2010, 06:17 PM

I have sweet orange and tea tree. I don't want to smell like tea tree and I am afraid sweet orange might stain the clothes or cause allergy. What kind of oils do you use?

**Grainlady** · 04-20-2010, 07:33 PM

In homemade laundry soap, back when I made it, I used ZOTE instead of Fels Naptha. ZOTE has a great citronella scent, so no additional scent is necessary. ZOTE also contains optical brighteners, which aid in keeping whites "white" (which is often a problem when you use homemade detergent and have hard water), and it's SOOOOOOOO much cheaper than Fels Naptha.

As a plus... You can cut those large bars of ZOTE into 1/2- to 3/4-inch slices (the short way) and use them in the shower. I can usually get about 8 small bars out of one bar of ZOTE, which I got for 79-cents each.

**Ali Lee** · 04-21-2010, 07:59 PM

I have never used any oils in my HM detergent.

**Thevail** · 04-22-2010, 03:40 AM

I use a touch of lemon oil in other cleaning products, but have never tried any oils in homemade laundry soap. I'm afraid it would just cause dirt to "stick" to the clothes..

**Buc-O-Mama** · 04-25-2010, 11:55 AM

I have an assortment that I've tried, grapefruit being my favorite, but we've actually grown to like the freshness of straight FelsNaptha.

**schellie69** · 05-11-2010, 08:27 AM

I don't use any oils in my HM laundry soap I love the fresh scent of the soap, I also worry the more you put into the more it cost but if you want to try take a small amount into another container and add a few drops see how it works if the smell is to light add another couple of drops if to strong add more soap. you could try it out on rags or towels that you use or other items that it would not hurt or damage just an idea to see if you like the oil.