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To Grainlady or anyone else who knows the answer,
I apologize in advance for being so thick headed. Are Zote and Fels Naptha soap or detergents? I live in a hard water area. I am concerned about the environment, saving money and clean clothes. If these laundry bars are detergent based will they work in cold water with my hard alkaline water supply? Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.
This recipe has my interest piqued.
Quick question...will this be safe for septic systems? We live in the country and I need to make sure. Don't want anything to kill all my little digesters.
I Found the Fels-Naptha soap and the Arm & Hammer Laundry Baking Soda at Ace Hardware Store. The 20 Mule Borax was in the grocery store in the cleaning aisle.
I found the Fels-Naptha Soap and the Arm & Hammer Laundry Baking Soda at Ace Hardware. The 20 Mule Team Borax was in the cleaning aisle at the grocery store with the detergents and additives.
Yes these are petroleum based products, which you might not want to use .Quote:
Originally Posted by deniseathome
I make my own recipe that works really well , with my own homemade soap or Dr. Bronners soap that has no petroleum base in it . I make a dry laundry soap as well as a liquid one. My clothes smell fresh, come out clean and I love because it has no chemicals in it. If you happen to do the dry laundry soap method, add one cup of salt ( I use sea salt or Real Salt) for hard water. Dr. Bronners soap or homemade is good for the environment, in reference to your question. My kids love the blend of laundry soap I make with either the lavender or peppermint, but you can use the baby soap for no fragrance and add your own essential oil for the smell. Hope that helps!
By the way there is an Fragrance oil that is made to smell like tide, that many soap makers use for their laundry soap.
For a little different ooomph try Ivory soap with aloe. I made our clothing smell wonderful.
pretty excited here...when i first read the recipe for the laundry soap i said, hey i already USE washing soda as an additive, and sometimes borax (tend to alternate, not sure WHY) - you mean all i have to do is add another ingredient and make my OWN? sweet! so i just did up a batch of the powdered form for my "test run" and i used the ivory bar soap. first load of towels look and smell just like clean laundry!!!! doing a load of delicate darks next....i think we have a winner!
oh and i think i should have used the smaller side of the grater? not making tacos tess........my husband looked at me like i'd slipped a little further off my rocker but he's wonderful tolerant and quite interested to see the cost/yield difference.
this site is so great. :cheer4: whodda thought laundry could be fun again?
Hi all! New here but not new to homemade laundry detergent!
You REALLY need to use the WASHING soda & NOT baking soda. It will make a difference in how your soap/detergent works.
If you can't find it in a normal grocery store...your local Ace Hardware will either carry it or can order it!
I have a front loader, my DH works around our place here (16+ acres), he does mechanical work on our vehicles, he does construction work/repair.....so he gets DIRTY and sometimes greasy & some times deseil (sp?) smelling! It gets everything clean & smells nice. I have been using fels naptha & Zote. Have used ivory in the past...and sometimes use it for more delicate items...not for the tough stuff!
I also hang out to dry & fluff in the dryer for 10-15 min. & everything is soft!
Fels Napha is a soap & Zote is also Deniseathome!
Rhiamom: I have a front loader washer also. I have always used non he detergents but I never use more than 1 ounce of detergent(3 tsp). It cleans my clothes very well, even when we had a farm and some really dirty clothes. as far as water temp goes, some fl have built in water heaters. you should check your manual to see if your machine has this, mine doesn't :(. for white clothes, I use Ariel detergent from Mexico. It still has all the ingredients american detergents don't anymore. My whites come out almost blindingly white.
Quote:
Originally Posted by rainbowgc
I just made the liquid laundry detergent as per these directions but a couple of things have me puzzled.
1. Why, if the amount of the ingredients used are the same for the dry as the liquid detergent, would you only get 40 loads with the dry as opposed to the 180 loads for liquid? It seems to me that either too much of the dry or not enough of the liquid is being used? Wouldn't a teaspoon be closer in equivalent?
Also, the difference between the loads for top loaders and front loaders seems pretty big. Aren't you actually only using approximately twice as much for a top loader? How can using slightly less than half make a little over 3 1/2 times as many loads? Shouldn't the difference be closer to 2 1/2 times as many loads? Am I quibbling? lol
Has any one with a top loading machinc tried using the amount for a frount loading machine to see if their clothing still comes out clean?
I have an HE top loader, will this recipe work or is there a chance I might break it? (I bought it refurbished so the warranty is not that great)
I have an HE top loader, will this recipe work or is there a chance I might break it? <<
I no longer use this recipe (financially things are not so tight and time being a precious commodity right now I buy my detergent) but did for many years in my top loading machine and it worked just fine.
This soap doesn't suds up like traditional laundry detergent. So I think you will be fine. With the HE washers, I think the issue with traditional laundry detergent is the sudsing....Actually this homemade detergent doesn't suds up at all....I have gone back to using it more lately myself. Try a little bit for your first load and see how your machine acts...but I honestly think you'll be fine. good luck!Quote:
Originally Posted by Keildra