Making your own laundry detergent

A number of people have asked how I make my laundry detergent. This is the bones of a recipe I’ve seen floating around the Internet, with slight modifications.

Why go to the trouble?

First, it’s hardly any trouble at all. Start to finish, it takes about half an hour to 45 minutes; and I tend to be slow and overly careful, so it may take you a much shorter time.

Second, the time is well worth the money you save. This makes about two gallons of detergent, and it costs a whopping $3.10. And that’s because I use expensive soap.

You will need:
* Borax, found on the laundry aisle of most grocery stores.
* Washing soda. This one's tougher, and do not confuse it with baking soda, even though it is made by Arm & Hammer. I find it on the laundry aisle of my local King Soopers, but that's the only place I can find it. Soapsgonebuy.com carries it, but it's pricey; Google it and see if you can come up with a local source before you order it.
* A bar of soap. I like Dr. Bronner's, which drives the price up but I save overall so I justify it. You can use Fels-Naptha, also on the laundry aisle; Kirk's Castile, which I've used too; or Ivory if you are so inclined. The main thing to avoid is moisturizing soaps (for example, Dove).
* A pot. I have a really mangy soap pot dedicated for the purpose (also for making soap and for keeping a pot of water on the wood stove).
* A cheese grater.
* A bucket or bin with a lid capable of holding as much as three gallons. I got mine at Kmart for three bucks.

Start out by grating your bar of soap. Be careful as you get to the end; I hope I don't need to tell you. Right after we shot this photo, I grated my finger, which I had burned earlier that day. I didn't enjoy that.

Put your fun little soap shavings in the soap pot along with six cups of water. Melt them together on medium to medium-low heat, stirring continuously until the soap is melted. It kind of looks like toenails as it gets to the end. Pretend you're the bad guy in a fairy tale, making something "delectable" for lost children in the woods. Cackle. It will make your kids laugh.



Once the soap and water mix is running clear, pour in a cup of washing soda and a cup of borax. Add essential oils if you like them -- I didn't this time because I was using lavender soap, but feel free.

Keep stirring on medium to medium-low heat until the powders are dissolved and there's no grainy "spoon-feel" at all. You will notice it thickening considerably.



Add four cups of hot water to your bucket (which is what you'll use to store it), pour your cooked mixture in, and stir. I'm not sure what the science behind this is, why you need to pour the hot water in first, but the first directions I got said to do this and so I stick with it. Stir once the soap's in.



Next, you're going to pour in a gallon and a half of cold water -- I'm guessing this is to stop any "cooking" action this mixture is continuing to do. I use a repurposed 1.5 gallon bottle for this purpose, but any way you want to measure it will do.



And ... that's it. You're done. All there is is the waiting. You can use it immediately, or you can let it sit, and in about a day it will have thickened into a rather thick, gloppy, congealed and kind of fun mass. This photo was taken a couple of hours later and, as you can see, it's already starting to look very different.



To use this, I use a coffee cup and measure anywhere from a half to a full cup, depending on the size and filthiness of the load. It works pretty well, although obviously you don't want to let real stains sit too long without washing because it won't be much help there. And I had to rewash a couple of loads after a stomach bug ripped through the house (hence the minimal posting as of late). But, in general, I have been really pleased with this, and I hope you will be too. Enjoy!