As it stands in this wonderful country of ours it cost around $11 to do 64 loads of laundry! Yes folks, thats how much we pay for soap to do our laundry. Its a crying shame. How does $15ish for 250ish loads sound? Better huh..? Keep reading...
Being a huge fan of the Duggars I became aware of homemade laundry detergent a few years ago. It looked complicated and with just my husband (who works an office job) and I, there just wasn't that much laundry needing to be done. I filed the homemade notion away in a dormant part of my brain and moved on with my life. Fast forward a few years and we have a baby. Between, poop, pee, food, spit up, diaper covers, dirt, etc our weekly laundry load started to grow significantly. It wasn't long before I realized how expensive this all was. Accessing that dormant part of my brain I looked for that old Duggar recipe and decided to make it myself. My only complaint was that I had to have a HUGE tub around to store it and I wasn't a huge fan of the smell. Nothing against the Fels Naptha bar but lets me honest, its no Gain. Like I always do, I started researching. The dry detergent was a good option but wasn't as good a value. I ended up finding a few recipes for concentrated liquid BUT the smell was the same. Then the most amazing thing happened, I discovered scent boosters. I experimented a little with my existing batch to get the smell just right but I think I have landed on a recipe that will be the best value, a smaller volume, and something that smells every bit as good as store bought scented detergent. Lets get started.
Here is What you will need:
*Washing Soda
*Borax
*Fel Naptha bar (I have heard Zote or any castille soap bar will work but I have not tested it myself)
*Oxy-Clean (Or any other powdered oxygen cleaner. This will boost the power of your detergent)
*Scent Boosters (My all time favorite is Gain Fireworks but I made this batch with my sister in law and we used the Downy Unstoppables so that is what is pictured)
*Cheese grater
*Pot
*4 1 Quart sized containers
*Kitchen Aid, Blender, or any other electric mixer
Recipe
2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups Borax
2 bars Fels Naptha
2 1/2 cups Oxy-Clean
1 1/2 cups Scent Booster
6 cups Water (you will add additional water later)
Start off by putting the pot on the stove on high with 6 cups of water. While it heats, grate the 2 bars of Fels Naptha. By the time you are finished grating the water should be hot enough to add the grated soap. Keep stirring or the soap/water mixture will over flow. When it all has melted it will look like this.
Next, turn heat down to low and add the scent booster and stir. It wont take long to completely dissolve and it smells absolutely amazing. Then take off heat and add Washing Soda, Borax, and Oxy-Clean. Add them one cup at a time and stir continuously. It will start to thicken up and look like this.
As it cools it will continue to thicken and the Oxy-Clean will clump so whisk it till the clumps are minimal. It should look like this.
Now its time to put it in the containers. Divide the mixture equally into the 4 1 quart containers/jars. Fill with water and stir it all together.
Cover with plastic wrap and put all containers on a tray. They will leak and the top will grow. In 8 hours it will look like this.
Yes, this is a scary sight but it also means your doing it right. The thick stuff on top may be a bit hard but that is also alright. Next, empty the contents of the containers into your mixer/blender. I used my Kitchen Aid because I have one and I love it. I used the whisk attachment. When I dumped it in it looked like this.
After whipping it for about 2 minutes it looks like this.
Your almost done! Just portion the mixture back into the washed out containers/jars and seal the tops and there you are. Yes I realize that this is only one 1 quart jar and I said you needed 4. This is because I did this at my sister-in-laws and I took only one home with me so I could finish the project to post it for you lovely people.
Store in a cool dark place. You only have to use 1 Tablespoon a load because this mixture is concentrated. Should be good for around 250ish loads and your wash will come out looking and smelling even better than it did with the expensive junk. This detergent is great for both regular washing machines as well as HE. I really hope you enjoy this recipe, it is currently my crowning glory in the world of soap/detergent making.
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