did an experiment ???

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PippiL

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I had some leftover soapbatch and felt like to experiment.At thick pudding trace I just added some coconut oil and some avocado oil and salt and just stirred until it all came all together, just for fun- see how that will turn out, if awful, no waist really.Ok maybe three bars, but I could bare..maybe I could find some other use for it?
I was planning to make laundry soap one of these days, does anybody have a good recipe for a laundry soap?
 
You need 0% superfat for laundry soap. I would make a 100% coconut with 0% superfat. Any superfating oils could get into your clothes and make them dingy.
 
I use a super simple laundry detergent recipe myself, and it makes 4 gallons of detergent.


5 Gallon bucket/container
9oz of cured soap, either grated fine or dissolved in water
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 to 1 cup baking soda, optional
FO to your personal preference

Bring cured soap to a rolling boil in one gallon of water, including any water you used to dissolve the soap in. Allow to cool until just above lukewarm.
Add three gallons of warm water (two for a thicker soap) and the rest of your ingredients. Scent to your preference, and stir thoroughly until all the powders have dissolved. Within a couple of hours, it will have thickened to almost a gel consistency. Use one cup soap for small laundry loads, two cups for large.

I have been making this laundry detergent for my family for about a year now, and it has saved us bookoo bucks. We sat down and worked it out once, and it costs us something like 2 cents a load. I think the cheapest store bought stuff we have ever found was more like 50 cents.
 
Thank you very much for the recipe...that was very nice of you and very helpful, can't wait to make it.... :D
 
Yes, I know there is the little note on there saying "Use only HE detergent in this machine" but I have never had a problem with it, and my machine is HE too. I think most of them are these days.
 
be very careful using real soap in a washing machine if you have hard water. the soap scum can really gum up the works, and your warranty probably won't cover damage done by using non-commercial soaps (and since commercial HE detergents don't leave soap scum, yes - they will know).
 
oh dang. . . just one more way they get you to buy a camercially manufactured item thus reducing your ability to be self reliant. It's a conspiracy :wink:
 
well, I know you are kinda kidding, but in this case they are dead right. detergents don't create soap scum.
 
carebear said:
well, I know you are kinda kidding, but in this case they are dead right. detergents don't create soap scum.

so you got me thinking. . . is there a soap or detergent that you can make that doesn't create soap scum? Because that would be awesome. I actually mostly use store bought detergents because they don't make your clothes dingy but was wondering about fels naptha. Is that a detergent bar or a soap bar? Does it leave soap scum or not. Because that is actually what I use for my home made stuff.
 
you can add chelating agents to your soaps - tetrasodium EDTA, citric acid, and probably others. but how much to add for efficacy, I do not know.

store bought detergents actually have "optical whiteners" which makes things look whiter, which is one reason (probably the primary one) that your clothes look less dingy when you use them.

as for the Fels Naptha - it is soap, and does contain a chelating agent (or two - pentasodium pentetate and/or tetrasodium etidronate) which may help with the soap scum, but to what degree I don't know.
 
I"ve made this laundry soap and to handle any soapy scum that might show up I simply use a vinegar/baking soda solution in the rinse cycle. 8 cups white vinegar, 1 1/2 cup baking soda and 4 cups water. Mix in a large bowl very slowly, a couple of tablespoons at a time---the baking soda will volcano when combined with the vinegar. I add some fragrace of some sort sometimes and keep in a plastic vinegar jug. Just shake it a little and use a cup or so in the rinse cycle.. I promise, your clothes will smell fresh....not like pickles.
 
I was so determind to make my own detergent, but now I'm not sure.I have a front loader, the machine cost 1200 Dollars !! If I would ruin it, that would be awful :cry:
 
falldowngobump said:
I"ve made this laundry soap and to handle any soapy scum that might show up I simply use a vinegar/baking soda solution in the rinse cycle. 8 cups white vinegar, 1 1/2 cup baking soda and 4 cups water. Mix in a large bowl very slowly, a couple of tablespoons at a time---the baking soda will volcano when combined with the vinegar. I add some fragrace of some sort sometimes and keep in a plastic vinegar jug. Just shake it a little and use a cup or so in the rinse cycle.. I promise, your clothes will smell fresh....not like pickles.

Can I ask if this replaces fabric softener? I get really grumpy if I forget my softener and my clothes are a bit rough hehe but would love to use my soap without my washing machine getting scummy :?
 
I have been making it with Fels Naptha soap bar and it is almost sudless. Cleans great. The vinegar leaves the clothes very soft and nice. I think it would work great in a low suds machine. Of course my Maytag is 18 years old and still working great.
 
I made my own laundry detergent using Fels Naptha, Borax, and baking sode and yes it made my clothes dingy and it did leave soap scum. I would periodically have to scrub the tub of the machine. I also tried the vinegar for rinse, but my clothes were never soft and it didn't help with soap scum. After about 8 months I started using my normal detergent - but the clothes were never again white. If you have hard water I don't believe this is a good option. :(
 
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