I want to make my own launrdy detergent

[santimar]

Hi, I also make my Laundry powder detergent but I have a questions, which is the best way to add fragrance to it ( adding fragrance when making the coconut oil soap or after the detergent is done adding drops to the finished powder)? I have added Lavender Essential oil to the finished laundry powder detergent but I can't smell it after the clothes are washed and I hate the smell the fels naptha soap have and I can smell it after I wash my clothes so I don't use it anymore I make my own 100% coconut Oil.
thank you so much....

 

[Saponista]

What recipe do you use seawolfe?

 

[Saponista]

I add sweet orange EO to the finished powder which you can still smell when it comes out the machine, but it doesn't smell at all once the clothes have dried.

 

[santimar]

I use 2 cups of grated soap, 1 washing soda and 1 borax.....

 

[Seawolfe]

I use 2 cups of grated soap, 1 washing soda and 1 borax.....

This is exactly what I use. 2 parts grated soap to 1 part borax & 1 part washing soda.

I have chunks of the laundry soap for stain sticks, and sometimes add oxyclean if. But 90% of the time its just 2 tbsp of the laundry powder.

 

[sfnelson67]

I got a lot of information from here, which matches what I have found myself, but sums it up nicely: http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2012/05/ten-things-laundry.html

That's where I got the most informative info myself. The components of making laundry detergent were broken down and it was explained what was necessary and what was not. I think she posted she was going to make her own enzymes to go with. I wasn't feeling that froggy..lol

Many are going by recipes that really don't work. My mother tried to make her own using Dove...big big "no no". That lasted a few months before she noticed her clothes were dingy and she had a disgusting ring inside her washer. She didn't know about the importance of not using superfatted moisturizing soap bars or the vinegar rinse. Me, I'm a known sceptic and Google-aholic. So I dug and researched until I was completely satisfied I found what I wanted. I also tested out a few myself.

I know many are looking for more natural alternatives but I look at it this way, you can't breathe without inhaling something that might be a carcinogen. I'm eventually gonna kick the bucket and I want my clothes to smell and look good when I do. JMO

 

[jade-15]

A (possibly) silly question...
I am out of coconut oil and I have a lot of PKO... would a 100% PKO soap work as well (or nearly as well) as a 100% CO?
I know in most cases they can be substituted for on another, but I was wondering if a laundry soap is a different sort of case? (Also I'm assuming it's not going to work for salt bars too...)

 

[The Efficacious Gentleman]

I make mine with no borax, as it is less common than hen's teeth here. I do add in baking powder to each wash, but next time I make a batch it will be added in to the mix already.

I think it is an idea to scent the soap, but maybe HP so it keeps it a bit better. At the moment we keep a wee bottle of Lavender EO by the washing machine and put about 10 drops or so in per load

 

[lenarenee]

Can someone clear this up for me; I can't find a definitive source of info, even at company websites for borax and washing soda.

I thought using washing soda in laundry soap wasn't needed if you have softened water (which we do). I use 50/50 lard/co, borax. Biz for whites. I don't rinse with vinegar because I though soft water rinsed well.

Does washing soda contribute to cleaning? Does Borax? (if you have soft water)

 

[jade-15]

As far as I'm aware, washing soda has morning to do with water softness but with pH. Soap is a high pH which can cause problems over time with your clothes (increase wear and tear). Washing soda helps keep the pH lower and so better for clothes.
If you click on the link above there is lots of useful information about the different ingredients.

 

[DeeAnna]

I think the gal writing the littlehouseinthesuburbs (LHITS) blog makes some good points. I'm re-thinking my laundry soap recipe based on what she has to say. Here are a few tidbits from my own notes:

Sodium Borate (borax, Na2B4O7·10H2O), whitens, cleans, deodorizes. pH 9.5.
Sodium Bicarbonate (baking soda, NaHCO3), fabric softener, pH buffer, odor neutralizer, secondary water softener. pH 8.1.
Sodium Carbonate (washing soda, Na2CO3), primary water softener, stain remover, degreaser. pH 11.

The LHITS blogger is pretty firm in her conclusions about what makes an effective laundry soap, and it really does sound like she's done her homework. Her conclusions: First, a liquid laundry soap should be soap + borax. Second, she says a dry laundry soap should be soap + sodium carbonate (washing soda, WS) blended in a 50:50 mixture. Third, there's no point to using baking soda at all in laundry soap.

According to her, washing soda is a more effective cleaner than borax, so ideally you'd use WS in all laundry soap formulations, but WS is not stable in a liquid formulation. So borax is the next-best option if you want a liquid laundry soap.

A tip -- if you can't find washing soda, you can easily make your own from baking soda. From David Fisher at about.com:

Preheat your oven to approximately 390° - 400° Fahrenheit. (200° C) Pour a box (or a few cups) of baking soda (not baking powder) onto a baking sheet, and put it in the oven. Bake the baking soda from 30-60 minutes. I've seen reports of people baking it as little as 30 minutes - and people baking it as long as 2 hours. It doesn't appear that over-baking it is a problem...so I'd recommend 45-60 minutes just to assure that the chemical reaction is completely complete. After pulling the baking sheet out of the oven and letting it cool, store the washing soda in aclearly labeled airtight container. The washing soda can "convert" back into baking soda if it's exposed to air. Source: http://candleandsoap.about.com/od/tipstricks/ht/How-To-Convert-Baking-Soda-To-Washing-Soda.htm

Speaking from experience, the converted washing soda will weigh about 2/3rds the weight of the baking soda you started with, so buy about half again as much baking soda so you have enough washing soda for your project.

 

[jade-15]

DeeAnna, so does sodium carbonate/washing soda NOT lower the pH of regular soap? That pH of 11 just looks higher than I thought it would be - I haven't done much research into this topic at all though!

 

[lenarenee]

No disrespect to the writer of the Little House blog, but I don't see any facts in her article. She uses phrases like "I guess, this may, may not, etc." The link in the article isn't working, so I can't see what info was in the database; she does describe it as a list of commercial formulas. If all it contains are lists of ingredients, then she makes a lot of suppositions solely based on those. Unless she has obtained facts from another source, then her blog is full guessing. That's not the kind of information I'm looking for.

We live in a semi-arid, and drought ridden part of California with a huge population and a shrinking water supply from the Colorado river. I'm trying to use only the necessary parts of a laundry formula to limit stress on the water system.

DeeAnna, thanks for sharing your notes. Right now, it seems to me that borax brings more to the formula than washing soda since the ws seems to be more a softener than cleaner. Our water is softened. I haven't been using my laundry soap long, so I will see how it works over the next month and re-evaluate the formula is necessary.

 

[Saponista]

I'm mulling over the idea of making some plain soleseife (brine soap) and using this as laundry detergent as it lathers beautifully. Not sure how effective it would be though.

 

[Seawolfe]

Lots of lather is not desirable for laundry soap in washing machines, especially not in HE ones. Which I guess makes it counter intuitive that I use 100% coconut oil soap, but its just a Tbsp or less of grated soap per load.

But I do wonder what salt would bring to the laundry party?

 

[Dorymae]

Interesting! Salt is a water softener so it could conceivably be a welcome addition. It also cuts down suds which could help if you use a he washer.

Oh no....I feel another experiment coming on....mwahhhhhhh

 

[lizflowers42]

I'm pretty sure that the Purex Crystals added in the recipe would be similar to using brine soap, since the Purex Crystals are primarily salt and fragrance. http://happymoneysaver.com/homemade-fabric-softener-crystals-recipe-just-2-ingredients/

Someone did point out though that using epsom salts is not the same as sodium chloride, soooo..keep that in mind

 

[Saponista]

Are HE machines the ones that use less water rather than the massive ones with a flap on top that use loads of water? I think all EU machines are required to use less water and be efficient so we don't really define the difference. Mine also has the ability to detect too many suds and rinses more water through so too many suds won't cause a problem. I may give it a go and compare the cleaning power of the 100%CO I normally use.

 

[DeeAnna]

"...No disrespect to the writer of the Little House blog, but I don't see any facts in her article...."

I'm a skeptic too, so I am always on the lookout for "blue sky" theories and wishful thinking. What I was able to find to corroborate her point of view made me think this gal really has done a decent job of researching her topic.

"... The link in the article isn't working...."

The link opened up for me without any trouble to the National Institute of Health database for household products. When you go to the laundry detergent subset of the database ...

http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.go...nside+the+Home&purpose=laundry&type=Detergent

... there is a long list of laundry detergents available to research. Given that the database is from a reputable source and covers a wide variety of laundry detergents, I'm inclined to think the conclusions she's drawn about what works and what doesn't in a laundry soap are based on concrete data. Here are a couple of examples:

Here's Tide laundry detergent, powder, with bleach. I did a quick translation of the ingredients.

Enzyme(s)
Surfactant(s) <--detergent
Sodium carbonate <-- washing soda
Sodium aluminosilicate <--anti-caking agent
Sodium carbonate peroxide <-- oxygen bleach
Alkyl (C10-C16) benzenesulfonic acid, sodium salt <--detergent
Sodium C12-18 fatty alcohol sulfate <--detergent

Here's Tide liquid detergent. I translated some of the ingredients.

Fragrance(s)/perfume(s)
Fatty acids (unspecified)
Alcohol ethoxylate
Ethanol/SD Alcohol 40
Diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA)
Citric acid
Monoethanolamine (MEA)
Sodium Formate
Calcium formate
Sodium tetraborate anhydrous <-- borax
Laureth-9 <-- detergent
Diaminostilbene disulphonate disodium salt <-- optical brightener
Water
Amylase <-- enzyme
Proteinase <-- enzyme
Dimethicone <-- silicone
Sodium cumenesulphonate <-- viscosity modifier, solubilizer
Alkyl benzene sulfonate <-- detergent
Mannanase <-- enzyme
Liquitint Blue <-- color
Alcoholethoxy sulfate
Diquaternium ethoxysulfate

I don't see baking soda (NaHCO2) on either ingredient list. I do see borax on the liquid and washing soda on the powder, but I don't see washing soda in the liquid nor borax in the powder.

Speaking for myself, I have to say the Tide powder has fewer ingredients that are more straightforward -- detergents, oxygen bleach, washing soda, enzymes, and an anti-caking agent -- compared with the liquid. I also note the ingredients in the powder are not greatly different from many of the homemade laundry soap recipes floating around, especially the ones that don't use borax or baking soda.

But, as always, YMMV.

 

[Dorymae]

Are HE machines the ones that use less water rather than the massive ones with a flap on top that use loads of water? I think all EU machines are required to use less water and be efficient so we don't really define the difference. Mine also has the ability to detect too many suds and rinses more water through so too many suds won't cause a problem. I may give it a go and compare the cleaning power of the 100%CO I normally use.

Yes HE (high efficiency) washers are the front loading washers that use small amounts of water. I think you can get them here with the sensor as well (for suds) but mine is an older one and doesn't include it.