A Little Dirty Laundry

So if you've been out in the blogosphere lately, or just cruising on Pinterest, I KNOW you've seen all the posts about homemade laundry detergent.  Well, I too made a batch a while ago, and found I quite liked it, yet felt it was missing something.

First, let me say I didn't try this for economy sakes, but rather an interest of "does it really work".  And if so, the economic part is a plus, but I will be especially happy to be rid of the plastic jugs.  I recycle, but still hate seeing those plastic jugs...

So the first batch I made with a bar of Ivory soap and 2 cups each of Borax and Arm & Hammer Washing Soda.  I like it just fine, and is a great virtually unscented option.  But I like fragrance, so after seeing a few pictures on Pinterest, I gathered some new ingredients:

Note the addition of the Oxi-Clean and the Purex Scent Crystals , which is a fragrance additive for laundry (NOTE: if you are sensitive to fragrances, SKIP THIS, as it's quite strong and overpowering, though smells nice on the clean laundry).  I also threw in a box of plain old baking soda, which is supposed to help clean and soften.

Then I grated up 2 bars of Fels-Naptha, to try a different soap:

This also adds some fragrance.  Throw it all in a big container and mix.  Or, if you're like me and realize a partially opened box of Borax gets clumpy, you break out the immersion blender and go to town.

Careful if you do this - it's messy and creates a ton of dust, but it was effective!  I then added all the other items in the picture and mixed and mixed, and voila:

Since I only had about a cup left of my earlier Ivory soap batch, I threw that in here as well.  

To put the quantity into perspective, I mixed this all up in a 2.4 gallon Rubbermaid container.  It's full.  And the best part? You only need 1-2 Tablespoons PER LOAD.  I just kept the Oxi-Clean scooper and use that.  

How does it work? Well, first, I have a High-Efficiency Front Load washer, which are supposed to be finicky when it comes to detergent. So far I haven't had any issues with EITHER version of the soap.  And I almost always wash on the cold cycle.  And so far, my clothes are super soft, very clean, and smell great.  I'm actually really, shockingly, pleased with it.  

How long does it take to make it? Not long.  The longest process is grating the bar soap - maybe 10 minutes of grating by hand, which I could skip if I would just use my Food Processor, but it's a FOOD processor and I can't bring myself to use it on soap.  I would say start to finish, it was MAYBE a 20 minute process. And I estimate I have enough soap to last at least a few months, if not longer (whereas a bottle would last me a couple weeks...).

And finally, cost? Well, here is where you will have to google and see what others tell you.  I'm not a math person, and frankly it was more about the "huh, what's that like?" than anything else.  But I HAVE read others say it works out to just a few cents per load, so assuming their math is spot-on, it's a good deal. :)

Bottom line - it was fun to make something useful, and especially fun once I realized I loved the results.  I honestly think this is the best laundry soap I've used yet. Smells good, cleaned well, and left clothes and towels soft and fluffy, without the Snuggle Bear. :)