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Recipe - homemade laundry detergent
Nov. 6th, 2021 07:04 amThis popped up in my feed today. I'm wondering about the feasibility of omitting the water step and just making dry detergent. I remember the Miss Read books talking about grating laundry soap as part of washing up and I remember having dry detergent.
Trying to make my own might save money and would eliminate some plastic waste.
==============================
Ingredients :--
½ cup borax
1 bar of soap
½ cup sodium carbonate
2 gallons of water
1 ounce of essential oils (optional)
Tools :--
Grater
Large bucket (must hold more than 2 gallons)
Preparation time :--
About 20 minutes (plus 24 hours of resting)
Grate the soap into a large pot and dissolve it in 6 cups of hot water. Put it on the stove and heat it on medium for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the soap completely dissolves. Don’t let it get too hot—you only want to help the blending process.
You’ll need 2 gallons of warm water in total, but you’re not going to pour it all at once. First, fill your bucket with 13 cups of water, then pour in the melted soap and stir.
Put on some gloves and cover your mouth and nose—use a surgical mask or any kind of cotton fabric, such as a bandana—when you add the borax and sodium carbonate. This will thicken the mix, so stir well to make sure everything is blending properly.
Pour the rest of the water into the bucket four cups at a time as you continue to stir. If the mix gets too thick, you can use an immersion blender. Make sure to wash the tool thoroughly afterward so there’s no risk of getting any detergent in your food.
If you want to add scent to your laundry detergent, this is your chance. Add up to 1 ounce of the essential oil(s) of your choosing and stir to blend.
Cover your bucket and let it sit for 24 hours. After that, the mixture will look like a gel with a lumpy consistency, but despair not—the soap will dissolve easily in the washing machine if you give it a little shake before using it.
If you think the detergent is too thick, you can always add more water. Just keep in mind that the less concentrated it is, the less cleaning power it will have. For large loads, just use one cup of detergent.
And finally, since you’re probably not used to having a lot of detergent bottles at home at once, remember to store both the detergent and the remainder of the ingredients away from children and pets.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent?utm_source=pocket-newtab
Trying to make my own might save money and would eliminate some plastic waste.
==============================
Ingredients :--
½ cup borax
1 bar of soap
½ cup sodium carbonate
2 gallons of water
1 ounce of essential oils (optional)
Tools :--
Grater
Large bucket (must hold more than 2 gallons)
Preparation time :--
About 20 minutes (plus 24 hours of resting)
Grate the soap into a large pot and dissolve it in 6 cups of hot water. Put it on the stove and heat it on medium for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly until the soap completely dissolves. Don’t let it get too hot—you only want to help the blending process.
You’ll need 2 gallons of warm water in total, but you’re not going to pour it all at once. First, fill your bucket with 13 cups of water, then pour in the melted soap and stir.
Put on some gloves and cover your mouth and nose—use a surgical mask or any kind of cotton fabric, such as a bandana—when you add the borax and sodium carbonate. This will thicken the mix, so stir well to make sure everything is blending properly.
Pour the rest of the water into the bucket four cups at a time as you continue to stir. If the mix gets too thick, you can use an immersion blender. Make sure to wash the tool thoroughly afterward so there’s no risk of getting any detergent in your food.
If you want to add scent to your laundry detergent, this is your chance. Add up to 1 ounce of the essential oil(s) of your choosing and stir to blend.
Cover your bucket and let it sit for 24 hours. After that, the mixture will look like a gel with a lumpy consistency, but despair not—the soap will dissolve easily in the washing machine if you give it a little shake before using it.
If you think the detergent is too thick, you can always add more water. Just keep in mind that the less concentrated it is, the less cleaning power it will have. For large loads, just use one cup of detergent.
And finally, since you’re probably not used to having a lot of detergent bottles at home at once, remember to store both the detergent and the remainder of the ingredients away from children and pets.
https://getpocket.com/explore/item/how-to-make-your-own-laundry-detergent?utm_source=pocket-newtab
