Laundry Detergent

I went to the grocery yesterday and found a name brand detergent on sale for $17.96 ???

I don't care how "new", "condensed", or "money saving" it claims to be. Almost $18 bucks for soap?

With regards to last1standing, I post the following recipe. We have very hard well water here. Using this homemade detergent, our laundry ends up clean and fresh. I have been using this recipe for over 2 years now. I have saved a lot of money. Friends and family are using it also.

Give it a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. My hat's off to you, last1standing...brilliant!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=389&topic_id=3502520


3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Cold Water

Dissolve Fels Naptha in 3 pints of water over low heat. Add washing soda & Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with cold water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

for at least a fourth of that price. I'm sure the recipe will be handy for many ... THANKS!

i put in mine.

but the detergent is name brand like cheer etc. It just depends on what Big Lots has at the time since they buy overstocks.

I looked it up and realize what it is, but is there a nationwide/well-known chain that carries it?

It's in a big yellow box, usually they put it in our grocery store near the Borax (Hundred Mule Team). You can also get it at the hardware store.

Washing soda is great for boosting the expensive laundry soap too. It softens the water.-- Put a tablespoon in your laundry and you can reduce your detergent by 1/3. (Plus I've been reading that we all use too much detergent anyway.

It should be on the top shelf near the Fels Naptha soap bars.

I had the same question about 2 years ago when I found this recipe for laundry detergent.

I rarely use more than a tsp of detergent though, and when I first got front loaders, I didn't use any because there was so much stored in my clothes.

It doesn't need much. Just two tablespoons of the dry stuff. Not sure about liquid version.

(There, I've squandered my 1000'th post on laundry detergent, rather than some long soliloquy. Doesn't that figure. I think lofty thoughts, write screeds which no one can bear to read and then when I finally hit the big 1000, let it go on suds... Such is life I suppose!)

Such *is* life, indeed. Welcome to 1000+ :hi:

and thanks! It only took me 5 years!

My water is real soft.

But even if your water isn't soft, if your clothes aren't really dirty, you certainly don't need much detergent.

I also put baking soda in every washload. About a handful.

the washing soda is in the detergent aisle with the borax. The Fels-Naptha is on the bottom shelf in the personal care aisle, with the soap.

:thumbsup:

:D

I like the idea of liquifying it first and I'll give it a try.

One thing about it is that if you have sensitive skin, this can make your clothes a little rough. I can't use it on my own clothes, but I use it on my husband (who has the rough tough skin of a carpenter....)

I recommend this recipe though. It really does help you save money. The cost of those detergents is crazy!

I've tried scrubbing mine down with dry soap powder when I thought he needed it, but he just gets pissed off and escapes.

So funny! :fistbump:

and in water savings and soap savings it'll pay for itself in a few more years. uses hardly any soap and the clothes come super clean. I've got this old dark colored tee shirt that I wear when I'm doing dirty work and when we first bought this front loader it was all stained up but now other than being ratty I could wear it to Sunday go meeting, its that clean now.
A few bucks up front to save a bunch of money every day. Thats how it works folks.

Not all of it, mind you. But most of my office work clothes just need the dust and dead skin rinsed out.

To make room for the holiday switchover I imagine? But it is usually anywhere from 25% to 50% off the normal price. I just go get about ten boxes for about ten bucks each instead of $20 each and it lasts us over a year until the next Christmas time sale.

Don

I'll tell my wife about that, she's the boss anyway if you know what I mean. :hi:

Too much soap in the washer and clothes don't get clean. Seriously, you only need like one quarter of the soap recommended on the box.

I usually just watch for the best deal and coupon like crazy. Between the Sunday paper and poking around online, you can come up with some savings. I agree that the prices are absurd, but there are "bargains" to be had with some shopping around.

I am chemically sensitive, and last spring I had a rash that would not go away. I knew it was tied to something I was using, and finally tried eliminating the expensive hypo-allergenic detergent I was using (and had been using for years).

Rash cleared up in about a half month. Been using it ever since. Great stuff.

For years I have had itchy skin on my back and upper arms. It was a rash but only in spots. Pretty severe to the point that I would sometimes want to scream. Cortisone was my only relief. Could not find out what was causing it.

About as year ago, on a gamble, I bought a big container of 'Sun' Free & Clear Hypo Allergenic Detergent(made by Huish, Salt Lake City, UT) at the grocery store. After a few weeks of use, the rash was about 90% better.

It is also $4.99 for 117 fluid ounces. Far cheaper and does a great job on my clothes. I've converted many to this brand. They also offer detergents that are not Hypo-Allergenic.

Add washing soda, borax - remove from heat. Add 2 quarts hot water, stir. Add 2-3/4 gallon water. Cover for 24 hours. Makes 6 coffee cans, about a six month supply for 3-4 dollars.

I run into problems with hypo allergenic detergent when they either reformulate, or substitute. Stay with what works, but if you get a rash again, try either recipe.

Oh, and it is low suds.

We'll see how it works.

I also cannot believe how expensive the big name laundry detergents are. I only buy Gain, my favorite, when I have a coupon and it's on sale....as a treat.

I have some of that. It was %15, but it will literally last me nine months or more. And, it is 100% natural.

Sorry, there's no way I will spend time making my own laundry detergent anymore than I would make my own clothes.

If we cannot somehow get laundry detergent, then likely the raw ingredients from which it is made will not be available either. At that time having laundry soap may be the least of our problems.

Between Y2K and the threat of societal collapse from peak oil I have enough information concerning what is now the quaintness and then necessity of self sufficiency. It's all well and fine until somebody exercising their Second Amendment rights comes to take it away from you.

For now I'll just enjoy buying what I need. For now, for me, it's enough to make my own meals from scratch or even cooking. That's al the "making" I want to do.

It was always good for patching gas tanks, temporarily of course.

"It's all well and fine until somebody exercising their Second Amendment rights comes to take it away from you."

That's why the first thing that a govt does in a real catastrophe is confiscate civilians' guns. Witness Katrina.

The second amendment is a joke.

A lot of rights and freedoms get suspended.

for such an event.

I think we agree that in these times, the 2nd amendment is a joke.

:bounce: :bounce: :nuke: :bounce: :bounce:

Nobody was calling you out specifically to say YOU should be making your own laundry soap.

The OP's point was that things many of us once took for granted like being able to afford laundry detergent are becoming a hardship for people because of the economy. Some of those things we can make cheaper, and better quality - like baking your own bread if you don't want HFCS and preservatives in it.

A lot of people are out of work or working part time because they can't get a full time job. Some of us who aren't in that position now may find ourselves in that boat in the future. If somebody's going to share a way to save a fair amount of money each month with people who may have a lot of extra time on their hands due to unemployment, why not just thank them? If it doesn't seem like a fair amount of money to you, that's fortunate for you.

For some, investing an hour to save $20 is a something to be thankful for. Most of us don't make $20 an hour. If we work minimum wage, by the time FICA and all that is withheld and transportation and child care costs are figured in, it's half a day's work or more just to earn the money to buy laundry soap for a month.

Your post sounds like you consider yourself above it all, with the implication being that you are somehow superior to those who are underemployed and struggling to make ends meet. That attitude can come off as arrogant and offensive to those who have less than you.

machine manufacturers often advise not to use washing soda. Borax gets the OK but not the soda, don't ask me why.

why I do not make my own DW powder. The new machines call for using a TBS or 1-1/2 TBS, so a large box lasts 6 months.

Soapberry tree

Soap´ber`ry tree`
1. (Bot.) Any tree of the genus Sapindus, esp. Sapindus saponaria, the fleshy part of whose fruit is used instead of soap in washing linen; - also called soap tree.

The Soapberry Tree
http://newlifeonahomestead.com/2010/06/the-soapberry-tree/
Have you heard of Soap Nuts yet? I know some of you have. Soap Nuts are an all natural laundry detergent, which are actual berries from the Asian Soapberry Tree. They are the new big thing. Although I haven’t had a chance to try them yet, I’ve heard amazing things! From what I understand, you put three “nuts” in a small cloth bag and throw it into your wash in the place of detergents. They are supposed to last through three loads before they need to be replaced.

(I have used them, they work very well)

Paper clothing + eraser = clean clothing, no detergent, no water.



works for me...

:7

:D

or buy what is on sale at the right store.

key seems to be the number of loads the container says you can get out of it.

I didn't have a coupon this time.

HOWEVER: If I did not have an HE machine I would totally give your recipe a shot. I love seeing stuff like this posted :)

White vinegar is the best cleaner around, btw.

http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

There are good comments below. I've been making a dry mix for a while - since I only do about two loads a week I was worried the liquid would get yucky.

Without milk.

Initial investment: $8.08

Fels Naptha: $1.29 (found it at Ace Hardware)
Borax: $4 (found at Meijers)
Washing Soda: $2.79 (found at Meijers)


Per gallon cost: $0.42

1/6 bar Fels Naptha: $0.215
1/38 box borax (quarter cup): $0.105
1/27.5 box washing soda (quarter cup): $0.10


Per load cost: just over a penny

32 half cups in a gallon, .42/32= $0.013

Tip: The fels naptha was soft enough it went through the grating disk of my food processor just like a block of cheddar cheese. I grated the whole bar and used 1 1/2 cups each of the borax and soda to make a super concentrate. One sixth of that and enough water to fill my gallon jug makes the right strength. The concentrate should last for 192 loads - well over a year, and virtually no work other than washing a food processor and hitting it with the stick blender to mix well.