I have been making my own laundry detergent for over a year, now and am VERY happy with the results. When we moved, however, my whites started not looking quite as white. So I’ve been playing with detergent recipes to get a good combination that seems to work and here it is:
1 bar ivory soap
1 cup washing powder (not baking powder, Arm & Hammer Washing Powder is at Walmart and Kroger on the detergent aisle)
1/2 cup baking soda
1 cup Borax
1 c. Purex Powdered Bleach
I take a 3″ deep frying pan and pour in about a 1/2 gallon of water. Bring to a boil and add the bar of Ivory soap (shred it first). After the ivory dissolves, remove from heat and add the washing powder, baking soda, borax and powdered bleach. Stir well. Fill 3 1-gallon jugs 1/2 way with water and distribute the concentrate from the frying pan into the jugs (a good ladle and funnel helps a LOT). Fill each jug up to about 2″ from the top – you’ll want to leave some good shaking room because it will gel up. Just shake right before you use it and it’s fine.
Use 1/2 cup for regular loads, 3/4 cup for heavy stained loads. I have made 3 batches of this recipe and each batch makes just under 3 gallons and lasts about 3 months. I do 4-6 loads of laundry per week for my family of 4. I haven’t even used half of the washing powder borax or purex bleach, yet. MUCH cheaper than buying Tide (or even the cheap storebrand stuff)…
Have you ever used Fels Naptha soap? Do you prefer Ivory over that? Just curious. Most recipes I’ve seen use the Fels. I’ve been making liquid with Ivory and it’s been fine but I’ve heard the Fels does an even better job. Also wondering if this recipe is OK for colored laundry.
I’ve tried using Fels Naptha and there was a residue on the clothes and the inside of my washer. That’s when I switched to Ivory and haven’t had that problem since. The powdered Purex bleach I use is color safe. I’ve also had people asking me about the HE front loading machines – my cousin in VA used this recipe and said it worked just fine in her HE machine… I think she decreased the amount of detergent since front loaders use less water.
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