Since I've been making potions and concoctions lately, when I ran out of laundry detergent I decided it was time to make my own. I'm OK with buying detergent, but I liked the Seventh Generation Unscented Powder Laundry Detergent and now I can't find it anywhere. What did I like so much about that particular product? It came in a cardboard box. . . low impact packaging, no big plastic tops that aren't accepted with recycling.
There are recipes all over the internet, and the one I followed was 1 bar laundry soap {for a gal used to unscented everything I found out Fels Naptha soap is very scented, albeit like soap, but still very strong}, 2 cups borax, and 2 cups washing soda**.
**Except that I couldn't find washing soda so I subbed powdered dish detergent {ahem. . . Seventh Generation Unscented Powder Dish Detergent in a cardboard box} and added 1/2 cup extra because even though the first ingredient is washing soda, it has a few other ingredients in it.
Grate the bar soap, mix it all together and use it like you would any other powdered soap. I use 1/8th a cup for a medium to large load.
Since I read all over the world wild web to find out how to make this stuff I came to several conclusions: 1) Use laundry soap, not skin soap. Maybe the castille bar recipe works well, too? It just seems the people who weren't happy with how well the soap performed used Ivory or some other skin bar. 2) People seem to think this recipe makes an unscented soap. . . again, Fels Naptha is strong if you're not used to added fragrances which makes me think we're all walking around with desensitized nostrils. Am I the only one who can smell people doing laundry inside when I take a walk around the neighborhood?? Yes, I can also smell your clothes from 10 feet away and it gives me a headache. 3) The recipe cleans just as well as any powder I've used in recent history.
Alright, alright, I'll step down from my soap box. Have you made your own detergent? How'd you like it if you did? Do you use detergent from the store? If so, what brand keeps you satisfied?
There are recipes all over the internet, and the one I followed was 1 bar laundry soap {for a gal used to unscented everything I found out Fels Naptha soap is very scented, albeit like soap, but still very strong}, 2 cups borax, and 2 cups washing soda**.
**Except that I couldn't find washing soda so I subbed powdered dish detergent {ahem. . . Seventh Generation Unscented Powder Dish Detergent in a cardboard box} and added 1/2 cup extra because even though the first ingredient is washing soda, it has a few other ingredients in it.
Grate the bar soap, mix it all together and use it like you would any other powdered soap. I use 1/8th a cup for a medium to large load.
Since I read all over the world wild web to find out how to make this stuff I came to several conclusions: 1) Use laundry soap, not skin soap. Maybe the castille bar recipe works well, too? It just seems the people who weren't happy with how well the soap performed used Ivory or some other skin bar. 2) People seem to think this recipe makes an unscented soap. . . again, Fels Naptha is strong if you're not used to added fragrances which makes me think we're all walking around with desensitized nostrils. Am I the only one who can smell people doing laundry inside when I take a walk around the neighborhood?? Yes, I can also smell your clothes from 10 feet away and it gives me a headache. 3) The recipe cleans just as well as any powder I've used in recent history.
Alright, alright, I'll step down from my soap box. Have you made your own detergent? How'd you like it if you did? Do you use detergent from the store? If so, what brand keeps you satisfied?