Many months ago I got the idea in my head to make laundry detergent. As is the case with most things, it took me a while to convert that idea into action. I spent quite a bit of time doing research on "The Google" and trying to decide on the perfect recipe. I wasn't too crazy about the idea of a powdered detergent, so I himhawed around (that's what we say in the south about procrastinators...bless their hearts) about actually doing it. Also, I liked the smell of my Tide Sport with Febreeze. I wasn't overly anxious to actually give it up.
In November of last year I noticed that my son had a little dry patch of skin on his ankle. It was small, about the size of a pencil eraser. I put lotions on it after his bath and it went away. We did several rounds of it coming and going like that, and I thought it was just a simple case of dry skin...no big deal. Well, in January the dry patch came back. This time it grew. It grew and it grew until it had snaked up his leg and developed into an ugly rash behind his knee. Now there we were with what I was sure was eczema. I did what any GOOD hippie would do and I switched him to an organic bath wash and started slathering him down with coconut oil. NO. It got worse. Daddy Nev, disapproving of all things hippie, looked on disapprovingly as the rash spread up his trunk, down his arms and into his hairline. When we took them to the pediatrician for their vaccinations (which were late, and another story for another day) we brought it up with the doctor. She agreed that it was eczema and gave us some cream with a name I can't pronounce, and it cleared the rash right up.
In the midst of all this I decided it was time to sacrifice my Tide and Bounty, and look for an alternative that would be 1) gentle on my son's skin and 2) inexpensive. I came across a blog called My Merry Messy Life and I decided to use her recipe for liquid laundry detergent. Since my son was having skin issues I ordered the Dr. Bronner's Baby Mild Castile Soap instead of one of the scented varieties.
So, here is the Laundry Detergent Recipe.
Since the primary reason for making the detergent was the eczema, I opted to skip the Borax and go with baking soda.
Attempt #1
I warmed up 2 cups of water in a saucepan on medium high heat. When the water was almost boiling I poured in the super washing soda and then the baking soda. I started stirring, and as I stirred the concoction in the boiler turned into sort of a Play-Doh consistency. Eventually I had almost no water left and nothing was dissolving. It was a mess. Yuck. Thankfully I screwed it up before I added the castile soap. I trashed that mess and washed my pan.
Attempt #2
I warmed up 2 cups of water in a saucepan on medium high heat. When the water was almost boiling I poured in the super washing soda and stirred until it was dissolved. I then measured out my baking soda and poured it in the pan. It IMMEDIATELY hardened into rock hard lumps and would not dissolve no matter what I did. Another bombed attempt. I trashed that mess and washed my pan.
Attempt #3
I warmed up FOUR cups of water in a saucepan on medium high heat. When the
water was almost boiling I poured in the super washing soda and stirred
until it was dissolved. I then measured out my baking soda and poured it little by little into the pan WHILE stirring constantly. I added about 1 TBSP at a time and made sure it was fully dissolved before adding more. This time it all dissolved perfectly! I added the castile soap, stirred it up and then poured it in my bucket of water. Now, the recipe called for 2 gallons of water, but I only used 1 gallon. Honestly, I only had one gallon jug, so the decision to make it more concentrated was borne mainly out of necessity. However, it worked out just fine. The 4 cups of solution from my pan with the 1 gallon of water allowed me to fill an empty one gallon vinegar jug and 2 small glass jars. I gave the glass jars to my parents so they could serve as my guinea pigs. :)
Review
I could not be more thrilled with how this detergent turned out and how it works! Since it's a bit more concentrated than the original recipe intended I use 2.5 TBSP per load instead of 1/3 cup. To make things easier I just took a Sharpie marker and made a line on a very small cup that I wasn't using for anything else to mark the 2.5 TBSP I need for each load.
My clothes are stain-free. I still have to pre-treat some of those particularly icky toddler stains with OxyClean spray (that stuff is not hippie approved, but totally the bomb), but I've found myself using MUCH less, and my clothes are amazingly clean. Keep in mind that we're talking about 2.5 TBSP of detergent!
Perhaps the biggest surprise to this detergent is that when the clothes finish drying they are 100% completely free of any static and they are soft as butter. This is not something I had anticipated, but when I washed the first load I decided to see how it would work all on its own, and left out fabric softener, dryer sheets, dryer balls, etc. I swear, I just don't need any of those things anymore, and keep in mind that we're dealing with cold weather clothing and bed clothes. I'm washing tons of fleece, flannel and blankets. Zero static. Amazingly soft!
Now let's talk about the BEST part...the cost!
1 box of Super Washing Soda (55 oz.) = $2.89
4 lb box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda = $2.25
1 gallon of Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (128 oz.) = $54.98
To make one gallon (remember I made mine concentrated) of the detergent you use:
Super Washing Soda (you get 13.75 uses out of one box) = $.21 a batch
Baking Soda (you get 16 uses out of one box) = $.14 a batch
Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap (you get 21 uses out of one gallon) = $2.62
I will wash 102 loads of laundry with my gallon of hippie laundry detergent. That gallon cost me $2.97. The gallon. It cost less than $3!!! That's right around 3 cents per load.
Do me and yourself a huge favor and try this detergent! Don't forget to let me know what you think!
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