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I’ve blogged about this before, but every fall my allergies get pretty bad. I can’t stand the fragrance in laundry detergent or cleaning products. I began cleaning the bathrooms with hydrogen peroxide, which was great except that I had to be SO careful not to bleach my clothes or towels. I’ve experimented with making my own cleaning products, but biggest success has been with making my own laundry deterent.
Here’s the recipe.
1 Bar Fels Naptha ($1.19 at my local Kroger’s)
1 Cup Borax ($4.99 for a 55 oz. box on Amazon)
1 Cup Washing Soda ($4.34 for a 76 oz. box on Amazon)
All of these are found at my local Kroger’s in the laundry aisle. Grate the bar of Fels Naptha. Mix the grated Fels Naptha with the borax and washing soda. Use 1/4 cup per load of regular laundry.
According to an online ounces to cups converter, this recipe makes enough for approximately 10 loads of laundry, and you’d still have 5.875 cups of washing soda and 8.5 cups of borax leftover.
If you made 6 batches it would cost approimately $16.47 giving you enough for 60 loads of laundry. That comes out to 27.45 cents a load, and I’m pretty sure Amazon’s prices are higher than Kroger’s, so it may actually be less. And, in making six batches you’d still have .875 cups of washing soda and 3.5 cups of borax leftover!
I sure hope my calculations are correct. I probably shoul have asked David to write this post for me! He’d have a great spreadsheet or chart or something. And he probably knows the formula to convert ounces to cups by heart.
Anyway, I’ve saved a lot of money by making my own laundry detergent, and as people with chronic illnesses, we are always looking for ways to save money. It works for me! Hope it works for you, too!
Love,
A Young Wife
I make my own laundry detergent too because I have an HE washer and can’t find a powdered HE detergent I that cleans my clothes or keeping me from itching. This stuff does both. When I couldn’t find Fels Naptha or Zote I used regular bath bar soap. That works too.
But does it smell like Gain? Actually sounds like a good recipe. I use Fels Naptha all the time. Great stuff.
Thanks for the “recipe” – I’ll have to try that the next time I’m grocery shopping.
We’re using this same recipe except for right now I’m using up some castille soap we made w/ friends. Love the savings, especially for a family our size.
Blessings,
Amy