This is not really a DIY blog by any means, but this has just been too good for me this past month to not share it with you all!
So I've been on a quest to make my own laundry detergent since...well, ever. Ever since I started buying my own laundry detergent anyway.
My first and foremost desire in laundry detergent is that it be chemical-free. And by that I mean, not have weird stuff in it I can't pronounce. So that's left us with detergents like 7th Generation and Mrs. Meyers, and to be honest, I still don't really know what is in those and if they're legit (because, surprise, surprise, laundry detergents don't have to tell you what is in it!).
Secondly, I want something cheap! Most of us aren't made of money, so spending $10-$17 on a bottle of detergent just breaks the bank. (I wish I were kidding about the cost...)
And third, being kind to Mother Earth is always an added bonus, and a bi-product of it being chemical-free and safe for us!
So I took off on a google quest, and later Pinterest search, trying to find a good recipe that fit my needs.
Pretty much everything I found included Borax and/or Fels Napa soap. And those do not meet my requirements. So finally I just decided to do my own thing. And surprisingly, it works!
And it's easy. And relatively inexpensive (and very inexpensive compared to the store bought detergent).
Are you ready for this? It's so easy it will blow your socks off!
1 cup of washing soda.
1 cup of liquid castille soap (I currently am using Dr. Bronners Unscented)
Water
And if your soap is unscented, you can add some essential oils, such as lavender, to spruce it up a bit, but totally not necessary.
I just heat up 3 cups of water on the stove, not quite to boiling, pour the washing soda in and stir until it dissolves. Add the cup of soap. Stir. It will be a liquidy gel-type consistency. Pour it into your container (I use an empty 7th Generation detergent container - it's 100 fl oz.). Fill with more water to the top and shake before use.
It's awesome, gentle, chemical-free, all around green, gets things clean, and is CHEAP. (And works in a HE washer).
And it beats the diaper test. That means, it cleans out cloth diapers amazingly, and doesn't leave build up (or hasn't yet...).
So go make some! You know you want to.
Have you continued to use this recipe? Has it still worked for cloth diapers?
ReplyDeleteI have indeed! This far it's been great. :-)
ReplyDeleteHow much do you use? Do you have a front loader?
ReplyDeleteI use a cap full. I use an old 7th Generation laundry detergent container, and just use as much as I would the regular detergent.
DeleteYes, I have an HE front loader.