Thursday, April 22, 2010

Laundry Soap updated!

When I first started making laundry soap I followed an internet recipe. Since that first batch I have changed the formulation to better suit my needs. Here is the original link... SOAP

Since I have a toddler that is learning to eat with a fork/spoon I needed some serious stain removing!! While I liked the other soap, I like the smell and cleaning power of this much better. Also, I just couldn't handle the "homemade soap" not bubbling. Something about the bubbles is what makes me feel like things are getting clean. Since I use only Tide for my cloth diapers (Bum Genius cloth diapers recommend Original Tide for absorbency reasons) and I like the cleaning power of Tide I decided to see what would happen if I "extended" the Tide if you will. I love the results! I can take a small tablespoon of this stuff, a bowl of water and soak my son's soiled clothing (blood, chocolate, dirt, etc) overnight. In the morning there are no stains and no scrubbing!! I throw the entire bowl of water/soap into the washer with my normal load and add a little more soap. So here is my adjusted recipe. Please note I removed the original Fels Naptha from the recipe, as it was a hard soap to grate and I didn't care for the smell. Use 1/8 cup of the soap with a medium load and 1/4 cup with large loads.

This recipe lasts me approx 5-7 months

Ingredients:
4 cups Borax
4 cups Washing Soda (not baking),
2 Bars Zote finely grated
Tide 70oz