Pad Patter: 6/24 HOmemade Detergent?

[AnneofAlamo]

I ranted crazily yesterday on FB about the fiasco that happened in my kitchen making what I was told was an easy recipe!!

I was gonna give the soupy stuff away today...then I woke up and it is fantastic...got thick and smells so good.
I did a load of my teen boys (who is in football and does construction part time) and his clothes smell oh my goodness good!
Any one else making their own something? I am ready to try again!

 

[Brandi]

I've always wanted to but I give in to Tide.

 

[AnneofAlamo]

Here is my rant in case you missed it! So sad, I was so upset and overwhelmed I took not one photo! I may have to reinact the event!
Make your own laundry soap they said, easy they said, so economical! I sti here with ice on my head, thankful the top of my stove isn't heavier and didn't cut my scalp. I got the ingredients. Did you know that a bar of soap can melt in your shower in one day, but takes over 5 hours boiling on your stove? I had it in a big pot, and it was making this albino afro out of the top so I skimmed that into the ginormaous bucket I am supposed to store this economical stuff. The soap finally melted, well not completely, it was in two pieces and small so I figured, I am tired of waiting and the fresh scent I Iiked when I started is giving me a wicked headache. I poured some of the afro (now liquid) back into the pot for the final boil and mix. I figured I would clean the 37 utensils I used skimming, pouring and mashing the soap while it simmered. WRONG because this stuff boiled all over into my stove, down the front, on to the floor and oozed in a matter of seconds!
I now had to take apart the top of the stove to get the gelatinous mass of soap out of the stove. **that part is way clean now bonus**,
but..the soap had oozed down the side of the stove too...so I went to move it with the top of stove up, it was being jacked up with a long wooden spoon..BAM on my head! I didn't cuss, I said a whole lot of letters, freakin L, m, n and Z!

 

[sarahbhb]

DH makes our laundry soap from time to time. I don't think he ever went through what you did though. If I'm not mistaken he adds the soap (he grates it with a dedicated grater first) after the water boils and it just dissolves.

 

[AnneofAlamo]

yeah grating the soap was a tiny bit my friend didn't tell me...bhahhaha..but I know now! lol

 

[sarahbhb]

Oh my gosh, Anne. I bet that'll make a HUGE difference in future batches!

 

[sushimommy]

i make the homemade detergent that is dry - the soap bars are grated but all the powders are used and it stores dry in a bucket with a lid - i am not brave enough to deal with the liquid version!

 

[Dalis]

My AWESOME neighbor makes it for us. I buy the ingredients and she keeps half of the soap and I keep half. I think it's a great partnership I got with her. I even grate the soap for her.

 

[mlewis]

I have made homemade detergent twice now - and the initial $20 investment lasted about 2 years. I do miss the Tide or Gain smell so when I make it again, I need to look into how to add oils or scented soap to it. I'm on my last bottle of the homemade stuff, and I told my husband I wanted to take a break from it to make sure that I'm still convinced it works as well. I know it saves money, but I want to make sure the clothes are getting as clean.

 

[mollyc]

i have an HE front loading washing machine. it takes so little soap that I am still on the same (Costco sized) container of detergent that I bought when we moved into our house 22 months ago! I've thought about making my own detergent, but honestly don't think it's worth the time and effort based on how long regular detergent lasts.

I would sort of like to figure out a good fabric softener, though....i like the downy smell, but hate the notion that it is petroleum based and don't like the way it sticks to everything...i worry about it gunking up the machine. but i've tried just plain vinegar in the past and it doesn't soften like downy.

 

[sm_amber]

Oh, Anne.. I saw your trouble yesterday and figured you had enough people telling you things you should have done differently, so I didn't chime in.. We use the dry detergent - 1 bar soap, 1 C borax, 1 C washing soda - and call it a day. For the amount of laundry you're doing each week, I hope you're able to find a solution/method that works for you..

 

[HeatherB]

I don't make my own detergents, but when I was visiting my parents in Arizona, their neighbour came over and gave my mom a jar full of detergent she just made. About an hour later she came back and took it back because she goofed up the recipe. We all had a good laugh.

 

[Karen]

I made my own laundry detergent a couple of times and thought it tooks quite a bit of effort with the soap grating, etc, and then my hubby actually asked me to stop using it because it wasn't getting his workout clothes clean enough... didn't remove the smells or armpit stains (TMI?) LOL! It was a fun experiment, but I really love the smell of Gain so much that I'll be using that for awhile before I try any new "recipes" for soap.

 

[bderby]

I have made my own a couple different times and it is cheap, but my husband didn't think it was getting the clothes quite as clean either and when I ran out when I was super busy with school, I just started buying whatever was on sale and have been just as happy.

 

[jk703]

Ann... you made me laugh! What a post!

I have never made my own detergents. I'm off to see how this works... BUT I will remember Ann's post, lol!

 

[cherpea]

I make my own liquid laundry gunk all the time... love it... and its super kind on my sensitive skin... sorry Anne I had to giggle about your post... did you not grate your soap first? makes life a hundred times easier... and I always add lavender essential oil to my mix, it makes the clothes smell amazing and I have always found it washes the clothes well...

borax, washing soda, 1/2 bar grated vegetable based soap like dr bronners (though expensive) or sunlight (well known in NZ) and lots of water... I fill the empty 2ltr milk bottles while it is still quite liquid and then shake the snot out of them the following day to get them to mix properly...

grating the soap is a great job for kids... and shaking the bottles hard too for that matter...

 

[justjaimee]

lol - I can't even find time to brush my hair let alone make my own detergent - but I sincerely admire those who do that! LOL sorry to hear about your little fiasco .. I know a thing or two about disasters LOL

I am into the more natural means for detergents and most everything that we consume or use - Luckily, I live in an area that has LOT's of organic and environmentally friendly shops and solutions.

I like using soap nuts for detergent - I have a little girl who has neurodermatitis so she is super sensitive to soaps and the such...

http://www.buysoapnuts.com/