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singular_me
20th April 2010, 02:09 PM
thats an excellent tip


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I recently did a TV news story showing people how to make their own laundry detergent for a fraction of the cost of store bought. (It's right here on Yahoo!: check it out.)

As I said in my story, while it may sound impossible, laundry detergent may not even be necessary at all. The blog Funny about Money decided to forgo it completely as part of an experiment. Here's a quote:

"By and large, all of the freshly washed clothing came out with an odor: It smelled of clean water!"

You might be surprised to learn that, while clothing has been around since the fig leaf, laundry detergent is relatively new. And yet, ancient people were presumably able to make their clothing at least somewhat clean. How?

As it turns out, something that may be even more effective than soap is agitation. Ancient people used rocks and rivers, but your modern washing machine can clean lightly soiled clothes by just pushing them around in water.

In other words, people actually do get away without using detergent at all. But if the idea of using nothing more than water to wash your gym socks sounds a little scuzzy, not to worry. You can still wring significant savings from your laundry money by making your own detergent. It's not hard.

The Recipe

A quick search online will show you that there's no shortage of homemade laundry soap recipes: Here's one from The Simple Dollar. And we've got 10 more at Money Talks News. But below is one that seems to work pretty well. You'll need:

• 4 cups of water.
• 1/3 bar of cheap soap, grated.
• 1/2 cup washing soda (not baking soda).
• 1/2 cup of Borax (20 Mule Team).
• 5-gallon bucket for mixing.
• 3 gallons of water.

First, mix the grated soap in a saucepan with 4 cups of water, and heat on low until the soap is completely dissolved. Add hot water/soap mixture to 3 gallons of water in the 5-gallon bucket, stir in the washing soda and Borax, and continue stirring until thickened. Let the mix sit for 24 hours, and voila! Homemade laundry detergent.

Of course, who'd post a recipe without trying it out first? I made and washed several loads of clothes with the homemade detergent. And I, like many before me who've traveled this road, couldn't tell the difference between store-bought and homemade.

Total cost per load? In the neighborhood of 2 cents. Store-bought detergent, depending on what you buy and where you buy it, can cost about 20 cents per load -- 10 times more.

So, there are at least two alternatives to the agitation of paying too much for laundry detergent: Ditch it altogether and use nothing more than water in your washer, or save to 90% by making your own laundry detergent.

And here's a final idea for those who, like me, are unlikely to choose either of those options. Since doing this story, I haven't started making my own laundry detergent. I still use the same store-bought concentrate I started with. But I've started using half the amount. Result? No difference at all that I can detect. Now we're really talking green.


http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/109349/do-it-yourself-laundry-detergent

RJB
20th April 2010, 02:25 PM
I've always thought soap was overrated. Usually when I shower, the water is all I use. Occasionally I'll use soap or shampoo.

I might try that on a few loads of laundry.

AOW
20th April 2010, 02:48 PM
I've wondered about this, thanks!

Saul Mine
20th April 2010, 05:15 PM
I got that recipe four years ago. I paid $8 for the ingredients, and I am still washing with that batch. I use a half cup per load. I didn't do the five gallon bucket, I recycled a liquid soap bottle from the laundromat and only made one gallon so I can carry it to the laundromat.

Two tips: Use ammonia instead of chlorine bleach, and use vinegar in the rinse. If you can't tell the difference, you don't need to use anything at all.

AndreaGail
20th April 2010, 09:22 PM
I've always thought soap was overrated. Usually when I shower, the water is all I use. Occasionally I'll use soap or shampoo.

I might try that on a few loads of laundry.


same for me

seems to do the job for smell / cleanliness :sun:

jedemdasseine
20th April 2010, 09:29 PM
The uses of borax (20 mules! Yeah!!) never cease to amaze me.

Homemade soap from olive oil is a favorite of mine.

Home laundry detergent is worth the effort.

ximmy
20th April 2010, 10:00 PM
great tip.. gotta give it a shot

optionT
20th April 2010, 10:03 PM
Is there an alternative to Borax? I read that it is quite harsh on your skin and I'm not sure how it would be with baby clothes.

singular_me
21st April 2010, 06:05 AM
Is there an alternative to Borax? I read that it is quite harsh on your skin and I'm not sure how it would be with baby clothes.


no idea but I am almost sure that the level of borax in the stuff you buy in the stores contain a lot more than what is advised here. Just use less of it and see if the results are satisfying enough. That is all I can say.

Id be glad to hear about an alternative though. Tnx for your input.

big country
21st April 2010, 10:28 AM
that is the recipe my wife and I use for our detergent. We started making it a couple of months ago. I did the math and figured it will save us about $50/yr (against the price of ALL)...compated to Tide maybe closer to $70-80

Two hints:

Get a paint mixer (got one for the chuck of the drill). Ours turned into a thick jello consistency (doesn't really matter). The mixer broke it up, easier to scoop out...

The BAR of soap you choose determines the scent of the batch. If you want Lavender scented detergent, use a bar of lavender soap.

Saul Mine
21st April 2010, 07:06 PM
Is there an alternative to Borax? I read that it is quite harsh on your skin and I'm not sure how it would be with baby clothes.


That is what the vinegar is for.

uranian
30th April 2010, 02:00 PM
soapnuts (aka soappods) are what we've been using for some years now. you can use the same nuts 3 times with a little planning, and mash them for a final use.