About a year ago I revisited the idea of using homemade laundry soap. In the past (almost 10 years ago) I used a liquid version. I believe it went as follows: ⅓ of a Fels Naptha bar of soap, ½ cup borax and washing soda. Melt the soap into 4 cups water and then add the powders. Then you add more water. You were supposed to use about a cup per load, but I didn’t like it since it didn’t seem to clean my clothes very well even though I played with the amount. One year ago I used a similar concoction with oxyclean and baking soda, but it was a powdered version. I got frustrated with it however and decided some things were worth paying someone else to figure out.
I always liked the idea of making my own, it just didn’t quite work out that way. I actually gave away some leftover laundry soap, that is how done with it I was. Then I started thinking(uh oh)…. What if I was able to tweak the recipe? I also read this blog about laundry soap that inspired me. http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2012/05/ten-things-laundry.html I knew a little about what didn’t work for me and this site gave me new information to explore. I came to a conclusion about some of the ingredients in my soap. What if some of the ingredients weren’t in large enough quantities or not the right ingredients for success at all? Instead of having stuff in your laundry powder that are powerful and effective, you essentially have stuff that is taking up space!
In her blog post she mentions what she uses for her laundry so I decided to start there. It was half washing soda and half Ivory soap. So,I tried that along with the same ratio of Fels Naptha. You may notice the absence of borax. In her blog it says that borax is less effective in dry detergent. Anyway I would suggest reading it as well, she talks about all the ingredients and what they do for your wash and will make all of what I am trying make sense. Also, there are other posts they have on laundry that are worth reading and great information on yellowing laundry and skin irritation, etc.
I have also noticed what is missing from other blogs about laundry soap. What kind of washer did they use (along with the amount of detergent) Also, what are they comparing it to? What kind of soap did they use before? I have a top loader machine that runs pretty big loads of laundry. I knew that I needed to try at least 3 Tablespoons in the wash, but that would not be unusual for how large a wash capacity it has. I like Gain or Tide powdered detergent. I did not have a lot of luck with other cheaper detergents. If you have used cheaper less effective brands of detergent then your expectations for the soap is different in my opinion. I also think there is a general lack of detail that often left me wondering about this or that, so I will try to be detailed here without making everyone fall asleep
From my experiences last year I know that I did not notice a problem with the detergent until items had been washed more than once in it. Smells and grease spots started showing up after the second wash, so I knew that I needed to wash the same items more than once to see the result, and hopefully 3 or more times to really know for sure if it’s a good detergent. I would also like to try my own homemade soap and Zote soap, which is another laundry bar soap you can buy. If bar soap and washing soda was ineffective then I could try adding more detergent, Biz for enzymes, warmer water or a second rinse cycle. I don’t know about you, but I am hesitant to change the temperature. What I have done I’ve done for years and I particularly don’t want to wash dark colors in hot water!
Just a general thing about safety with both of these soaps. Ivory soap was worse, but I would wear a mask of some kind and even work outside if possible. Grating the Fels Naptha is a smelly job and they both kick up a fair amount of fine powder, especially the Ivory. I used a knife to slice the soap which essentially grated it and then ran it through a food processor. It is very bothersome to me if I shake it up before I put some in a load. Also, my Ivory soap is really old (maybe about 14 years old), making it extra powdery. I swore off bar soap long ago and now that I have been researching making my own I know that commercial soaps are basically detergent (potentially perfect for laundry) and not good for your skin particularly if you have dry skin already. The Fels Naptha is about a year old from my last experiments, but I have found that generally it is a hard flakey bar once you cut into it.
I divide my wash into 4 categories. Towels, whites, lights and darks. I decided to wash a batch of lights in the Fels Naptha mix. I wash my light colored clothes in warm water. I washed my dark clothes in the Ivory mix with cold water. I used my Kirkland dryer sheets in the dryer as well. Both loads were started with hot water in the beginning to help dissolve the soaps.
Both were very clean this washing. No mystery grease stains or smells so far. You can smell the fels naptha coming out of the wash but after drying it fades quite a bit. it is not an unpleasant scent once it has been dried and I was relieved. it is pretty powerful scent when you are grating it. I was worried that the Ivory would not dissolve in the wash since there were chunks (very small mind you) floating in the water before I added the clothes, but there was no residue or chunks of soap in the clothing, in either batch. I wanted to keep it with these two loads at first because frankly if it didn’t turn out I don’t want to have to rewash all of my clothing. The other issue is actually being able to keep track of which clothes were washed in what. I wrote down all of my blouses along with what they were washed in. My shirts were what smelled the most with the old soap last year. MMmm, yummy armpit odors! :/ The only conclusions I have so far is that possibly the old laundry soap was not strong enough. Half grated soap half washing soda has more actual soap content.
The Fels Naptha shirts so far do not smell bad after being worn, or at least don’t smell worse than what I did to them. No odors showing up an hour after I put it on thank goodness.The dark shirts washed in Ivory also did well, no funky odors after wearing them.
The second load I decided to start using the vinegar rinse suggested in this blog post. http://littlehouseinthesuburbs.com/2012/07/skin-irritation-hard-water-diy-laundry-detergent-troubleshooting.html For my washer I used ½ cup in a downy ball since my fabric softener thing in my washer has been busted forever. This is supposed to help anyone with skin irritation and possible yellowing or your laundry turning grey over time. That is one of the things that really bothered me before. A couple people I know told me that was what was happening to their clothes with homemade detergent last year. I wasn’t thrilled with that prospect and it was gas on the fire of my discontent. I really don’t feel that ruining my clothes is worth saving money on detergent.
Both loads were clean after this washing and softer this time. That may be the vinegar. Some people use it as a fabric softener. There is something to that although I have tried it in the past and it doesn’t seem to do anything for static cling, so I stick with my dryer sheets. I may try playing with the amount later.
So I completed the third washing and I have got to say I am pretty impressed. The only thing that came up was I have one dark colored t-shirt that seemed to absorb soap. I double rinsed that load on the third washing which seemed to resolve it. This t-shirt had a fabric I am not familiar with. It was made of cotton, modal and spandex. Anyone know what on earth modal is? Not this girl but I had no other problems with the clothes seeming dingy or dirty. As far as removing stains it is not better or worse than Gain and Tide which I think is a good sign. Ivory soap also seems to match Fels Naptha for cleaning power, which was unexpected. I will continue to use the homemade stuff and let you know any long term problems but I am pretty confident in the way it works and using the vinegar. Also there was really no need to change the amount of detergent I was using or add Biz. I am open to the idea of using meat tenderizer (yes you read that right) for the enzymes as a pre-treater, but seeing as I am still using up the same pre-treater I have had for years, that is on the back burner.
I have tried the Zote soap in the laundry and made a batch of homemade soap so I will have to let you know how it goes, I have only done a few loads with it. It's a pretty pink color and that is the soap pictured above! So far I like the Zote, it has a nice scent, is a great value ($1 for a 14 oz bar), it is easily grated and isn’t dusty and powdery like Ivory and Fels Naptha. That is the only drawback of using those two soaps and if I like the homemade stuff or the Zote well enough I won't be using the Fels Naptha or Ivory any more. I actually cough every time I scoop out the Ivory and Fels Naptha even if I didn’t shake it up which I find disturbing. I do a lot of laundry and don’t feel the need to damage my lungs. I wonder too, if the scents of both of these isn't part of the problem. The Fels Naptha obviously has fragrance but the Ivory does contain fragrance as well. I would love it if someone who uses these soaps gave an opinion on the dust level, especially if their soaps weren’t as old as mine are.
I guess my experiment is continuing! Thanks for reading and happy washing!
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