I stumbled across a new way of washing my clothes that I have been utilizing for about two months now.  It cleans clothes better than any other detergent I have used, doesn’t have any filler, costs very little, and is much better for the environment.

I found a few recipes for the mix, but I have tweaked it a bit.  The original recipe I found is here.

You will need:

1. A pan designated for “cooking” your laundry detergent.  It needs to be able to hold at least a gallon of liquid with some room left over.
pan

2.  A measuring cup designated for your laundry detergent making.  I use an old plastic measuring cup that I found in the back of the cabinet that I never used.  You can also make a homemade measuring cup if you don’t have an extra one and don’t want to buy a new one.
measuring cup

3.  A dedicated stirring utensil. (I use an old wooden spoon).
spoon

4.  Containers to store your detergent in that equals 5 gallons with caps.  You can use old milk jugs that have been washed out.  I use two plastic containers that kitty litter comes in that each hold 2.5 gallons.

5.  A grater (again, dedicated to the laundry making process.)
grater

6.  A bar of Fels Naptha laundering soap.
fels-naptha

7.  A box of Arm and Hammer Super Washing Soda.  It is very important that you use washing soda and not baking soda.  You can use baking soda, but it will not work nearly as well.
washing soda

8. A box of Borax.
borax

9.  Your favorite smelling bar of soap. I like using castille soap because the “boys” of my family do not like having a lot of fragrance on their clothing, and this helps make things smell nice and fresh without a strong scent.
your favorite soap

Recipe

  • Grate an entire bar of Fels Naptha laundering soap into your cooking pan.  It will look like shredded cheddar cheese.
  • Grate a half of a bar of your favorite soap into your cooking pan along with the Fels Naptha.
  • Spread the grated soap evenly across bottom of pan.
  • Add a gallon of water to the soap and cook it until the soap is completely dissolved.  (make sure to stir it well so that it is evenly distributed through the water)
  • Add 1 cup of washing soda and 1 cup of Borax to the dissolved mixture.  Stir well, making sure that the soda and Borax are evenly mixed into to the solution.
  • Using your measuring cup, distribute the mixture evenly into the containers you will use to hold your detergent for use.  If you are using five 1 gallon jugs, then each jug should get about 3.2 cups of the solution (3 cups and 2 and 1/4 tablespoons, approximately).
  • Add hot tap water to each container until it is full.  Replace the cap. Shake well.

That’s it! The detergent becomes thick after a few hours, so you only need about 1/2 a cup per load of clothes, or 1 cup for a heavy load.  After allowing to sit for a while, the soap and water will separate, so you will want to shake the container before each use.

Please note that this detergent does not make suds when you launder with it.  Suds are not necessary to clean.  They are simply for looks and nothing else.
Savings

The Fels-Naptha costs about $1.  The washing soda and borax cost roughly between $3.50 and $4.00 each, and lasts to make a new batch of detergent roughly 6-7 times.  You are looking at paying roughly $3 for each batch of detergent (5 gallons).  Each batch can wash 160 regular sized loads.  That’s a HUGE savings from store bought brands, and it cleans BETTER, and is safer to use!