diy: laundry soap

glop
Originally uploaded by hedgenettle

okay, here is the long awaited recipe for my world-famous homemade laundry soap. it works as well as any environmentally friendly laundry soap, probably not as well as something like Tide, but i wouldn't know really because i don't use Tide or other detergents. i got the frame of reference for my recipe from tipnut .com (http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/) but originally i couldn't find the super washing soda, so i tried the just baking soda recipe...then when i found the washing soda, i made my next batch from memory--an ephemeral thing--eventually i discovered that i had remembered it wrong, but my soap works, and now i can claim it as my own recipe. so, go inaccurate memory!

there are photos of the different ingredients and what the stages look like here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hedgenettle/sets/72157619580250226/ sorry, but it's too much of a pain in the butt to re-upload them all here, just go to the link if you want to see them.

you will need:

a big bucket (i usually use one of those cat litter buckets, which i would guess is around 2 1/2 gallons)

something to stir with (i use my big hefty soap making spatula, but a wooden spoon would be fine)

a double boiler of some kind (a pot or bowl over another pot of boiling water) make sure whatever you're using to melt the soap in is non-reactive (glass/stainless steel/enamel)

a bar of soap (this should be real soap, not moisturizing bars or anything that is super-fatted (super-fatted means they add extra oil to it to make it more moisturizing) i use plain bulk glycerin soap, but you could use something like ivory or whatever, as long as it's actually soap)

baking soda--1 cup

washing soda--1 cup (this is usually found in the laundry aisle by the borax and whatnot, but it can be hard to find. i got mine at winco in springfield. i *think* it's the same as soda ash, like you would use for dying fabric, so you could probably find it at art and craft stores. you can also order it online.)

2 gallons of water

essential oil (optional, but recommended)

the steps:
1) get your 2 gallons of water in the bucket.
2) prepare your soap: if it's glycerin you can just chop it up. if it's other soap you have to grate it.
3) put a little of the water into your double boiler and add the soap.
4) double boil it to melt the soap (i don't know how long it takes with non-glycerin, but my version is really quick)
5) while your soap is melting, measure your baking soda and washing soda and add them to the bucket of water. stir.
6) now your soap should be melted. add it to the bucket.
7) stir some more.
8) leave it alone.
9) go back and stir it throughout the duration of it's cool-down...like, several times over the day or something. if you don't want to stir it all the time, you should have an immersion blender. if you have an immersion blender: leave it alone and go back to it later that night or the next day and immersion blend the crap out of it, so it's not too chunky.
10) bottle it up (wine bottles make for a classy presentation, but vinegar bottles, milk jugs, old detergent bottles, etc. all work fine. if you are using an opaque container--i know this seems obvious, but keep it in mind when you are actually pouring!!!--keep checking the level as you pour, or it makes a big overflowed mess)...i find it handy to pour my soap into a funnel placed in my container of choice...and if there are a few chunks that didn't get stirred or blended away, you can poke them through with a chopstick.

and a few notes:

use 1/2 cup for an average full load. for a super dirty load, or diapers, use 1 cup.

it doesn't look like store-bought detergent. it looks like a big, thick, lumpy glop. it's not smooth and clear and liquidy.

if you put the melted soap water into the bucket with the sodas before you add the rest of the 2 gallons of water, sometimes it fizzes all funlike...so if you want that, add the water after the soap.

there was some discussion on the tipnut forum about the likelihood of mold growing in the laundry soap. i go through mine so fast, that i doubt it's even an issue, but i've taken to adding essential oil to the soap after it's all cooled (1/2 a teaspoon) which should prevent the growth of mold and will leave your clothes smelling nice, if you line dry. if you machine dry, the e.o. evaporates. if you are REALLY worried about it, but still want to make your own laundry soap, check out the tipnut links for powdered soap recipes.

i think that's it. please comment or e mail or call me if you have questions or i left out any glaringly obvious details. this is REALLY easy and FAST and it will save you A LOT of money, especially if you are buying the environmentally friendly kind. which reminds me, i was never able to find good information on the sustainability/environmental impact of baking soda and washing soda...but they are mined or created in a lab, so, yeah, not ideal. but probably more ideal than buying and using petroleum based detergents, especially since you'd be getting a new bottle every time, and that bottle was shipped from somewhere far away, etc. and the "environmentally friendly" ones probably have pretty similar ingredients as mine. so, unless you're growing your own soapnuts and washing in your rain barrel, and filtering it through some gravel and then using the greywater to water your soapnut plants...it's probably the best convenient laundry soap option out there.

enjoy.