I only now finally went to the website of the Duggar Family, the family from the "20 Kids and Counting" TV show, and found a treasure trove indeed! Below are 2 laundry tips that really impressed me and gave me a wake-up call with the "recipe cost." Approximately $2 per batch! The Fabric Softener Recipe sounds especially wonderful.
Front or top load machine - best value
Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted. Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda, and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover, and let sit overnight to thicken. Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel).
Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.
Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons. Top Load Machine- 5/8 cup per load (approximately.180 loads). Front Load Machines- 1/4 cup per load (approximately 640 loads).
Arm & Hammer "Super Washing Soda" - in some stores or may be purchased online here (at Meijer.com). Baking Soda will not work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent - It must be sodium carbonate! Recipe cost approx. $2 per batch.
Add vinegar to rinse cycle instead of using fabric softener. Works great. Removes residue and odors. Also helps to keep washing machine and hoses fresh and clean too.
Source: http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html
By Erin813 from Seffner, FL
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
We have been using this recipe for a year now and we love it and that it saves us lots of money. We do add some oxyclean now and then when the clothes are really dirty, we have a 4 yr old.
I have used a similar recipe for the laundry soap but I use extra Borax and Washing Soda, plus a cup of baking soda. I love home made detergent and the price to make can't be beat!
I don't add water, just use the dry powder. I keep it in a flip-top canister on a waist-high shelf right by the washer, and just scoop out what I need. I never lift the weight of the full container except when I'm putting it away after making a new batch - much easier than lifting a bottle of liquid if you're arthritic or weak.
And I buy vinegar by the gallon, and use it to refill a quart glass bottle by the washer - it doesn't deform when I handle it, so it's easier to pour from than a small plastic bottle (or a heavy gallon one).
If anyone knows a way to make this detergent without grating Fels Naptha, I would love to know! That's the only difficult part of the recipe.
I have read to microwave the bar for 45 seconds then cut it into 3-4 slices microwave again till its crumbly. Of course this is for then putting it into a pot to make the liquid version
Use zote, it's much softer and larger as well! Use a food processor and a grater.
I cut the felsnaptha in half then put it in my food processor with approximately 1/4 cup of borax and it grates it very well! Using the borax keeps the soap from sticking to the food processor so bad.
Cut your Fels-Naptha into three pieces and put it in the microwave for about 3 minutes it will blow up and then you grade it with your hand
I live in Michigan, and I found grated fells naptha in a box...
I am arthritic and have fibromyalgia it is so much better on my body when I don't have to grate it.
I finally figured out one night if I put the fels soap in the microwave for a tiny time (not minutes), it would get warm enough to grate like magic. Really saved my sore hands.
I grate mine with a salad shooter that I use solely for that purpose.
I freeze the bars of soap and put them in a blender. You have to put the blender cup and blade in the freezer or it will get to hot
I make a 5 gallon bucket but use a bar of fels naptha and a 1/2 bar(200mg) of Zote or Lirio laundry bar soap. I use a cup of washing soda and a cup of Borax. I find this to be a much better ratio for clean clothes. For stains or dirty collars or old underarm stains, I scrub the area directly with the bar soap and hot or cold water, depending on the stain.
For white clothes or dingy ones, I add oxygen bleach or a little more borax or washing soda if the load is really greasy or dirty. White clothes that have yellowed or no longer look bright-boil in lemon water and dry in the sun until bright whte. this may take days to months if stains or yellowing severe, but eventually it will work.
I have made my own laundry detergent for 2 years. I tweek the recipe and use the microwave to melt my grated soap, I don't cook the mixture. I do boil water and mix it all up in the bucket. I use irish spring soap and add 2 cups downy or snuggle to it and stir. I blend it after 12 or so hours with a stick blender and a wire whisk. I absolutely love it!
My soap is easy to grate and most of the time my grandkids do it for me. Some people use thier food processor, but I hand grate mine with a small square grater that came with a square bowl that attaches. Got it at Dollar Tree and it works well. Good Luck!
Wow, this sounds fun and economical. I've always thought that when you add in the cost of Borax or other products, things are not so cost effective. I like your way. Maybe I'll give that a try.
To lieast you can use any laundry bar soap - Zote, Lirio, Octagon and even shampoo bars of soap or body soap - Zest, Safeguard-just use a toal of 600gm. Fels Naptha and Octagon are about 7 oz or 200 gm each. Zote is 400 gm. I like to use 600 mgm total or 21 oz. because it cleans better. You can also use this to wash dishes, clean your bathroom, anything. It is less damaging to the earth and safer for you.
liveandlearn900-correction-I use a whole bar of Lirio or Zote and a whole bar of Fels Naptha for a total of 600 gm or 21 oz of soap. If you add a couple of oz of alcohol to a quart bottle, you have a nice disinfectant to clean your bathroom.
This sounds great. Plan on trying it. It says to fill container 1/2 with soap and then rest with water. Do I keep what is left in the 5 gal bucket? Will it keep?
I use the 3 but I like crystals, so no water. Don't like liquid.
I store mine in mason jars...yes, jars because I make it once a year and it's a lot,
A repairman told someone the greatest threat to dryers was the sheet.
I have the wool balls from Amazon....8 years and still doing the job.
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
