I finally figured out that it was the discounted laundry detergent my husband brought home one day. I’d never had any problem with any soap or detergent before or since.
No one else had a problem with it, so he wanted to save the detergent to use on the kids clothes and blankets. I, of course, looked at him like he’d suddenly sprouted a third eye in the middle of his forehead. There was no way that detergent was staying in the house. I wouldn’t even wish it on my worst enemy.
People can develop sensitivities to soaps and detergents at any time, even to products that they’ve used without issue for years. So it’s important to store a few different options for washing laundry.
My husband is firmly convinced that commercial detergents are much more effective than anything I can make at home. And they have that heavy chemical fragrance that means “clean” to him. I much prefer the homemade option below. So what happens in this household is that my husband buys the stuff he wants. It takes up a lot of space, and I use it to get it out of the house. It’s a battle I’m always losing. Fortunately, he kindly lets me stock up on the supplies to make the DIY laundry soap and says he’ll happily use it when he can no longer get the commercial stuff.
The following recipe for laundry soap is quick and easy to make and much less expensive than the commercial stuff. It is every bit as effective as the store-bought detergents at cleaning clothes, without all the harsh chemicals and perfumes. If you want to scent your soap, add a few drops of essentials oils. Citrus scents and lavender are the most popular options.
Laundry Soap
1 bar Fels Naptha soap, grated
1 cup washing soda
1/2 cup borax
3 gallons water, divided
Bring 1 quart of water to a boil in a large pot. Reduce heat to simmer and add the grated soap. Stir well with a wooden spoon to dissolve. Continue cooking and stirring until the soap is completely incorporated.
Put the remaining water in a clean 4-gallon bucket with lid. Stir in the washing soda and borax, and then add in the warm soap mixture. Add essential oils, if desired. Stir well and let sit for 24 hours.
The soap with be a little globby; just stir before using. This recipe makes about 48 cups. Use 1 cup per load.
All the ingredients can be located in the laundry aisle of most grocery stores.
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16 november 2020
And remember that pre-grid power soap was an expensive item. Like salt. BOTH Store well if kept cool and dry, both are CURRENTLY Cheap.
ReplyDeleteA Laundy Boiler was the most common clothes washing pre-grid. Soap is wonderful but boiling clothing and agitation will sanitize and get oils and dirt out of your clothing also. Got a 30-gallon pot? restaurant stores sell them in stainless steel.
Excellent for sanitizing reuseable dressings (100% cotton please) and cleaning sick bed stuff.
Don't be the family without a pot to piss in. There are reasons for many old sayings.
Incomplete thought, washing boilers also great for boiling water for drinking, as well as bathing water when your gas or electric hot water heater isn't working.
ReplyDeleteI've been using soap nuts, which seem to work about as well as anything, and I think, don't add as much alkalinity to my greywater. I need to find out if I can grow a soap nut tree.
ReplyDeleteSnip Sapindus saponaria is the variety that grows in Mexico and the southwestern United States. It’s the variety I suggest you grow if you live in those areas. This variety grows in USDA Zones 6-9
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! My husband feels exactly the same as yours! We solved the problem of different laundry detergent preferences by each washing our own clothes in our preferred detergent. Of course, I also wash all linens and other items in my choice, but his clothes smell "clean" to him! We use a clothesline for drying, so ultimately everything that's washed has that lovely "dried outdoors" scent.
ReplyDelete