Homemade Laundry Detergent

So to literally make homemade laundry detergent, you start with wood-fire ashes to leach the lye. I don't go back to the mid-19th century recipes to make my batch. Thinking the mid-20th century will do nicely. Don't you just love the vintage feel to the the brand packaging on the ingredients we'll need?

I make my detergent in small batches that will fit in an old Maxwell House coffee can that has been converted to holding the laundry detergent. I even use the little plastic scoop to measure the soap. 

All that is needed is:

• 2 cups Borax
• 2 cups Arm & Hammer Washing Soda
• 2 bars of Fels-Naptha or Ivory Soap, grated on a plane or box grater

Mix well and add to your container ready for your first load of laundry. 

I purchase my ingredients online at Walmart, but shop closely. I found Fels-Naptha for less than $1 per bar of soap, but other vendors who sell through Walmart online charge up to $5 per bar of soap.  Borax is sold in 65oz boxes for about $4.50, and A&H Washing Soda is sold in 55oz boxes for about $4. You'll need 15 bars of soap to come out even with all your ingredients. And if you want to make a big batch, you can purchase a 5 gallon bucket at Lowe's or Home Depot for less than $5 (lids extra). Since I stored my homemade detergent in an empty coffee can, that cost isn't factored into the total. 

 

Yes, I used this small, plane grater but next time I plan to use my mandolin with the handle that sticks into the food (soap) to be grated. Using this grater, I had to be extra careful grating the soap as it got smaller. 

After running the numbers, it appears 1 box of Borax, 1 box of Washing Soda, and 15 bars of soap cost roughly $24 and make 45 cups of detergent.   If one load of laundry takes 1-2 Tablespoons of detergent, then you will be able to get 360-720 loads of laundry from this project. For this comparison, let's look at the per ounce (2 Tablespoons) price. 

• Homemade Power Detergent        $0.06 oz for recommended 360 loads
• Tide Power Detergent                  $0.13 oz for recommended 143 loads
• Ariel Power Detergent                  $0.06 oz for recommended 141 loads
• Sun Power Detergent                   $0.05 oz for recommended 120 loads
• Cheer Power Detergent                $0.10 oz for recommended   80 loads
• Seventh Generation                     $0.11 oz for recommended   70 loads
• Gain Power Detergent                  $0.13 oz for recommended   40 loads
• Dreft                                          $0.31 oz for recommended   40 loads
• Roma (Mexican)                          $0.05 oz for recommended   22 loads

(based on recommendation for 1/2 cup for medium soiled clothes)

I haven't washed any heavy, dog bed and dog linens washing, but for regular, day to day laundry, it works beautifully with 1 tablespoon of detergent. At this rate, this batch should last for 720 loads of laundry. I average 6-7 loads per month. At this rate, my batch of laundry detergent should last five years. Yes, count'em Five Years. Wow!

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