So, Jon's brother was here when I made this. Later when they were off together, Daniel asked, "Why would you WANT to make laundry soap?"
This is a reasonable question, and one that others have asked. Jon responded pretty much in the way I would have. 1.) So we know how. 2.) So we can save a few bucks. 3.) Because it's COOL!
OK, so our definition of cool has changed since we were 17, but this is what ranks as cool in our household these days. Don't judge us.
First, grate two bars of ivory soap into a big pot. I used an enamel stock pot.
Add 3 quarts of water and heat slowly on medium for about 30 minutes or until the soap is all dissolved. The instructions say try not to boil, but, well, I went outside to garden and it boiled. It didn't seem to hurt it though.
Take the pot off of the stove and add 1.5 cups of washing soda (not baking soda) and Borax. Mix until dissolved. Both of these can be found in the laundry section of the supermarket. Our Wal-mart doesn't carry the soda, but our local Western Family grocer does, and it's cheaper there than we found it online.
Once it is dissolved, add two more quarts of hot water and stir. Transfer it to your five gallon bucket and add three gallons of cool water. This will gel up to an egg flour soup consistency, or a bit firmer, and it takes a cup per load. I keep a wire whisk down in the laundry room to stir it up once in a while. I love it because it doesn't have a scent, and I'm pretty sensitive to perfumes. When we do whites, I add a scoop of oxyclean and it seems to be working well.
And look at us! We saved $9.50. How cool is that?
I wonder how you'd do that with a HE washer?? Maybe just less soap??
ReplyDeleteSupposedly it works fine in HE washers because it is really low sudsing. A woman in my ward uses it in hers. Works in front loaders too.
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