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Tandemkross

Author Topic: DIY Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener  (Read 3515 times)

Offline LivingDeadGirl

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DIY Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener
« on: February 01, 2015, 01:47:35 AM »
I know it's not really survival or prepping, but part of being prepared is being self-sufficient.

For laundry soap I used this recipe:  1/2 bar of fels-naphtha soap, grated      1 cup borax    1 cup washing soda (sodium carbonate; not to be confused with baking soda)    1/4 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
  1. Mix well with a blender. Store in an air-tight container. Use 1-2 teaspoons per load.  When doing my research, I found that some people don't like fels-naphtha, so you can substitute plain ivory soap.

For fabric softener, we've been using one of two methods: 1. white vinegar - use like commerical fabric softener; 2. home-made felt dryer balls

I've been using this for a couple of weeks now. My clothes still come out as clean as they did with commercial detergents. I really like the smell of the soap and I really like that my clothes don't smell like anything when they come out of the dryer.
 If you're a prepper, these components are cheap, relatively easy to store and have multiple uses. Borax is an insecticide, baking soda and vinegar are excellent cleaning agents both alone and together.

Has anyone else tried making laundry detergent, fabric softener, or other household items?


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DIY Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener
« on: February 01, 2015, 01:47:35 AM »

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Offline masfonos

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Re: DIY Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener
« Reply #1 on: May 11, 2015, 02:31:26 PM »
This stuff works pretty good.  I need to make another batch tonight.  My only problem is that it's hard to believe that such a small amount is all you need.  There must be a TON of extra garbage like fragrances, filler, chems, etc. in commercial powders.  I've seen some recipes that call for dissolving it in hot water and then using it in the same ratios as commercial liquid detergent, but that takes more time, storage space, etc. without any real benefit.

I sometimes put a scoop of oxy clean type powder in with it.  There is something that you are NOT supposed to use with this soap recipe, but I can't remember what it was.  Bleach?  Not vinegar, I guess, since that can be used for softener. 

Offline LivingDeadGirl

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Re: DIY Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener
« Reply #2 on: June 03, 2015, 10:56:31 PM »
You shouldn't store the oxy-clean mixed in the home-made detergent. It needs to be stored separately. It reacts with water to generate hydrogen peroxide and depending on your container - can result in a loud boom and a big mess. There are claims of this happening on the internet. This is more important if you're making the liquid form of the detergent rather than the powder, but it's best to be safe.

Bleach should not react with any component of the powder.  Though I'm seeing that a lot of people are switching from fels-naphtha soap to either castille soap, zote soap or ivory soap. Something about titanium dioxide polluting the oceans and other allergens - the source of this information appears to be LiveStrong.com - which I tend to disregard since most of what they claim is not supported by any real evidence.

Offline masfonos

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Re: DIY Laundry Soap and Fabric Softener
« Reply #3 on: June 08, 2015, 10:57:59 AM »
Oh well.  I mixed oxyclean into the last batch of powder that I made.  The only difference I see is that it seems to be clumping a little bit more than usual.  I don't know that adding it really seems to help get things cleaner anyway.