Homemade laundry detergents (from HBMaggie)
Powdered Laundry Detergent
2 bars of laundry soap(Zote 14 oz bar) – grated ( or 1 bar for smaller batch)
8 cups washing soda (equal to one 55 oz box) (or 2 cups baking soda)
4 cups Borax ( or 2 cups borax for smaller batch)
4 cups powdered all-color bleach (I use Purex) (or 2 cups for small batch)-Optional, You do not have to put this in if your short on cash. The detergent will work great without it. It just helps a little with brightening clothing, especially if you have heavy minerals in your water.
I grate the bar soap and allow it to dry out some. Then I process it in the food processor to get it to a powder. Mix this with the remaining ingredients and store in a lidded container. For light loads use 2Tblsp. For heavy loads use 3 Tbsp. (I have a large capacity washer and always use 2 Tblsp. This mix gives me at least 200+ washes, if you follow the large batch recipe).
Now to make this stretch even farther use only 2 Tblspn., of the detergent, and then in EVERY load of laundry, add 1 cup of non-sudsing (lemon yellow or plain white ) ammonia to the wash water, put it in before adding the clothes, or after the machine is full and has started to agitate.
For even more money saving ideas with the laundry, only use white vinegar for the rinse cycle instead of using expensive liquid fabric softeners. This will kill any remaining bacteria in the laundry and, believe it or not, this will leave it smelling as fresh as if it had been hung outside on the line to dry.
Home Made Liquid Laundry Detergent
From crystal miller
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap.htm
What Ingredients Do You Need?
You will need 3 basic ingredients; a soap of some sort, washing soda and borax.
The Soap: The most typical type of soap to use is Fels Naptha. It is an old-fashioned type of soap usually found in the laundry aisle. The other options for soap are Ivory or another brand called, Zote. Any of these will work. I use my own homemade soap and find it works quite well and I do have this for sale in my Country Store. If you use Ivory or your own homemade soap you will need to use the whole bar.
Washing Soda: This is not to be confused with baking soda. They are not the same thing. Washing soda is sodium carbonate or soda ash (baking soda is sodium bicarbonate). It is a white powder. Its purpose is to help remove dirt and orders. The brand to look for is Arm & Hammer Washing Soda. I find it in the laundry section of my grocery store. Many people have a hard time finding this locally. I know you can purchase it on-line, even through Amazon.com. I would also suggest asking your grocery store manager if it would be possible for the store to get it for you.
Borax: Borax is a naturally occurring mineral: Sodium Borate. It is a white powder. It’s purpose is as a laundry whitener and deodorizer. The brand to look for is 20 Mule Team. It comes in a 76 oz. box. You should be able to locate this in the laundry detergent aisle. Again as with the washing sodas, if you cannot find it ask your store manager or look online.
The Recipe
Now that you have assembled all the needed ingredients here is the recipe:
Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above (I,Ronda, use Zote)
½ cup washing soda
½ cup borax powder
~You will also need a small bucket, about 2 gallon size~
Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add 1 gallon plus 6 cups of water and stir. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load.
~The finished soap will not be a solid gel. It will be more of a watery gel that has been accurately described as an "egg noodle soup" look.
~The soap is a low sudsing soap. So if you don’t see suds, that is ok. Suds are not what does the cleaning, it is the ingredients in the soap.
Here is the web link for her “How to step by step” visual for making the homemade laundry soap.
http://www.thefamilyhomestead.com/laundrysoap2.htm
All Purpose – Antibacterial Spray Cleaner ( makes 1 gallon ) ( This one is my all time favorite, I use this all the time, it smells great, kills germs, shines everything, won’t leave streaks. )
For Kitchen, Bathroom, Window’s & Mirrors
2- pint ( or 2full bottles of average size ) wintergreen rubbing alcohol
4- tblspns dish liquid
4- tblspns ammonia
4- tblspns vinegar
Pour all ingredients into a clean large gallon size jug ( an empty gallon size vinegar jug is great).
Add cold water till jug is most of the way full.
Cap & swish to mix, and then clean to your hearts desire.
Kitchen cleaner/grease cutter
spray bottle filled almost to top with pure, white vinegar
orange peelings torn into small pieces (about 1/4 cup of peels)
add orange peels to spray bottle of vinegar.
put under kitchen sink for about 2 weeks then bring out, shake gently, and use every where. This will smell more like the oranges and still clean, and cut grease great.
I have also used this in a hurry to clean windows, mirrors and glass.
Bathroom counters, sinks, & faucets.
1 Bar Dial- Antibacterial Soap
1 wash cloth
Wet cloth and suds it up with dial bath soap, wipe down all sinks counters, and faucets. Rinse cloth well then re wipe all sinks, counters, faucets to remove all residue. Store bar soap in a container that allows air flow, this will ensure the bar will remain dry and it will prolong the life of the bar as well.
Showers and Tubs
Vinegar in a spray bottle, baking soda & wash cloth.
Wet the cloth and pour baking soda onto the cloth, then scrub and wipe down all shower walls and tub surfaces. Spray walls and tub surfaces with the vinegar and let it set for about 5 to 10 min's. Then rinse with HOT water. This WILL remove all soap scum and mineral deposits.
Safe Antibacterial kitchen/Counter spray cleaner
1 clean empty spray bottle
1 tspn liquid dish detergent
hydrogen peroxide
pour both ingredients into spray bottle till full Swirl gently. Then spray counters, table tops, etc and wipe clean. This will kill germs without the harmful risks that bleach has. Have you ever noticed that you never smell bleach in a doctors office?
Furniture Polish
2 parts olive oil,
1 p. Lemon Juice
Mix together in a clean new spray bottle. Use another clean cloth to polish the surface dry.
I use this mixture , wow it removed lots of buildup on my furniture and left it clean and the wood was moisturized to.
Laundry Pre-treat (this is what professional dry cleaners use on wet clean items not dry clean )
In an empty ( but clean ) spray bottle add the following:
1/8th ( of the bottle) lemon ammonia
1/8th (of the bottle) liquid laundry detergent ( regular, not the bleach added type)
Water – fill the rest of the bottle with cold water.
Swish gently to mix together then spray away. This will get rid of nearly any stains. The longer it sits on the clothing the better. This will get rid of blood stains.
Washing Laundry
When washing dirty laundry only use 1/2 of what the detergent manufacturer recommends. Then add 1 cup of Lemon Ammonia to the wash water after detergent has been added. This will get your clothes just as clean if not even more so, and you will save $ in the long run. The ammonia will help to remove odors and grease spots better.
Fabric Softener (laundry rinse)
Use white vinegar in your rinse cycle instead of regular fabric softener.
No more than 1 cup, usually ½ to ¾ a cup is all that is needed.
This removes all of the residual laundry soap that is still in the clothing, and when rinse cycle is done your clothes smell like they were hung outside on the line.
However if you water has strong minerals in it such as iron or sulfur type stuff, smaller amounts of vinegar might do better, because sometimes the vinegar can’t mask the mineral smells.
This works especially well for heavy fabrics like jeans and towels. Boy will they smell great, even after a week in the closet.
Wrinkle Release
1 Spray bottle (Windex size)
4 tblspn fabric softener of your choice
4 tblspn white vinegar
water
Pour fabric softener and vinegar into the bottle & mix gently.
Then add water slowly almost to the top, so as not to cause it to bubble up, & mix gently.
Test small area first before using on delicate fabrics like silk.
To use spray a very fine mist onto your clothing, rub it into the fabric, pull and stretch so as to release all wrinkles. Put on to a hanger to let air dry, this will only take a few moments ( I promise , the vinegar smell will disappear fast).
This is also great to use when you iron your clothes, the wrinkles come right out, plus it smells terrific too.
Homemade Fabreeze
1 Spray bottle (windex size)
¼ cup or even less, fabric softener of your choice
4 tblspn rubbing alcohol ( to help kill allergens and bacteria )
cold water to fill to the top
Pour fabric softener and rest of ingred’s into bottle and then add water till mostly full.
Spray lightly on furniture for fresh sent.
Love & Prayers,
Ronda
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