Homemade Laundry Soap Report

Well, a few days ago, I posted that I was trying a new homemade laundry soap. After I got it made up, life got in the way, and I didn't get to use it until today. This post is the report I promised.

Results:
I had to shake the bottle of laundry soap to get the semi-solids to dissolve back into the liquid, but the recipe mentioned that. My clothes are clean, with no soapy residue. The colors came out bright. They smell fresh and have a soft clean smell--not a heavy laundry perfume smell like you get sometimes with store bought laundry soap.

I have been wearing an outfit today that I washed using the homemade laundry soap. I am so allergic to everything that I have had to change my commercial laundry soap every three months or so to prevent rashes on my arms and back. Even clean clothes washed in commercial laundry soap make me itch. So far, clothes washed in the homemade laundry soap are comfortable, and I am not itching at all. Relief!

At the price, about 1 penny per load, this homemade soap is much more economical than the store bought kind. I believe I will continue to use this from now on. I have no allergic problems with Ivory brand soap or with baking soda, which are two of the main ingredients in the recipe.

To finish up the wash, I used a vinegar and water softener (1/4 cup vinegar to 1 cup of water) in the rinse cycle to soften the clothes.

I am totally impressed. Visit Making Homemade Laundry Soap for the recipe I used. Make sure you use at least a 3 quart pan when you melt the grated soap, though, or you will have a mess to clean up. You will need to shake the soap several times over the first few days to keep it from congealing into a white blob in the liquid, but eventually it does not need this. I used plastic 1 gallon juice bottles to store the soap.

For more homemade cleaning supplies, try Better Basics for the Home: Simple Solutions for Less Toxic Living. You will also find recipes for made at home shampoo, mouthwash, and other personal care products.