Author Topic: Homemade Laundry Soap + Storage Calculations  (Read 538 times)

Offline JustAPrepper

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Homemade Laundry Soap + Storage Calculations
« on: November 15, 2010, 02:10:45 PM »
This is a copy/paste of the recipe I use.  I got it off the web last year but have no idea where or who to give credit to.  This recipe and others like it have been posted here but until now I hadn't taken the time to break it down and determine how much I need of each ingredient.  The calculations are listed at the bottom.

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. 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 soda, if you cannot find it ask you store manager or look online.

Homemade Laundry Soap
1/3 bar Fels Naptha or other type of soap, as listed above
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.


If you want your soap to have some sort of scent you can scent this with ½ to 1 oz. of essential oil or fragrance oil of your choice.

Calculations:

Washing Soda - 55 ounce box
1/2 Cup = 5 ounces
Each box has 11 "servings"

Borax - 76 ounce box
1/2 Cup = 3 ounces
Each box has 25 "servings"

Fels Naptha
Each bar has 3 "servings"

You'll need:
2 boxes of Washing Soda (22 full recipes)
1 box of Borax (22 full recipes + 3 extra servings)
8 bars of Fels Naptha (22 full recipes +2 extra servings)


Also, I keep a spare whisk on top of my bucket because it does get "clumpy".  Every time I refill my small/handy jug I give it a good whisk to make sure everything is evenly combined.  And, as I do laundry I give my little jug a quick shake just to combine again.

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