Adventures in How NOT to Make Laundry Detergent
While Jim is busy enjoying some new essential oils this week, I have been busy making our first batch of homemade laundry detergent.
I first looked at this recipe and had planned to go with it. But being a newbie, I thought it might be good to ask a friend her thoughts to see if I left anything out. Well good thing I did, because apparently I was lacking a very basic ingredient, soap. Specifically a laundry soap called Fels Naphtha. Yeah say that 10 times fast.
So there I am sitting on the porch with my 5 gallon tub of laundry soap, half done right. #pathetic Because I made such a large amount I had to run back to the store for 8 bars of Fels Naphtha soap. I came home, found a cheese grader, and started shredding. Have you ever got writer's cramp from shredding soap? Well now its a real thing.
8 bars later plus a lot of mixing, Team Hubbard has now plenty of laundry detergent for easily the next year...and maybe then some.
Lesson's learned??
- Start out small-don't make a huge batch only to realize its missing a key ingredient
- Use a blender/food processor to make Fals soap into a powder, grating got old way fast
- Don't break the cheese grader (see above)
If you're wanting to start making your own laundry soap, use THIS recipe by Amy. This woman knows what she be talking about.
And if you're in the area, swing by our place! We've now got laundry detergent coming out our ears would love to give you your own batch. Thank you and You're Welcome:)
09
10
Aaaaah haha! How long have you had the finished soap now? I tried a similar but non-Fels naphta recipe for dishwasher powder and just humidity in the air got to it and made it rock hard. I'm not sure if it was the lack of soap or some reaction between the other ingredients, but I would really love to make something like this work. Definitely would love to hear another post on how it's working for you!
ReplyDeleteNot sure about the dish detergent but I do try to keep my jar sealed because it will dry up if left in the open.
DeleteI make this too!! Amy at "All for Heaven's Sake" shared it a year and a half ago and I've been making it ever since! I do use a cheese grater for the fels, but I only grate one bar at a time (and yes it gets tiring with just one!) so it's not terrible. I also use a blender to get the smooth consistency after the mix has set in the jars. It's great because I can just attach the mason jar to the blender directly and it will blend right up! One batch makes two tall mason jars worth and each jar lasts about three months for us. I like to gift this away so I usually end up keeping a jar and giving a jar every time I make a batch (my dad loves it for his hunting clothes). In fact, I'll be needing to make a new batch soon...
ReplyDelete