Laundry Soap

For five years I have been making our laundry soap. I was making the liquid type which required me heating up  a lot of water and storing many bottles of gallon containers. A month ago I was checking out at the grocery store and the cashier noticed I was purchasing Fels-Naptha. She asked if I made my own laundry soap and if it was the liquid or power. She said she made the powder and how much easier it was to make than the liquid. I was always worried that it would be to gummy and clog the washer but she assured me that it dissolved instantly. I was also concerned since we have a HE washer. So I did my research and  HE washers use less water so the less suds the better. Trust me this is very low suds (remember its the soap and not the suds that clean). So for my next batch of soap I whipped up the powder formula. It was soooooo much easier to make than the liquid. I don't have to let it sit for 24 hours nor store all of those gallon containers. Now a month later, I made another batch tonight and will never make the liquid again. This is so quick to make and you save so much money. With store bought laundry soap the average cost of a load of laundry is $0.21 per load homemade is $0.05 per load. Homemade is also better for your septic as it contains zero phosphates and zero fillers like store bought which will clog the lines and  is non-toxic so it will not harm necessary septic bacteria like toxic detergents and antibacterial soaps. Ok, enough with the facts. Here is how easy it is to make it:

For one batch you need:
1 bar of Fels-Naptha, 1 C. Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, 1 C. Borax

Step 1: Grate the whole bar of Fels-Naptha with a cheese grater

Step 2: Add the grated soap to the food processor

Step 3: Add 1 C. of washing soda and 1 C. of  Borax

Step 4: Pulse until the Fels-Naptha is fine and well mixed with washing soda and Borax

Step 5: Pour into plastic container

Use 1 Tablespoon per load or 2 T. for extra soiled laundry. 

It takes me less than 10 minutes to whip up a patch and it lasts us a month. For even more cost savings I use white vinegar as a substitute for fabric softener (your clothes won't smell like a salad).