Laundry Detergent

I've been absent from my blog for several months but recent events have encouraged me to come back.

My facebook friends are always asking about the homemade cleaners I make, the recipes I'm cooking and my food storage.  I've learned to can food safely (I'm still learning!) and I'm a student of sustainable living.  They ask me how I do these things and are really encouraging about my learning.  I'd love to share the things I've learned so that others can learn too.

Today I post one of my most favourite things.  Homemade laundry detergent.  I have tried several different "recipes" and this is one that is the easiest to make, has a wonderful result and takes up very little space in the laundry room.  I used to make liquid detergent but it was in 5 gallon buckets and it never got my husbands shirts really really clean.   So here is my tried and tested (for more than 2 years in my home) laundry detergent.

I usually make a big batch every six months or more.

1 cup Washing Soda
1 Cup Borax
1/4 cup BiCarb Soda
1 bar of grated soap

Washing soda can be found in the laundry isle.  It's usually in a bag on the bottom shelf.  Borax can be found in a lot of grocery stores with the cleaners but I find it's cheaper and sold in bigger quantities at Bunnings.  Bi-Carb or Baking Soda is also at the grocery store in the baking isle.

When it come to bar soap you can use any soap you like.  BUT it has to be real soap.  The moisture bars that they sell will not work.  An example of a moisture bar is Dove.  I have tried all sorts of soaps some more environmentally friendly than others.  My goal wasn't to make a 100% green detergent.  It was to make a good detergent that was cheap.   I found that the best soap for me was Sard Wondersoap.  It cleans everything.  In my house we are mechanics and grease, oil and fuel are not a problem with this detergent.

Washing soda is currently $3.90 a kg
Borax at Bunnings is about $8 kg
Bi Carb is about $3.00 a kg at the grocery store but if you get it at Costco it's MUCH cheaper.
Sard wonder soap $2.50 a bar

If you figure that if we made 4x a regular batch it would cost (there are a little more than 4 cups in a kilo of powder so this is an estimate.)

Washing soda  3.90
Borax               8.00
Bi Carb              .75
Sard x4          10.00

Total            $22.65

This would make about 13 cups of detergent or 208 tablespoons.  I use one tablespoon for a regular large load and two if it's heavily soiled.  It costs 11 cents a tablespoon.  So a load of laundry will cost from 11 to 22 cents.

My little jam jar.  Without shelves I've
made use of an old shower shelf.  The
coffee scoop clips on and is one Tbsp.
The other jar is my "you left this in
your pockets" jar. 

Here is an example of a bulk portion of powdered detergent for sale at a local shop .  They say it's concentrated and their 7 kilos will yield 160 washes.  At a price of $39 that makes it 24 cents per wash.  Also they use 7 kilos to do 160 washes where my homemade detergent will yield from 104 to 208 washes with less than half as much detergent.  What are they using as "filler" to make up all that extra product I wonder?  Do you feel like you get a better deal if there is more bulk of something?

My laundry room doesn't have a large shelf in it.  When I make my detergent I use a little 5 litre bucket with a lid.  That bucket goes under my folding table and I have a little jam jar that I use to keep some near the machine.  The jam jar gets refilled every few weeks or month depending on usage.  Since I'm only using a tablespoon per load it makes sense to have a little container for easy access. I like that I'm not spilling detergent by taking a scoop from a bucket on the floor up to the machine.

This is what it looks like all mixed up.

The 5 litre bucket really is too big for
the batches I make but it's what I had.

Happy washing!