1 bar of bath soap - Any works (Ivory for sensitive skin)
1 c. 20 Mule Team Borax
1 c. Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (NOT BAKING SODA)
4 c. water
2 quart canning jars with lids
Start out by grating your bar of soap with a hand grater or food processor. (Photo 1)
Place deep pot (like for stews) on stove with water in it. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to about 340° or medium and add soap shavings to water.
This is where you MUST stir until soap is completely dissolved. Should take about 10 minutes to fully dissolve well. If you are not sure, just keep going for the full 10 minutes. Do not stir briskly. Just enough to keep the contents mixed. Otherwise you will get a sudsy pot and that will be a disaster!
DO NOT BOIL this water, just allow it it do the work for 10 straight minutes. You should not have more bubbles than shown (Photo 2). Remove from heat.
Add Borax and Washing Soda to water. Stir well and continually for another 5 minutes or until there are no more gritty granules on the bottom of pan. Again, if you are not sure, just mix for the full 5 minutes. It really does need it.
Split the mixture between the two jars equally. You will have space left over in the jar. Add enough water to bring mixture just to the shoulders of the jar. You want to leave about 1" space for air. Seal tightly and turn jars upside down.
Leave them alone for 4 hours. You will see the liquid separate from the solid. Yes, it will be very solid, too. Do not shake, stir or touch for the 4 hours. Just watch as the magic happens.
After 4 hours, remove lid and pour contents into a blender. Blend until smooth and creamy. (Photo 3 & 4)
If you have a regular neck jar, not wide mouth, you can actually take the blade off your blender and attach to the jar itself. Then put jar onto blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
Put label on jars so it is not accidentally thought to be edible.
Enough for approx. 100 loads of laundry
TO USE:
Top Load Machines:
Place dirty clothes into machine.
Let water start to fill (temp of water doesn't matter)
Put 1 Tablespoon of your laundry smoothie under the running water in machine.
Close lid and let it do the work for you!
Front Load Machines:
Place dirty clothes into machine.
Put 1 Tablespoon of laundry smoothie directly on clothes. Yes, it won't hurt them.
Close door and let it do the work for you!
(NOTE: Do NOT place laundry smoothie into dispensers. It is safe to put directly onto the clothes because it has been broken down already.)
IMPORTANT... PLEASE READ
Do NOT Use Baking Soda or Oxy-clean with this recipe thinking that it will add a boost to your wash. Your jars will likely explode within 7-10 days in storage (It's been done!)
Because the Soaps have been completely dissolved in this recipe, there will be NO residue on your clothing like many other homemade detergent recipes.
If you leave your detergent sitting more than 5 hours without blending it, you will most likely see it get a grainy texture. It should be light, smooth, silky feeling with no "gritty" feeling whatsoever. If it Does have grit, that means that it did Not dissolve properly in the mixing process.
What do I do if it's too grainy or if it doesn't separate? No worries here. If it's too grainy or doesn't separate, it just means that the soaps were not fully dissolved. You can spoon the mixture back into your pot and remelt it until it is smooth. Try not to breathe in the fumes, remember, you are making detergent! Once it feels "smooth" pour it back into the mason jars. Let it set a few hours and then whip.
Gritty Soap- if your soap is mostly smooth with only a little "grit" feeling, it will still work fine, but may not dissolve well in cold water.
If you have moderately gritty soap that DID separate, but you don't feel like it's "good enough" to use in your laundry, then use it as a super stain remover for those stubborn stains.
If your soap is real gritty or didn't separate, you will need to remelt it over medium heat, stirring constantly.
Dial Bath Bar = .85 bar
20 Mule Team Borax 76 oz box = 9.5 cups $3.29 box = .34 per cup
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda 55 oz box = 6.875 cups - $3.25 box = .47 per cup
Total Purchase Price - $7.39
Cost per load - $.0739
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