THE LITTLE THINGS - LAUNDRY PART II - DETERGENT RECIPES

Earlier I wrote how we cut costs by putting up a clothesline to replace our defunct dryer.  Not only did that cut our power bill (and hence our modest contribution to related issues like pollution and oil imports), but it had the added benefit of making the laundry smell fresher and be well sterilized by the ultraviolet radiation generously and freely provided in sunlight.

Well, we needed to cut further and I was irked at how the prices for laundry detergent have risen in the recent past.  It’s mostly borax and washing soda, so I can't understand why it's so expensive.  I assume much of that is packaging and advertizing, neither of which I care much for.  So, I decided to begin the adventure of making my own laundry detergent and found a large number of homemade detergent recipes on Tipnut.

TIPNUT - 10 HOME MADE LAUNDRY DETERGENT RECIPES

I bought the following items at the local supermarket:

Borax -                 76 oz @ $4.29

Washing Soda    55 oz @ $2.99

Glycerin               16 oz @ $5.00

I also needed bar soap, but had plenty on hand.

Equipment needed:

1 grater

1 pot - 5 gal

1 sauce pan

1 large spoon

1 strainer

1 large dish

1 metal can for measuring out the detergent

I had all these things but the 5 gal pot.  That was a find at the local scrap yard.  They don't seem to make them like this anymore.

I tried several recipes from the above link with the following results:

Liquid Detergent - Recipe #1

Ingredients                                   Cost

1 quart Water (boiling)                  $0.01
2 cups Bar soap (grated)             $0.78
2 cups Borax                                 $0.56
2 cups Washing Soda                  $0.54

Electrical power (heating)            $0.05

Labor 0.30 hr                                 $6.00

Total                                              $7.94

Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted.

• Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the Borax and Washing Soda. Stir well until all is dissolved.
• Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
• Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Stir the soap each time you use it (will gel).

This recipe took about 15 minutes to prepare from grating the soap to heating up the water to mixing up the whole batch in the pot.  It yielded 2 gallons of detergent that I used for about 20 loads of laundry.

It cleaned moderately well removing ordinary dirt, some grease and most food stains.  I stored it in the 5 gal pot for convenience and it did gel, which was unpleasant.  I used the gel off the top for washing as the remaining water below the gel was not useful for laundering.

Powdered Laundry Detergent – Recipe #4

Ingredient                                                                           Cost
2 cups Fels Naptha Soap,* finely grated                        $1.56

1 cup Washing Soda                                                         $0.27
1 cup Borax                                                                        $0.28

Labor 0.05 hr                                                                      $1.25
Total                                                                                    $2.36

*[I used ordinary bath soap, an acceptable alternative]

Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.

• Use 2 tablespoons per full load.

This was the cheapest, fastest and easiest to make, but also the poorest performing detergent.  The grated soap did not fully dissolve in the wash water and the clothes emerged flecked with white bits of soap.  It also removed only the most vulnerable dirt, and I used more like half a cup per load to obtain anything that could be seriously described as clean.  I made about 10 loads from this.

Liquid Detergent with Glycerin - Recipe #6

Ingredient                             Cost

2.5 gallons Water (hot)         $0.01
1 Bar soap (grated)              $0.78
3/4 cup Washing Soda        $0.20
3/4 cup Borax                        $0.21
2 TBS Glycerin                      $1.26

Labor 0.30 hr                         $6.00

Total                                       $8.46

Melt bar soap over medium-low heat topped with water, stir until soap is melted.

• In a large pail, pour 2.5 gallons of hot water, add melted soap mixture, washing soda, borax and glycerin. Mix well.
• Use 1/2 cup per full load.

This cleaned adequate and didn't gel.  I’m still working my way through this batch and will see how things go.

But the point is that, even with labor factored in, this homemade detergent costs a small fraction, about 25% of the off the shelf variety detergent.   Hopefully the latest batch will be better and I can tweak it from there.  I expect to have about 25 to 30 loads from this batch.

With detergent running about $10 for a 10 load bottle, this is only about a $4.00.  However, the learning opportunity is priceless and I get to keep the cash in my pocket.  It's even better when I make the detergent while working in the kitchen since everything is at hand and it really adds very little time to normal activities.