Borax Free Laundry Detergent *Revised*

You can view my old recipe/post HERE, but after playing around with the recipe this year, I have made a few revisions, and this time I have photos!

To start with, you will need 2 bars of regular body soap. Any scent you would like, any brand you would prefer. Dr Bronners has good natural body soap in a variety of scents if you would like a natural soap. I used Softsoap or Dial most of the time just because it is more cost-efficient. :-)

Photo Credit http://igknowidea.blogspot.com

You will also need one cup of washing soda (Sodium Carbonate) and one cup of baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate).

Photo Credit http://greenergreener.com

Hardware includes a large stock pot, a metal or wooden stirring utensil, a five gallon bucket with a lid (for safety), and hot tap water. I got my five gallon bucket from my dad who has a pool, I just washed it really well, but Hardware Stores like Lowes usually carry them for about $3-$5 each.

To begin:

#1 - Cut, chop, shred, or grate the bars of soap. The smaller the pieces, the better and quicker they will melt.

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#2 - In your stockpot, combine your soap shreds and 2 cups of hot water, and stir over medium heat until soap pieces have melted. *Do not leave unattended for too long, because soap will burn.*

#3 - When soap has melted, add your additional 2 cups of hot water and stir together. Then reduce heat to medium-low and add your baking soda and washing soda. Stir well until the powders are dissolved.

#4 - At this point you can add a fragrance oil or essential oil of your choosing if you would like. For this batch, I am using coconut scented soap, and I am adding about a tablespoon of lemongrass essential oil for additional fragrance.

#5 - Now, pour your soap mixture *carefully, it's hot!* into your five gallon bucket, and fill the bucket to about 2 inches from the top with hot tap water.

#6 - Once the bucket is full, stir well to combine soap mixture and water, cover, and let sit overnight.

#7 - The next morning, you should notice a gel like consistency at the top of the bucket. This is good! This is how it is suppose to look. :-) Stir the contents of your bucket well, and you should now have a slightly lumpy looking thick liquid. This is your "concentrate". You can do what I do and just leave it in the bucket and use 1/2 cup per load. It make things easier. Be sure to stir the bucket contents about once per week. However, you can also use an old detergent container and fill it halfway with your concentrate and half with warm water. Shake gently before each use, and use 1 cup per load.

The total cost to make this detergent is about $3.00 per batch, and each batch can do about 100 loads at 1/2 cup per load, making the cost about $0.03 per load. :-)

A recipe for a powdered detergent can be found HERE.

Enjoy! Comment! Let us know how it works for you!