And speaking of life with 5 children (and 2 adults), one of those in cloth diapers, comes a LOT of laundry. And laundry means going through a lot of laundry detergent. And of course, someone is allergic to something and finding 1 detergent to meet all of our needs is tricky at best. But, being the wonderful mother I am (see, I have no shame what-so-ever! lol) I eventually figured out that Tide works great for all my family members. But, not to the best for cloth diapers.
Further experimentation led to the discovery that Costco's Kirkland brand is just about the exact same thing as Tide. And the Free and Clear brand is great for all our sensitive skinned kids. But, as mentioned it gets expensive. Last time I purchased a container it was about $18.
So, after searching and researching I found that Tip Nut had some interesting recipes for making home made detergent (and fabric softener and fabric softer sheets too!).
Now most recipies call for the following items:
Washing Soda (this is NOT the same as baking soda!)
20 Mule Team Borax
Bar soap (similar to Zote)
Now, notice the prices of these items:
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| $3 for 55oz: Found at the military commissary |
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| $4 for 76 oz; found at Walmart |
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| $0.99 a bar; found at Walmart |
In addition to the "ingredients" I purchased the following items: 1 Set of measuring cups and spoons and 1 cheese grater. I did not want to use the ones purposed for food preparation. I guess you could, just wash them well...but I would rather have a separate set. Each were picked up for $1 from the Dollar Tree. I also purchased a 5 gallon bucket with lid from Home Depot for about $5.
So, in the very beginning I have paid about $15 to get started.
Next comes the recipie:
1Quart Boiling Water
2 Cups grated Zout
2 cups Washing Soda
2 cups 20 Mule Borx
2 gallons cool water
Now the first thing you need to do is use the cheese grater to finely grate you Zout bar. This does go quickly. The finer you can grate it the easier it is to disolve it.
Next, bring 1 quart of water to boil. As it starts boiling add the grated Zout to the boiling water and stir. Since it does take a while turn the heat down and stir. Mine likes to clump up some when I first add it to the boiling water. I like to let it sit and heat for a few moments...but the more you stir it the quicker the Zout will dissolve. Don't worry, there will be some soapy bubbles...but it really ins't a big deal. Don't beat it...or you'll get a bubbly mess!
While that is melting add the Washing Soda and 20 Mule Borax to your 5 Gallon Bucket. Break up any lumps. This will make it much easier to stir when it is time!
After the Zout is thoroughly dissolved in the boiling water pour it into the 5 Gallon bucket with the Washing Soda and Borax and stir well. I like to pour it through a sieve first just to make sure there are absolutely NO lumps of soap in it.
After it is mixed well add the 2 Gallons of cool water. Don't make the same mistake I did thinking that if I used hot water it would guarantee that my soaps are dissolved. This creates a solid block of soap sitting on top of water. Cool water is much better!
Now, if you want to add some "pretty smells" like that of Tide or Downy...you can add 10 to 15 drops of essential oil after it has cooled down.
Now, what you will have is a bucket with a pink gel substance. Every time you use it stir it well. Then add 1/4 cup to your laundry. I use a front loader which has the option to either have a powder detergent or liquid detergent. I have found that I have to use the power detergent setting, or it glop's up in the dispenser. You can either use a measuring up, or do I what I did...recycle the cups that come with the Kirkland detergent. If you fill it to the lower line in the cup it is exactly 1/4 cup! I dump the detergent in the dispenser, then throw the cup in with the laundry so there is no mess on my washer, counters, etc. Clean!
So, the big question...does this stuff really clean your laundry? Well, I put it through 2 of the ultimate tests. The first was washing poopy diapers...and they came out clean! Now mind you...baby poop does stain...but no detergent I had used before this got the stains out. The sun works great for this job! But they felt clean, smelled clean, and no ammonia in them from pee.
The second test...week old teenager pe clothes! (Whew! I'm lucky to get them to bring them home every week...I seriously think it was 2 weeks old at this time). It worked great! No odor and they were clean. Good enough for me!
Today I made my second batch. The first batch, I made about 2 1/2 months ago. And like I said...I do a LOT of laundry in this house! A container of Kirkland Detergent lasted about that long too. So, even with my start up costs of purchasing the extra measuring cups, grater, and bucket...it has already paid for itself. In fact...I paid less for the start up than I would have purchasing a container of detergent!
I use my detergent in my HE Front Loader machine. You won't see a lot of bubbles as it is agitating...but that is okay. Your laundry is getting clean!
Now for fabric softener....using White Distilled Vinegar works like a charm! 1/4 cup in the fabric softener dispenser or Downy Ball. Again, if you would like that "pretty smell" add about 24 drops of essential oil to the jug. Mind that you mark your jug for laundry only...otherwise you are going to have very fowl tasting food!
For this one you can use your favorite fabric softener. What I did was cut up some sponges ( I had gotten a bunch from an old House Party that didn't get handed out. I cut them in half). In an old baby wipe container I mixed 4 tablespoons of my favorite fabric softener and 1/4 cup of water...then soaked my sponges. It only took a couple. I squeeze out the excess and throw them in the dryer. When the dryer is done I just put them back in my container.
Well, that is about all I have time for today! Still have a pile of fresh laundry waiting to be folded. Happy Laundry day!!!!
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