Wednesday, April 21, 2010

I Boiled What On My Stove!?

The aroma of the house right now is clean and fresh thanks to the grated bar of soap that I was melting and boiling on my stove. Yes, you read right! :) I finally made a batch of the homemade laundry detergent that I've been wanting to try for months and months. I kept putting it off until the move, so I wouldn't have to waste any at the last house. Yesterday I was blissfully giddy when the UPS man brought my last ingredient of a whopping three items that this recipe calls for. I jumped around the house and tore the package open. Seven fresh yellow bars of Fels Naptha soap filled the house with its intoxicating scent as soon as the bars saw sunlight. I've heard that this soap smells yummy, but oh my! I found myself making many trips to the laundry room during the last day just to smell the air inside made sweet by the bars sitting wrapped on the counter inside. {Yes, it is the little things that make me happy...}

The kids were highly interested in the process, so I'm glad that I did it while the baby was napping. {It takes a while to melt the grated soap down on the stove, and you also don't want little fingers mixing ingredients behind your back!} I made a half batch, since I only have two smaller empty Tide containers saved to store the mixture in for now. The concentrate is now sitting in its 5-gallon bucket waiting to "gel" overnight. I'll see in the morning whether or not this new little project of mine was successful and report back! I decided to go with the tried and true recipe of the Duggar family that I found in my book The Duggars: 20 and Counting!

Please let me know if you've tried your own detergent or decide to try this recipe for yourself!

Ingredients:

1 Fels Naptha soap bar, grated
1 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax

Instructions:

Grate the soap bar into a small saucepan. Cover with hot water. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring continually, until the soap completely dissolves.

Put Washing Soda and Borax in a 5-gallon bucket. Pour in the hot, melted soap mixture. Stir well, until all the powder is dissolved. Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water. Stir, cover securely, and let set overnight. The next morning, stir the mixture. Mix equal amounts of soap concentrate and water in a smaller laundry-detergent dispenser or container. Shake before using.

For top-loading machines: Use 1 cup of the soap mixture per load.
For front-loading machines: Use 1/2 cup per load.

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10 comments:

This Heavenly Life said...

I JUST read an article about making this detergent, and I'm slowly being won over to the idea. What does Fels Naptha soap smell like? And where do you get washing soda?

I can't wait to hear your verdict!

Kate @ Bliss and That said...

Sarah~ I can't put my finger on a specific scent I can associate the soap with, but the thing that comes to mind first would be a strong, fresh lemony scent. :) I purchased my washing soda at the grocery store in the laundry isle and know that a lot of groceries carry it. It's also online if you can't find it. Hope that helps!

momofmany said...

Wow Kate! What a great idea! I am making my own baby food for the first time. Maybe I will try laundry detergent next!! Thanks for posting the recipe :)

Anonymous said...

I've used the pink Zote a few times, and wasn't impressed...but Lemon-y goodness sounds much nicer :)

Keep us updated on how it cleans, you know I have 5 little, dirty boys...

Lenae said...

I am intrigued, and will definitely be jotting down this idea to give a try! You're awesome!

FilledToTheBrim - Kate said...

Wow, this is great! I think I might try it!

Kristin said...

Where did you order your Fels Naptha soap? It seems very reasonable. Glad the project turned out well. Sounds like a success! You have my wheels turning now...if I could just get my hubby to purge some of the stuff in my storage cupboards in the laundry room, maybe I could make a whole batch. Ha!

Kate @ Bliss and That said...

Kristin, I ordered the soap from soapsgonebuy.com

I know that it's in different hardware stores (Ace maybe) and groceries, but didn't come across any. Instead of dragging the kids all across the city looking for it, I figured it would just be better to order online! :)

Jenn said...

I my goodness SO many people in blogland are doing this!! but you are the first to post the recipe... =) I may have to try that in early summer!?! too busy until then...

You frequent a few of the same blogs I do! =) nice to meet you!

Jenn~

Lemonade Makin' Mama said...

Okay you're going to laugh because I DIDN'T see this, and I had already written my detergent post for Monday because it's going to be a crazy weekend... I totally said how lazy I am to make the boiled on the stove version in mY POST! LOL

You rock girl...