Homemade Detergent

[belchers1]

Anyone make their own detergent for CD's

I'm considering using THIS recipe.

[Noelle C.]

I'll have to try that. I wonder where Borax can be bought. With the plan to cloth-diaper, this will sure save money!!

[Lineymom]

I have been looking into this. I don't want to mess with a recipe like that though it sounds so messy. I was thinking of this one at the top, it sounds much simplier because it is a powder.
http://diaperjungle.com/homemade-laundry-detergent.html

I have been using All F&C for years and have been reading about the "brighteners" it leaves behind on your clothes. Country save is the cheapest alternative I can find and I so don't want to pay for it in bulk at amazon. But it is not availible locally.

My walmart always has borax. It says MULE TEAM in big print. It is the washing soda I will have to seek out.

I hope you get some great replies from people who make detergent! I am very curious about sensitive skin issues.

[Katie T]

I have found washing soda at my grocer in the laundry isle. I have made it using fel naptha & castle soap both left residue but the fels naptha was way worse! We have hard h2o though so that may have played a roll. We love charlies soap!

[riboflavin]

I wanted to make my own laundry detergent but was discouraged with all the recipes that called for Borax, because I wanted mine to be even safer and more natural than the brands health food stores carry. This is what I found out about borax from Wikipedia:

Borax, sodium tetraborate decahydrate, is not acutely toxic. [8] Its LD50 (median lethal dose) score is tested at 2.66 g/kg in rats. [9] This does not mean that it is safe, merely that a significant dose of the chemical is needed to cause severe symptoms or death. The median lethal dose for humans tends to differ for a given compound from that of rats. Simple exposure can cause respiratory and skin irritation. Ingestion may cause gastrointestinal distress including nausea, persistent vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea. Effects on the vascular system and brain include headaches and lethargy, but are less frequent. "In severe poisonings, a beefy red skin rash affecting palms, soles, buttocks and scrotum has been described. With severe poisoning, erythematous and exfoliative rash, unconsciousness, respiratory depression, and renal failure." [10]
A reassessment of boric acid/borax by the United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Pesticide Programs found potential developmental toxicity (especially effects on the testes).[11] Boric acid solutions used as an eye wash or on abraded skin are known to be especially toxic to infants, especially after repeated use because of its slow elimination rate

Anyway, so I have had success using plain soapnuts (a fruit with saponins). I also really like boiling the soapnuts and then using the liquid. Sometimes I add a little baking soda and/or vinegar, sometimes I add a little lavender oil for scent. But I admit we still get lazy and buy 7th Gen sometimes!

[Lineymom]

That's very frustrating, but what other chemicals are in the store bought stuff. I know the country save I was planning on getting has borax. I read somewhere just last night, sorry can't quote the source, that soap nuts had negative effects on fertility.

This is the simplest recipe I have found.

Homemade Diaper Detergent

1 cup Washing Soda
1 cup 20 Mule Team Borax
1 cup Oxyclean Free

Combine all ingredients. Done!

It does have borax, but no soap, which I assume would be better for hard water, which we have. I am not sure how good it would work without soap, though. Plus, I am getting unbleached prefolds so I don't know about the oxyclean with them???

[Lineymom]

OK I am totally hijacking this thread....sorry!

I researched the soap nuts and it was some random person on a blog who said they were linked to infertility. Wikipedia did mention that they had been used as a contraceptive, but it was as a spermacide, if they have antibacteria properties that makes sense.

Anyway, after reading other reviews, I am getting sold on them! Riboflavin, do you ever just use them straight by just putting the bag in the wash? What about your other regular laundry, do you use them for that. I have two boys who like to play in the mud and an often sweaty Dh... but hey if they would clean up poop!!!

Amazon has a brand there, Naturoli, that has great reviews and great prices. 11 cents a load! That is less than the country save I was looking at.

[mamasurprised]

Originally Posted by belchers1

Anyone make their own detergent for CD's

I'm considering using THIS recipe.

I use that recipe with a few variations, I use Zote soap, and the water quantities are different at different steps in the recipe. But virtually the same.
I've been using it for about 4 months and it has been great!

Originally Posted by Lineymom

My walmart always has borax. It says MULE TEAM in big print. It is the washing soda I will have to seek out.

I hope you get some great replies from people who make detergent! I am very curious about sensitive skin issues.

Washing soda can also be found at any local pool store listed as Sodium Carbonate, it is also used as a ph balancer for pool water, that is where I found mine.

Also, I am allergic to most laundry detergents, as in getting severe cases of hives and needing steroids, and with this recipe I have not had any reactions and my four month old dd has been almost exclusively cloth diapered and has never had a diaper rash except when wearing too many disposables in a row.

I use it on all our laundry and even DH's well worn work clothes come out clean! I even made a batch for my mother and she now uses it for her and Dad. It really saves so much money and works so well! Four gallons last me about three months doing about two loads of laundry and one load of dipes every two to three days sometimes more.

[riboflavin]

Funny Lineymom, I was so shocked that you said soapnuts were linked to infertility I was trying to google it and find something! I was like, 'What, a piece of fruit thrown in the laundry linked to infertility!" Glad to hear what you had to say afterwards!

Anyway, yes, I have used them straight in the bag for all laundry. They always worked great for us. We are rough on our clothes too; 2 little boys a hubby and me. The only problem I find with using them in the bag is that since me and DH do laundry, sometimes we can not remember how many times the other has used the bag. So for us, making them into a liquid is easier in terms of knowing we are using very soapy, not overused soapnuts. Making the liquid is easy, so if you ever want to, post again or PM me.

I make dishsoap out of it too, use it in making baking soda ball shampoo, etc.

[belchers1]

Has anyone ever used Tom's of Maine for the grated bar soap?

I ended up making my detergent yesterday and used it today! I tweeked the recipe a bit. I couldn't decide what bar soap to use, so I used 1/3 part Tom's, 1/3 part Fels Naptha, and 1/3 part Kirk's Castile. I also added a cup of Oxiclean Free.

I've only washed one load of diapers and they're hanging outside right now... We'll see

[momoftworedheads]

Originally Posted by Noelle C.

I'll have to try that. I wonder where Borax can be bought. With the plan to cloth-diaper, this will sure save money!!

Borax - you can get it at WalMart and even Target I am pretty sure. I've run into WalMart for it a few times. You may be able to get it at the grocery store too, I'll look the next time I go.

Take care!

[Logan]

I second soapnuts!!! We love them. There's nothing better than clean CD's with that fresh soap nut smell! ahhhh! I use way more than you're supposed to, and they still last ages. I put them in the bag straight, have never tried boiling them. I did use a different bag than what comes with them though as those ones are really hard to get open since you have to knot them...Ive had a disaster once from not knotting properly. Everything comes out so clean and I love that we dont have anything unnatural in there. Especially since I try to buy organic clothes mostly. I dont like the 'natural' store ones, they contain heaps of ingredients and most of them dont sound like anything I want to put on my skin. I like the idea of making my own but the borax puts me off completely and I havent seen any recipes without it. The fact that its a poison is reason enough for me. If I wouldnt eat it, then I dont want it on my clothing 24/7 for every day of my life soaking into my skin! Now I dont particularly want to eat the soap nuts but I know no harm would come to me if I did.