Homemade laundry soap...how to get bright whites

[livinlovinlaughin]

I have been making my own liquid laundry soap for awhile now. I use the recipe found on the Duggars website. Water, washing soda, borax and fels naptha. I have been very happy with how long it lasts and how well it cleans. I use vinegar in place of fabric softener also, just thought I should mention. My problem is that my whites seem dingy and greyish. I have used Mrs. Stewart's liquid bluing, which seems cost effective but does not often give me the bright whites I am looking for. Quite possibly I am not using the proper amount each time. I also wonder about the saftey of this product. I have also tried hyrogen peroxide which does not seem to be cost effective for how much I need to use to notice any results. I do love sunning my whites but this is not always an option.

How do you get your whites bright? I have not done much research on chlorine and non-chlorine bleach. I have avoided bleach and on rare occasion used non-chlorine bleach. If you have any info on the safety of these please share. I am looking for a cost effective and safe/natural way to have consistantly bright whites. Any suggestions????

Also, anyone who uses homemade laundry soap, do you notice fading of colored items or dingy whites? Just curious of long term effects on fabric.

[ArtsyMomma]

I use a similar recipe for homemade laundry detergent (although I add calgon, we have terrible hard water). I've noticed no difference in the dingy-ness/fading of our clothes since I switch to homemade. BUT again, super hard water has done a number on our clothing. I do use bleach occasionally in our white loads, but mostly it's kitchen towels.

[mamadiamond]

i use a powder version with the same ingredients (but i use dr bronners instead of fels naptha) and don't have problems.....try a pre-wash with borax? works well for my diapers. are you sure the soap is rinsing thoroughly? buildup can cause dingyness. do you line dry? sunlight is a natural bleacher.

[sunnysandiegan]

I made 6 recipes from tipnut dot com (first three liquids and all three powders) in test sizes. I found the powders did a better job on whites than the liquids did. The first powder was my favorite. I suspect all the recipes perform differently based on your water and other factors, so try a few.