Homemade laundry detergent recipe:
You will need- a 10 litre bucket; a saucepan; one cup of grated soap; 1/2 cup of borax; and 1/2 cup of washing soda, and essential oils such as eucalyptus, orange, lavender or lemon if desired!!
Place 1 cup of grated soap and 1 1/2 litres of water in a saucepan and heat on medium heat until soap melts. Add 1/2 cup of borax and 1/2 cup of washing soda, stir until all dissolved and thickening slightly. (It will thicken a lot more later on.)
Pour your soap mix into the 10litre bucket and fill the bucket with hot tap water. If you wish to add essential oils, now is the time. Eucalyptus oil helps remove stubborn stains and odours, just as a note!
Leave overnight to gel and its all ready to use!
Do not stress if your homemade soap doesn't bubble up like the bought detergents, it works wonderfully well and does not contain the extra chemicals to create lots of lather.
Half a cup per load is the general rule of thumb, and you can put your new detergent in a jar or similar and add hot water to dissolve it before adding to your wash if you prefer to wash on cold cycle.
Extra tip- a dash of cider vinegar can be added as a fabric softener substitute or added to final rinse. This will also clean any soap residue and build-up out of your machine!!
Another money-saving tip- ask us about any soaps we may have as an end of batch, or where the fragrance didn't stick as well as we would like; we often have bargain odds and ends that can be purchased at half-price or less, suitable for making laundry soap or for in the kitchen!
