Thursday, April 21, 2011

New Laundry Soap


For those of you like me who make your own laundry soap I have found a new recipe! I started making my own laundry soap when Baby O was diagnosed with a childhood skin condition that was greatly irritated by dyes and heavy perfumes. She was the kid who broke out from bubble bath and lotions as a baby.  She seemed to stay broke out until I started making my own detergents and soaps. She has not had a breakout since. However    I was tired of grating bar soaps to make my homemade laundry detergent. There are lots of recipes out there for this method which usually incorporates a grated bar soap, washing soda, borax and water. However I have problems making one that will get out that tough farm dirt and sweat and still not irritate sensitive skin.

If you are interested in making this type of detergent you can find recipes here

While reading a soap making forum recently I ran across this post......


I had to mix my own lye and lard for the soap but it turned out wonderfully. It made into a fluffy white soap about the consistency of yogurt after about 3 days of stirring. I added a small amount of lavendar essential oil and my clothes came out clean and smelling wonderful.

For heavier soiled work clothes I did add additional Oxiclean to help with stain removal.
For the rinse I just added a little vinegar to the final rinse.

I would like to caution anyone trying this recipe to follow all safety instructions for handling lye. Don't forget those goggles and rubber gloves ladies : )

With a pig to butcher this fall I will have all the lard I want without having to even buy that. However the next batch I am going to experiment with coconut oil and see how that works.

But for now this is an inexpensive alternative to those expensive store bought detergents laden with chemicals and dyes that can irritate sensitive skin.


Blessings from The Holler

The Canned Quilter 

6 comments:

  1. I want to learn to make my own soap, but I think I'll have to find some made by someone else because I don't feel I could work safely with lye.

    Thanks for the post though! :)

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  2. I just made more laundry soap the other day. The ;last time was about 2 or 3 months ago < I couldn't remember when and if I had posted it! I love being able to save on laundry soap especially in these economically hard times..I'm glad to know how! Only complaint I have is I notice my colors aren't as bright as I'd like them to be...Someone suggested "White King" which I never heard of and wonder if there is something else besides vinegar that would brighten them up a bit.

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  3. I remember helping make lye soap. We would do it outside with a big black kettle. Mom would also use stove ashes sometimes when we were short on lye.

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  4. Here is mine

    4 lbs washing soda
    4 lbs baking soda
    4 lb Borax
    3 bars soap (Fels-Naptha or Kirk's Castile)

    Grate soap and mix together. Store in a air tight container. My husband works in a steel mill and I get his clothes clean. Use 1-2 tablespoon front loader Top loader 2 tablespoons. I use no bleach or softener. After using this for one year I still love it!

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  5. This is a very different laundry soap than I've tried before but since we have our own lard - I'm tempted to try it!
    Thanks for sharing!
    Gina

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  6. I have made my own soap before when my daughter was younger. It is the BEST SOAP ever!!! My family thought I was nuts, but shoot, just a generation ago, my Grandma was making her own lye soap outside in a big pot. And I am nuts, WHY???? Go figure. Anyways, the basic lye soap recipe was what I used, hot process, and that soap made my daughter's eczema go away. She had issues with perfumes and stuff in bubble bath. She also broke out when stress levels were high. I put oatmeal from the kitchen in the soap. Great soap. I grated soap up and did exactly what's in that picture, boiled it up and made two gallons of laundry soap. The soap that I make that comes out with too much lye in it and burns skins, I would use for laundry soap (better than bleach getting socks white. My husband is HORRIBLE to his socks...) The soap that was oilier made AWESOME soap in the shower and for a while I used olive oil handmade soap for hair shampoo. I liked it better than the shampoo from the store, and it made my hair shiny, soft, and didn't get wasted as much as liquid storebought soap in a plastic container. I have used glycerin that was byproduct from a bio-diesel maker that made suds up very nicely. I have also used used fry grease from a restaurant, and bought fat for pennies on the pound from a butcher. However, the stuff from the butcher was LOADED with salt, so when I rendered the fat down, there were cups and cups of salt on the bottom of the pot that I had to scrape out. I haven't ever used those essential oils or things in soaps because they are expensive and it seems if I want to be self sufficient, then buying expensive storebought perfumes or oils is the same as buying the storebought soap, so it kind of defeats the purpose. I have put plants ground up from my garden in, however, and orange peel, oatmeal, rosemary, cedar shavings. The hard part is finding lye now. I used to use Red Devil Lye because it is the only brand I know that doesn't have other junk in it, just lye. The stores don't like to sell it now because apparently people buy it to make illegal meth. Sad. So I have tried once before unsuccessfully to use wood ashes to make lye and I will get to try again, soon. I really enjoy my homemade soap.

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