Bottling my Laundry Soap

Well, I took the lid off my laundry soap this morning

 and found it the consistency of cold jello.

The directions now say to mix this gel half and half with water 

and put it into your containers.

For a while I used a large wooden spoon 

to cut and break it up and try to stir it.

I was amazed just how thick it was!

After a while, 

I just rolled up my sleeves and plunged my arm into the stuff,

This made it a lot easier to break it up, 

using my fingers and hands.

Then, using a funnel, I tried filling my bottles half full, 

as per the instructions.

But the stuff was still so thick, 

it wouldn't go through the funnel. 

Clumps of gel kept clogging up the funnel, 

refusing to go down.

Another problem was figuring out when the bottles were half full.

You can't see through them,

and looking down into them was "iffy."

So next I tried lifting the "clods" with a fork.

This worked, but it was still slow going.

There has to be a better way, I thought...

 Then I figured it out.

I filled my measuring cup about 1/2 full of gel, 

simply scooping it out of the bucket.

Then, using my hands, 

I reached into the cup

 and squeezed the gel through my fingers,

breaking it up into smaller pieces.

Next, I added an equal amount of cold water to the gel in the cup,

and poured it into my detergent containers.

I didn't bother mixing it, I just poured it in.

 This worked GREAT!

The water made the gel slip easily into the containers.

It also made it possible to get equal amounts 

of gel and water into the container.

That had been difficult because I couldn't see through the bottles.

Soon I ran out of empty bottles.

My mother drinks coffee and I save the plastic containers.

I grabbed a couple of those, 

and filled two with the half gel & half water mixture.

I labeled them clearly 

so we won't wonder later what in the heck this is!

This is how many bottles I filled with one half of the gel.

And here is the other half of the gel, still in the bucket.

I won't add water to this.

I'll just put a tight lid on it and store it like this.

I'll check it in a month or so to be sure it's not evaporating.

So, of course, now I had to try the soap.

The instructions call for using 1/4 cup for a FRONT loading machine.

(Use 5/8 cup for a top loader)

Using a measuring cup, 

I discovered that 1/4 cup is exactly up to the line on the A&H bottles.

So this must be the same measurement used for A&H Laundry Detergent. 

Cool!

Remember to SHAKE THIS WELL before each use!

I used this on a load of whites.

They came out nice and clean and sweet smelling!

A pair of socks were dirty from walking in them around the house.

Normally I would spray them with Spray & Wash.
I didn't spray and wash them, because I wanted to see if this detergent
would get them clean.

It did just as good a job as any other detergent.

Sooo.. that's it.

Yesterday's mixing took about 30 minutes.

Today's bottling took about another 30 minutes 

and would have been quicker

had I figured out how to deal with the problems sooner.

I'm very pleased with the results.

I'll report back in a month on how my clothes are looking.

Please feel free to leave a comment or question.

And remember,

DIY Laundry Detergent for 1/4 CENT Per Load

I have decided I want to make my own laundry soap.

I'm tired of being held captive by large corporations

Because of my MCS, 

I have been using Arm & Hammer Unscented Laundry Detergent for a few years. 

I like the way it cleans plus it has no scent. 

However, it's quite expensive.

At the end of this blog, 

I will show you the compared prices of the DIY and the store-bought detergent.

You may be in for a surprise!

I've searched the web far and wide 

and the recipe for DIY Laundry Soap that I keep coming back to

is the Duggar Family recipe.

For those who do not know the Duggars,

they are a family with NINETEEN (19) children!

I figure if this recipe works for them,

it'll work for me!

So here it is, step by step.

Duggar Laundry Soap Recipe

Step by Step

I purchased ALL of my supplies, including the 5 gallon buckets, at WINCO.

At the end of this posting, I will list prices.

It's possible if you shop around, you can find these items for less, 

but I was happy to find them all in one store.

* * *

4 Cups - hot tap water

 

1 bar of Fels-Naptha soap

1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (see notes)

½ Cup Borax

One 5 gallon bucket.

INSTRUCTIONS

Grate the bar of soap.

Normally I would have used my Cuisinart, 

but I'm at my mother's house

so I used her small hand grater.

It took about 4 minutes.

Add the soap it to a saucepan with 4 cups of hot tap water. 

Put this on the stove on medium heat.

Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted

Put the washing soda and borax in the 5-gallon bucket.

Fill the bucket half full of hot tap water. 

Stir until the powders are dissolved.

Add the hot fels naptha soap mixture to the bucket.

Stir well until all is dissolved. 

Fill bucket to top with more hot tap water. 

Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

Tomorrow morning, this bucket will be full of soap GEL.

This is only 1/2 of your soap.

It is double-strength and will be cut 1/1 with water.

To break up the gel,

I just stick my arm in and start squeezing

until it's pretty much liquified.

Then I put it into smaller containers,

or sometimes I just leave it in the bucket

and dip out what I need.

But if you put it in containers, 

you do need to shake it before each use.

Storing the detergent

I've gathered used laundry soap containers and washed them.

I'll be storing as much of my soap as possible into these.

I will need enough bottles to hold 5 gallons,

and I'll store the second 5 gallons in a bucket in the garage.

I will fill each used, clean laundry soap container half full with my DIY soap gel,

then fill the rest with water.

Be sure and shake before each use.

Other storage ideas:

You could put HALF of the gel into a second 5 gallon bucket,

and fill BOTH buckets with water,

giving you TWO full 5 gallon containers of laundry soap.

or

You could put HALF the gel into a second 5 gallon bucket and store it.

Fill it with water when you are ready to use it.

In the meantime, fill your first bucket with water and take out 

what you need each time you do laundry.

It's really up to you.

The point is,

you will have TEN GALLONS of laundry soap.

If it sits, it will gel, and all you have to do is shake it before each use

to be sure it's mixed.

I want my soap unscented,

but if you like, 

you can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons

once the soap has cooled.

To use the soap:

Top Loading Machine - - 5/8 cup per load (approximately 250 loads)

Front Loading Machine -- 1/4 cup per load (approximately 640 loads)

NOTICE!!  

Baking soda will NOT work, nor will Arm & Hammer Detergent. 

 You MUST use sodium carbonate.  

If you can't find it, you can MAKE it from Baking Soda!!  

I will post instructions in a later blog. 

It's simple.

* * * * * * * * *

Works great in traditional or HE machines! 

Is low sudsing. 

Gel is normal. Stir or shake before using. 

If laundry is especially stained, use Zout, Spray 'n' Wash, or Oxyclean. 

Safe to use with bleach in whites. 

* * * * * * * * *

COST

* * * * * * * * * *

WASHING SODA: 55 ounces = $3.09

There is enough washing soda in one box to make 7 (10-gallon) batches of soap.

20 Mule Team BORAX: 76 ounces = $4.23

There is enough Borax in one box to make 21 (10-gallon) batches of soap.

Fels-Naptha Laundry Bar Soap: 5.5 ounces = $1.22

You will need one bar per batch

If you buy

1 box borax

3 boxes washing soda

21 bars Fels-naptha

you will have enough product to make

210 gallons of laundry soap 

at a cost of $39.12

This seems like a very inexpensive and useful long-term storage item!

* * *

$39.12 divided by 210 gallons = .19 cents per gallon!

.19 cents divided by 16 cups in each gallon = 1 cent per cup

And it only takes 1/4 cup per load

so you are getting 

4 loads of laundry per PENNY.

Is that hard to believe?

Do the math and see!

Not bad!