Handmade Washing Detergent

I have run out of washing detergent and had all intentions of making my own like I use to a long time ago (when I had time.....). Bugger it I thought I AM going to do this. Rebecca had kindly got me a grater, I found a wooden spoon, went to the shops to get the other ingredients and off I went. It is the easiest thing to do and it is all worthwhile IF it works. I have had great success in the past and thought I could not possibly go wrong.

My intention for this is not only to not have to go to the supermarket to get it, but also to be kinder to the environment and the water. Some of the ingredients in shop bought washing detergents are not only bad for you but very bad for the enviroment. Because we have always had the idea that we would have a grey water system in our house we have always been conscious of what we are putting down the sink.

The washing detergent that I am about to make is phosphorus free, low sodium and fragrance free, apart from some recipes you can put a couple of drops of essential oil in the mix to make it smell nice.

The recipe is:

Ingredients

• Washing Soda
• Pure Soap
• Boiling water
• Wooden spoon
• 2 x 20 litre buckets
• 1 grater
• Essential oil of some kind (optional)

Method

• Basically you get your two buckets
• Put 1 cup of washing soda in one bucket
• Grate 1 bar or pure soap in the other bucket
• Boil a full kettle of water and put 1/2 of the boiled water in each bucket
• Using the wooden spoon stir the liquids around until dissolved
• Combine the two buckets when dissolved and fill the bucket completely with cold or warm water and keep stirring
• Add a couple of drops of essential oil if necessary
• Put the lid on and that is that.
• (you will have to stir the liquid everytime you go to use it otherwise it forms a thick layer ontop of the water)
• Once you have restirred the liquid then use 1 cup of liquid to your wash

This recipe is what I have always used and is really good for top loading washing machines. Since buying a front loader washing machine I have found that when you put the liquid in the dispenser it disappears.

I decided to try a different approach this time and this happened completely by accident. I could only find small 5 litre buckets this time so I still used my same old recipe but in a smaller bucket size. What came out of this was that a gel formed instead of really runny liquid. I was pretty excited.

After the liquid started to cool down however I discovered that the whole thing went solid. I then put a little more water in and then used my bamix hand mixer and wizzed it up. That was better, now I really do have a gel type mixture and works really well. I will be doing this from now on. I still managed to make about 3 litres of mixture so this will last me about 6-10 weeks, and it has only cost me about 50cents so far. You have got to be happy with that and the whole process did not take as long as you think.