Thank you for this post! I use Dr. Bronner's pure castile soap for showering, as I find that it's the only reasonably priced body cleanser that doesn't dry out the skin, particularly in the winter.

I do have one question regarding the ingredients listed above: what's the purpose behind adding salt to this laundry mixture?

I may have to try this, I've been looking for a new laundry detergent.

4 and 1/3 cups of supplies will make a gallon?

Salt acts as a mild abrasive and cleaning booster to help remove stains and prevent colors from bleeding. It also helps to deter suds from becoming a problem.

sounds like it would work then, in a high efficiency machine? just checking as it is brand new and I want to treat it nicely! :)

eeks: "Add the Dr. Bronner's and fill the remainder of the gallon jar with water." The first amount of water is just to mix.

I am also not sure about the salt in this mix. It might be to soften the water, but if you don't have problems with hard water, I don't see the need.

... but Dr. Bronner's fades clothes. I tried it.

:(

Does this work for High Efficiency washers?

There's lots of ways to make good, inexpensive laundry detergent. This recipe costs under $2 CAD/US per 100 loads.
Liquid Laundry Soap
1 bar of pure soap (grated or finely chopped)
1 cup of washing soda
1 cup of borax
2.5 gallons of water//11 liters

Dissolve soap by heating it in a pot of water on the stove.
Pour dissolved soap mixture into two gallon+ buckets of warm water and stir in remaining ingredients. It will turn to a gel-like consistency after about 24 hours. I store it in old detergent bottles with lids.
1 cap (1/4 to 1/2 cup per load). That should give you enough laundry soap for 100 loads.
http://tinyurl.com/4qx23w5

I'm pretty sure it's my clothes that are the most expensive thing I'm putting into the wash.. why fade and poorly clean them to save a buck?

Seems penny wise and pound foolish.

I've used another homemade one with Dr. Bronner's, vinegar, washing soda and I can't remember the other ingredient but it left a weird feeling on all of my clothes. The Dr. Bronner's does, like lainamae said, fade clothes. :(

Method is a good alternative.

We make a powder that closely matches empressofdirt's recipe. It's the best soap we've ever used! I've also given some to others to try and they also say it's the best.

for the soap part, we either use dr. Bronner's bar soap or Fels Naptha.

oshe, can you post that recipe?

Here's the recipe I use, and it's wonderful!

1 cup washing soda (NOT baking soda)
1 cup borax
1/2 cup Oxyclean or equivalent
1 finely grated bar of Fels Naptha, Zote, Ivory, Dr. Bronner's bar

Mix it all together and use about 3 Tbsp for giant loads, less for smaller loads.

@empressofdirt

I use that same recipe, except that I dilute mine down to 5 gallons instead of 2.5 gallons. I suppose I could just leave it more concentrated and use less, though....

I use 1 bar of Dr. Bronner's or Kirk's Castile because I HATE the smell of Fels Naptha, which is the commonly recommended bar for laundry soap making. I'm down to making detergent once every 4-6 mos (depending on how muddy/dirty my preschooler gets!)

Borax is a great for so many things.

Here is another recipe, I've tried a few and really like this one-http://savingyourgreen.blogspot.com/2009/08/homemade-laundry-soap-for-87-cents.html

I am intrigued by the powder one qtsreign posted but I have very expensive Egyptian cotton sheets so I would never use Oxyclean it will ruin the fibers.

I wanted to point out if you use a Microplane grater with the thick black grip it grates the soap nice and fine.

I use Dr. Bronner's Sal Suds for cleaning. Their castile soap, which I use for shampoo/shower/handsoap, just didn't work for tougher jobs. I use the Sal Suds in the laundry (with a bit of borax and washing soda), for dishes, and diluted in a spray bottle as an all purpose cleaner. I use maybe a teaspoon/load in my front-load washer. It's less expensive than the castile soap, is still made from non-petroleum sources, and does a great job.

If you have a high-efficiency washer, check with the manufacturer. Soaps not designed specifically for HE washers can, quite literally, gum up the works. It's messy and can ruin your machine. :(

Oxyclean is good for towels but made holes in my sheets and shirts.

trek1394, salt only acts as a mild abrasive when it is undissolved, because it's the physical abrasion that does the job.

this is bad math

*1 bar of Dr Bronner or Fels Naptha soap -finely chopped and then put in a food processor (for soap only) OR a mix of the two to get a specific scent
*baking soda to facilitate processing of soap flakes
*1 cup of washing soda
*1 cup of borax
*mix it all together

That's the powder recipe and we use about 2 tbsp each load.

I only get a quart of soap, not a gallon. It only lasts for 16 loads, not 64. Just because you use a gallon-sized container doesn't meant you get a gallon of soap.

This is my first attempt at making laundry detergent. I forgot to shake before adding soap and it suds up a little and the rest is watery. Is it still as effective? What is the consistency usually like?

I'm going to try making this with washing soda instead of baking soda. And also see how it works without the salt. Is the salt really that beneficial?

I wondered about that, too. But on second glance in the directions, you use 2 cups warm water to combine the ingredients (probably helps dissolve the soap), and then fill the remainder of the gallon container with water.

Agreed. I used Oxyclean to get wine spots out of a favorite shirt and a couple of washes later it had holes in it!

I have been using this soap for several months and haven't had a problem with my clothes fading.