Comments on: The Laundry Detergent Battle: Costco Versus My Homebrew Formula – What’s Really Frugal?

By: joann

joann — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:33:35 +0000

also…you can purchase pure laundry soap bars and natural soap at most bulk stores (the soap works co.)they contain no detergents. we use the shampoo and conditioner bar and many kinds of the body soaps. we’ve made a family decision to go all natural in our home…it’s time consuming sometimes, but well worth it.
try baking whole grain bread, or sewing some diapers from old bed sheets…safe-save-save the environment!!! the internet is a gold mine of recipes, patterns, and great ideas…surf and save.

By: joann

joann — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 18:16:10 +0000

i have 4 kids and foster also…i wash aprox.20 loads/week…not including diaper laundering. i’ve saved so much money..especially since you don’t need fabric softener or anti-static sheets when you use soap instead of detergent.
i’m hooked…i’ll never buy expensive detergent at the store again.

By: Elise

Elise — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 01:02:26 +0000

HI,

Trent I just made a batch of this in a cleaned out 5 gallon “kitty” litter bucket. I think it worked fine making it, and it did not take that long. I am a stay at home mom but I do have a part time business. To those who questioned the costs of using your stove and the costs that can relate to that. Here is my question, why are on this website. Try it, if you do not like it, dont use it again. I wanted an eco friendly product that was all natural. My children have sensitive skin. The “frugality” of the detergent was a second bonus. Now I will admit I am pretty easygoing when it comes to laundry. As long as it smells fresh and is clean I am happy. Some people are really picky, but then I guess that can come with a price. I am happy I tired it and I will continue to make it. My friend has a HE machine and she called the company who makes it and they said it would be fine to use it because it is low sudsing. Again TRY it I am sure you will see it is worth the effort.

By: gary

gary — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 19:44:16 +0000

I too have an HE (High Efficency) washer too. I have used all kinds of detergent in mine. It is about five years old so it is one of the early HE washers. My clothes come out good no mater what I use so I am going to whip me up a batch tonight. By the way has any one tried agitating the mix to give it a more liquid consistance? I think that might help, but haven’t tried it yet.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Fri, 29 May 2009 06:36:59 +0000

Ron,

We fixed the gel issue by putting a few round clean stones in the bottom of the container. Shake the jug a bit and the rocks help agitate the soap and break up the gel.

Kathy

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:48:40 +0000

I use a cordless drill and a paint mixer attachment both can be bought at Walmart. I blend my homemade soap mixture for about 2 minutes while it is still hot. Then I let it set about 24 hours. The soap has changed to a thick white gel. I blend this again with the drill till I have a thick colorful concentrate. This concentrate I pour in empty milk jugs. It will form a slight jell from setting but a little shaking will fix that. Since I have been using this method my soap is not slimy,gooy,lumpy it looks store bought and works just as good or better!

By: Kalaine

Kalaine — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:11:51 +0000

Thanks for this recipe. I’m wondering, though, if you use less water at any point in the recipe would the result be a more concentrated detergent?

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:47:51 +0000

I think we do between 10 and 12 loads of laundry in any given week with a household of six (three adults, three children under 7). It seems like our washer is always going! I am so excited to try making our own laundry soap. My husband is a tile setter and between his concrete dusted clothes and our kids country lifestyle we should give the soap a good workout! Thanks for the recipe!

By: Lula

Lula — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 02:25:21 +0000

Thanks Jeri for that tip on body wash! We buy wash over 4 bucks a bottle. Amazing to think that if we make our own how much we could really save!

By: Dg

Dg — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 17:07:09 +0000

8-10 loads a week? Perhaps you could save some $$ by reusing some clothes/towels etc that are not really dirty.

We have a family of 4 and do about 4 loads a week.

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 05:47:01 +0000

I made this soap, but have a question. After we let it sit, the kids and I had a ball playing in it, a kitten actually jumped in it and stayed put!! But when I put it in my washer I do not get suds…Is this normal?

By: Jill

Jill — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:48:11 +0000

Trent,
first, thank you for your recipe and thorough directions for making the laundry detergent.I just bought all the ingredients (very cheaply) for making the detergent, but I have a question. I live in Florida-which has fairly hard water-and I’m wondering how well this recipe performs in Florida water. Are there any Floridians out there who use this recipe? I would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks!
Jill.

By: Jeri

Jeri — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 04:48:34 +0000

I have been making the laundry soap for a month now and I love it. I made it for my whole family for Christmas and they loved it. So I thought I would make a similar liquid soap for the shower. Guess what it worked, I took a bar of dove and grated it then used 6 cups of water melted the soap in the water and left it for about 3 hours then poured it into a liquid dispenser and viola 6 cups of soap for less than 75 cents. It will last for a long time and it cleans me great. This is a fun thing to do when you are waiting around for your bread to rise. It is not a waste of my time and it saves me money. I like to be more self suffieient and not rely on companies to make my products. If I can make it at home I do. I bake, I can, garden, crochet,sew,I make other cleaning products from scratch. It is a way of life. I love it. People are just lazy. Better learn how to make a lot of stuff people the bad times they are a coming.

By: Allison

Allison — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 23:07:26 +0000

We just started a few days ago making our own laundry detergent. And I was amazed how well it worked! Instance of using Fels Naptha bar soap as part of the recipe…we used Ivory, much cheaper and easier to get in the stores. My husband and I calculated our costs and it comes to approx. 1 cent per load!

We have well water…and our clothes came out brighter, whiter and much softer! We were having to use about 4-5 dryer sheets and they are expensive to me. Our clothes came out less wrinkled and so soft! I could hardly believe my eyes, I really didn’t expect such good results. Also we are not putting phosphates into our septic, which causes die-off of the bacteria needed in the septic.

And it was easy to make…and grated the bar of soap with vegetable peeler while watching TV…?
We are delighted with our results.

By: missy

missy — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 21:45:40 +0000

Trent – you may want to check the article again – it said .075 which is 7.5 cents whereas the Tide was .22 which is 22 cents. I had to look at it twice myself.

By: Bruce

Bruce — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 16:49:17 +0000

Trent,
Your article on Frugality says that the Costco is .75 a load for detergent. It shold say 7.5 cents a load.

By: Terry

Terry — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 01:34:20 +0000

I have been using this for 3 months- if nothing else than cost is what started me- the clean is what is keeping me. My clothes that were stained by kids getting how know what on them are clean. I was throwing out their stained clothes but am now rewashing with the homemade detergent and getting them clean. Even with though ga clay- red dirt on my sons pants come clean. And the whites look good – not as dingy! Try it to see if you like the cleaning.

By: E. Pierre-Louis

E. Pierre-Louis — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:24:44 +0000

Is it possible to convert regular liquid detergent to ‘he’? I’ve just had to buy a new washer and have always bought in bulk, so I have lots and I don’t use the powder. Why don’t you ever offer the recipe with liquid soap?

By: sharon reed

sharon reed — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 22:47:40 +0000

How much do you use per load of laundry?

By: Sheila

Sheila — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 03:55:09 +0000

This is very interesting to say the least. I’m going to give it a try. I used to sell and use a detergent from Melaleuca that didn’t leave my clothes feeling gummy. Can’t afford that anymore! Just had to clean my washer, had a dirty ring at the top of gummy junk and the softner dispenser was gunked up. This has to be better.
Has anyone tried to make a bath soap that doesn’t leave you sticky or a shampoo that works (Especially for oily hair)?