# Laundry Soap?



## Beverrlly

How do you make laundry soap? I've got tons of soap scraps laying around waiting for me to do something with them. I havent' yet mastered melting down the scraps so I was wondering if I can make laundry soap with it? What do you add to the soap--I think I remember reading Borax somewhere?? Thanks. 

Lauren


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## Truly

Run the soap leftovers thru your food processor to make an almost powder out of it.

Add equal parts soap, borax and baking soda. Use 1/4 cup per load of laundry, even in a big machine.


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## Beverrlly

Excellent! :biggrin


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## Narrow Chance

:yeahthat I add washing soda to mine. 
I make my own soap for laundry from FO Clean Cotton.. mix it a bit lye heavy so it is hard and easy to crumble, place in food processer. Can PM you the recipe if you wish.. but I use 3 TBSP per load. 
Smells great.. and works like a charm, even on hubby's greasy oil infused clothes!!

Rett


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## Sondra

UM guess I need a food processor


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## Beverrlly

I think you could grate it and that way you wouldn't need a food processer.


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## Truly

I haven't been able to find washing soda. it's made by arm&hammer too, right? They just have baking soda in the laundry section of my stores. So I've just been using the baking soda. I get that pretty cheap at Costco in a 12lb bag.


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## Patty13637

How dfoes it work with cold water washes ?


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## Narrow Chance

Okay.. I can answer that.. :biggrin
To work with cold water wash.. the soap has to be almost a powder form. To do that.. it has to be ground really fine. Regular superfatted soap will not work in the blender. Ask me how I know? It overheats and caused little balls. If you add the washing soda to it.. it makes bigger balls.
You can grate the soap in one of those little hand graters that turn.. the ones used for cheese. It makes small little squiggly shavings.. which.. no matter how long you dry.. will not crumble if your soap is superfatted. If the shavings are not small enough.. they will not melt in cold water wash.. and you have little spots of soap on your clothes. We have very hard water.. well water actually.. and that is also a drawback. 
I accidented upon making the soap a bit lye heavy.. long story.. disaster soap.. but with a great outcome.
(the soap was Anise.. which I turned to my advantage) Hunters laundry soap.. :biggrin
I now make test batches of laundry soap for me and my friend.. Clean Cotton FO. 

Baking soda is NOT the same as washing soda.. which is almost like Borax. The Borax and washing soda is a booster for the soap to work.. the soda only takes the odor out and makes the clothes feel softer. Which is great by the way.. it reduces the need for fabric softner.. although with the small amount used in a single wash prolly doesn't do any good. 

Rett


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## Little Moon

OK. Let me see if I am understanding all this correctly. You ladies are making a dry powder type laundry soap, not a liquid? I have a recipe for a liquid which involves grating a bar of ivory soap and melting that down in a quart of hot water, adding borax & washing soda and more hot and cold water coming up with 2 gal. of laundry product. Tell me yours is easier, quicker and less messy. :?

~Anne


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## Narrow Chance

OMG..it's soooo easy. Once you get the hang of grating the soap. 
I had to find something that was not going to make me crazy.. :crazy Besides.. I have enough in my laundry room without having a 5 gallon bucket of laundry 'goo' beside my washer.. that I KNOW will be spilled.. turned over,,, or dripped on the side of my washer by my 5 year old husband. NO.. I DID not say that!!!! :biggrin
My laundry soap resides in a coffee can.. next to my washer.. and I figure I get about 30 loads a can.
Can't beat that!!! Cost me pennies to make.
The Borax is around $2 a box, the Washing Soda is less than $2.. Baking soda is $.25 a box..(recipe takes 1/2 cup each) Soap is essentially free. Having you own all natural, enviornmentally safe laundry soap you made yourself... Priceless!! (sorry.. I could not resist) 

Rett


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## Little Moon

Thank you Rett. I feel so liberated already. I am just now grating my soap into an empty mayo jar (plastic) and we will see how much I have and then I will use equal portions of the others. woohoo - I can even do this while I'm watching TV. I have been stressing a bit today as I have been sick and have about 3 plus weeks of laundry to do - and I have been working on it _*all*_ day and of course I am realizing that I am running low on the liquid detergent that I made and stressing because with the week ahead of me I don't know when I would have time to "cook up" a batch of laundry soap. Thank you thank you thank you.

~Anne


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## Carolyn

We grate our soap also to make laundry soap, my son works in the oil fields and my DIL swears by it, we use the Dragons Blood fragrance. If the overalls are really bad, she will first use just grated gm soap. Although the Dragons Blood fragrance is very very strong and we really don't care for it by itself, it makes a great great smelling laundry detergent OHH and it works great for washing cloth diapers also!!. As they would say in the diaper sewing forum, it "takes the stink right out" We love it. Carolyn


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## Narrow Chance

Your most welcome!


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## GallopingGoats

I made the fels naptha liquid laundry soap. You guys heard of it? it's fels, borax and washing soda, hot water. After awhile (month or so) we noticed the clothes getting dingy and not smelling clean. Is using your own soap in the recipe making that much of a difference? Shannon


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## Kalne

Yes, I used that one too, ions ago. The liquid goo made with fels naptha. And got dingy clothes over time. So I never tried making my own again. I love the idea of a 'powdered' version. Will any soap recipe do or is one better than the other? Hmmm, probably any recipe high in cleansing, right? Maybe even a straight lard soap? Just no superfat?


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## pettigrewfarms

I also make my own laundry soap. I have tried liquid and dry I like the dry best. Arm & Hammer washing soda I found at a Kroger's. 
Deana


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## Kalne

Oh duh, I should have known this. CO has the highest 'cleansing'. Lard is only a 1. Does anyone make 'stain sticks'? I've heard of making 100% CO soap with no superfat and using it as a stain stick. I don't think you'd want to scent that but I guess you could.


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## Narrow Chance

Well.. got caught by the 'buyer of washing soda for Rett' from Krogers goatlady!!! 
Good to see your paying attention Deana!!!! (who not only gets me my washing soda, she gave me the recipe!!)

Rett


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## Little Moon

Probably a silly question, but what is CO?

~Anne


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## Narrow Chance

Coconut Oil .. No question is a silly question if you don't know the answer.
Ask away!!


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## dblvon

I used the fels naptha soap also. Didn't like it.


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## Little Moon

OK so coconut oil in your soap makes it a better cleanser than lard in your soap?????


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## Kalne

If you go to soap calc it lists several characteristics that the different oils lend to your soap. One of them being 'cleansing'. Lard was rated only a 1. CO was 63 or 67 or 60 something. LOL Fractionated CO was a 93. I have never used that. Better cleansing I think means a harsher soap though so while you want your 'everyday' soap to be cleansing you don't want it so much so that it is harsh. Laundry soap on the other hand, you want to be highly cleansing.


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## pettigrewfarms

Rett I am trying to pay more attention :yes. You know it hard with the bear hunter and the goat/cow now due anytime. :tearhair
Deana


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## Beverrlly

Wow--I'm glad I asked. I should have KNOWN you guys would have a great laundry soap recipe  I was going to try the fels napa liquid but I'll just stick with this easier version! Thanks!


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## lynpea

CO= coconut oil.

I also used the laundry goo years ago and my cothes were dingy too. I am thinking that it was the SF that gummed onto the clothes. I recently read SOMEWHERE about a woman grating up her soap, adding water and extra lye.....but did I bookmark it? NOOOOOOOOO. Does this ring any bells with any of you?


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## Beverrlly

No, but I was wondering what the definition of "lye heavy" soap is. Do I aim for 0% superfat or "underfat" (if that's even a word!) Thanks.


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## Guest

Yes, you can add extra lye dissolved in water if making the liquid goo stuff
This gives you a lye heavy soap that won't gum things up..
You cannot do this with the powder unless you purposely make a lye heavy crumbling bar... You want no superfatting in your laundry soap at all... 
I make the goo, but not with fels soap, I make it with my soap scraps and want a lye heavy soap, so i make a liquid or goo soap.. becasue I add, lye, borox, washing soda to my goo.. 

Barbara


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## Narrow Chance

Guess what I meant by being 'lye heavy' is that there's more lye used in the making. That's an old term I've heard my grandmother say when one of her friends made the old lye soap. She said when it was to hard, it was lye heavy. Course.. we all know we make the 'old time lye soap'. :biggrin

I add a little extra lye to my water when making my laundry soap. It was an accident when I learned this.. sort of turned a disaster into something usable. 
I was down to my last lye in the bucket.. it was large balls.. which I know now was formed from moisture.. so I weighed those.. made my soap. I was making Anise Hunters soap at the time.. well.. that stuff did NOT set up.. was like goo. even the next day. Did not get pasts the light trace stage. Sooo.. I threw it in the crock pot.. added more lye water.. cause hubby explained that the moisture weighed a bit more and the lye was not as strong as the regular flakes. Anyway.. I heat processed it.. slabed it into a mold.. and the next day.. took it out.. and put it in the miter box for cutting.. and when I put a knife to it.. it sort of broke like glass. 
After cursing (yeah.. I did :/) I thought.. heck.. I'll use it for the Hunters Laundry Soap.. so I comenced to make it. How easy it was to grate.. didn't have to grate actually.. blended like a dream. 
Soo.. I now make my soap I'm going to use for laundry soap.. lye heavy. 

Rett


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## lynpea

Barabra.. any special amount of lye? Or just a couple of ozs.? I'm thinking that all my scraps are gonna be laundry goo.....so I guess we will ALL smell like bayrum for a while! (thats the biggest batch I botched. Actually I'm gonna use some of it for embeds....I just messed up the color.)


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## Narrow Chance

I just posted the recipe for the laundry soap I use in the recipe section.

Rett


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## redskygal

Rett,

So since the recipe says there won't be many bubbles, it is safe to use in the HE machines?

Kelly


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## Kalne

Hmmm, so you actually add more lye than is called for in a 0% superfat formula? I would need to worry about dc getting into it then, right? Of course I have to keep the store bought stuff out of reach as well so that's no different...it's just that lye seems scarier.


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## Narrow Chance

redskygal said:


> Rett,
> 
> So since the recipe says there won't be many bubbles, it is safe to use in the HE machines?
> 
> Kelly


Not sure what kind of machine that is.. but SIL has something I would think in similar. She has to have special detergent that does not suds much. Her's is one that forces the water through the clothes... or something like that. 
She has used this soap.. hasn't said anything about not being able to use it.

Rett


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## Narrow Chance

Kalne said:


> Hmmm, so you actually add more lye than is called for in a 0% superfat formula? I would need to worry about dc getting into it then, right? Of course I have to keep the store bought stuff out of reach as well so that's no different...it's just that lye seems scarier.


 Yes... not sure how much.. cause I didn't measure. I just use my regular amount.. then throw in another ounce or two... used the 'yep.. that's about enough method.

Rett


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## Sondra

Can this be used with cold water washing??


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## lynpea

Sondra said:


> Can this be used with cold water washing??


Maybe dissolve it in hot water before adding to the machine?


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## Narrow Chance

Sondra said:


> Can this be used with cold water washing??


Mine dissolves in cold water. I have very hard well water also. Have not had a problem, course.. I get my soap ground to a powder like.


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## Guest

Yes, I just mix in a couple of ounces more, it will feel harsh on your skin, but won't burn you.. You won't get the dingy goo that way... dingy is from too much superfat left in your scraps to clean well... so you want a harsh soap.. Another trick to end the goo is add white vinegar to your rinse, no goo on clothes, washer or anything and it makes your clothes smell really fresh.. about one cup.


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## Sondra

OK so if I would take all my old soap and grind up fine and make the laundry soap even thou my soap doesn't have extra lye in it We could use it in cold water washing?? am asking this as hubby does all the laundry at the laundra mat and uses cold water. would then just tell him to use vinegar in the rinse.


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## pettigrewfarms

I only use cold water and if the soap is to soft to get grand up to a fine powder the I make the gel out of it but I like the powder best for less work to make and no bucket in the way.

Deana


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## Kalne

I finally got around to grating this in my blender today. I made a special batch of soap just for this. I was afraid to go too lye heavy so I calculated 6% extra lye in with the 0% superfatted recipe. I grated it by hand and boy that was harder than I expected. I left that spread out so it would dry out some because I wasn't sure how it would go through the blender. Today I ran it through an old blender. It's almost like powder now. In fact, I had to wear a mask cause so much was floating around in the air....it looked like smoke. I'm going to let it dry out some again before putting it in a container but I'm going give it a test today.


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