# Laundry Soap Pricing



## carlidoe (Jul 30, 2010)

How do all of you price your laundry soap, how much soap and for what price? I just looked at a listing on Etsy for homemade laundry soap and the seller said that you could wash 40-80 loads with one pound, using 1-2 tbsp per load :? that doesn't sound right. I weighed out .9 lbs of my laundry soap and by using 2tbsp per load it came to a total of 17 loads.


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I found it really hard to make a powdered laundry soap that was cost-efficient. If I charged what I felt I needed to, it is very expensive. So, I switched, for the time being, to liquid soap. I don't think I have more maybe $1.00 into a half gallon of detergent. I use a recipe that requires no grating (it's probably here in the recipe section somewhere). For a half gallon I charge $7.50 for the initial half gallon and since the jug cost me 2 bucks, refills are $5.50...same as I charge for a big 6oz bar of soap. I personally use 1/4 to 1/2 cup of detergent per load and suggest the same for buyers. It's not an economical soap for people to buy, but some people that have problems with commercial soaps prefer it or are at least trying it out. 

I wish it were thicker. Any way to get it thicker without making gloop, I'd love to know!


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Anita Martin said:


> I wish it were thicker. Any way to get it thicker without making gloop, I'd love to know!


I'd love to know this, too.


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## carlidoe (Jul 30, 2010)

I calculated the cost per wash (for customers) and it came to .50 a load. I think I would spend that on laundry soap. I really hate commercial detergents now. The soap I am making leaves everything feeling so soft! I think this is affordable since I no longer need fabric softener. I read somewhere that the Arm & Hammer Washing Soda is an all natural water softener. I thought this would be a good selling point for those of us with very hard water, since hard water ruins appliances. I will find out in a few days how well it will sell!!


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Had to bump this up because I have now finally made and packaged my laundry soap.

From what I've seen on Etsy, the cost to purchase soap is quite expensive. $21.50 for 3 lbs (and it doesn't even look like it would dissolve in water - 1 tblsp/load), $18.00 for 2 lbs (1 tblsp/load), $12.00 for 2 lbs, 10oz (2 tblsp/load). 

From what I've read from production or how-to websites, you should use 2 - 3 tblsp/load.

Do you really think that someone will buy laundry soap for $21.50 for 3 lbs??????? My bags are 3 lb bags. I weighed out 2 tblsps and it came to 0.9 oz. So let's round it off to 1.0 oz/load. That's 48 loads. It cost me $2.00 for the 3 lb bag in materials only, including packaging. I would not even want to CONSIDER selling for $21.50. Because no one would buy it. And I really think they are misleading with 1 tblsp/load based on what I've read. I'm suggesting 2 tblsp for a normal load and 3 tblsp for a large or heavily soiled load.

And yes, I have tested my laundry using powder (I am a liquid user because I am afraid of powder not dissolving) and I have an HE washer and it dissolves in both cold and hot water, and it is wonderful! Clean, fresh, static free, and no need for a softener or dryer sheet. I have NO static cling.

I also (based on reading lots of formulas) came up with a liquid formula based on the powder and give instructions on the bag if customers want to make it into a liquid (and I have tested it and it works well, too).

I'm thinking $12.00/bag. That's $0.25/lb for the customer.

Thoughts, comments, ideas, criticisms?


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Homemade laundry soap is not cheap. I would suggest packaging it in smaller quantities, like one pound. I charge $10 for a one pound and honestly don't sell much of it. I scent it strongly too, mostly with lemongrass, lavender, tea tree and such. I'm also doing it in sample packs now, about 1 ounce and selling that for $1.50 so people can try it out before investing in a larger amount. I do both the powder and the liquid soaps now. I have found that I cannot use it in my HE machine. I'm having real issues with the machine and a friend who is also a washing machine repair lady said the special detergents are necessary to prevent the seals from getting ate up and a few other issues. My clothes come out covered in lint and it's worse when I use my own detergent. I would never have bought the stupid machine if I had known about it's problems.

I realized that I gave the wrong pricing above. My soap is packaged in plastic bags placed inside a large muslin bag and it's stuffed full. About 25+ oz. And I sell that for $10. The liquid is in a half gallon jug and I sell that for $10 also.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

I use my laundry soap in my HE washer with no issues....it's a powder and I have no problems with it dissolving, though a friend with a different machine than mine had some issues with the washer not washing it all out of the drawer and into the main part of the machine, so she just puts it in with the clothing instead of in the drawer.


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## Kalne (Oct 25, 2007)

I've been using my powder for a couple years in my front loader with no issues at all. I sell it in 1 lb bags for $7.50. I don't sell a lot of it though. I sell more laundry bars (for people to grate and make their own gel from a recipe I give them) and stain sticks.....which are much easier to make. LOL


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

I also use my own bars of soap grated into gloop....it certainly is not any less gloopy than the HE liquid detergent that you purchase. In fact mine even goes through the push pour spouts of my old HE jugs my daughter uses. I LOVE MY FRONT LOADERS, my laundry is so much cleaner than it ever has been before, no more husband dirty shirt smell, I never would have washed his clothes with mine, ever, even when we were poor and used the laundry mat. Now I wash his whites including his white workshirt t shirts with my stuff. Vicki


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

Yes, my friend told me if I had asked her before I bought my machine that she would have suggested the front loader. Our clothes come out smelling about like they do going in. Even the deodorant smell does not come out, not matter the detergent. I usually do much smaller loads than the machine is really supposed to do because I'm hoping they will come out cleaner. Some clothes come out dry in the middle....don't suppose they got very clean I called maytag and they want to charge me an arm and a leg to come out. The machine has been like this from day one and I just thought they all were a piece of crap and that we got had or were using it wrong. It's been a whole year now and it's only gotten worse and is no longer under warranty. 

I figured that by using such a small amount of water, that's why our clothes don't come clean.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

Yeah, there's definitely something wrong with your machine. After what you wrote about the seals and such, I did a little searching and the only reason that I could find listed anywhere about why to use special detergent in an HE washer had to do with suds; I didn't see any other reason. (And since my laundry soap doesn't suds, I figure I'm good.)


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I was also told I had to clean the machine every month with these special disks you buy at lowes. they are very expensive and I could not see where they did any good, but I was told they were necessary to get the gum off the seals so that lint would not stick and then be redeposited on later washings. I don't think the lint ever leaves my machine except via our clothes. It is absolutely the nastiest thing I have ever seen. My partner even blamed me for dumping stuff on his clothes on purpose because he could not believe a bran-new machine would do that. Neither could I, but it does. And we have to line dry everything because we do not have a hookup in place yet for the dryer...and so the clothes are covered in lint that I have to brush off. I've started taking his work clothes to the laundry mat. Such a pain.


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## hsmomof4 (Oct 31, 2008)

That's really weird. (You can run vinegar through your machine if you get soap build-up.)


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I have not tried the vinegar but I will. Thanks.


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## carlidoe (Jul 30, 2010)

Citric acid works really well for removing hard water residue and soap scum from your washing machine and dishwasher.


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

White vinegar in the rinse water also whitens whites, brightens colors, adds softness and controls static cling.


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## NubianSoaps.com (Oct 26, 2007)

My daughter runs the Sears store in town, she is a 'specialist' with appliances....we got our front loader washer and dryer with the bases for $500  Not each, for the whole thing! Always prop your washing machines door open, otherwise in our humidity and if you don't do a lot of wash the inside of your drum will get mildew on it and so will the seals, because obviously with the door closed it is air tight. I just put a wash cloth rolled up so the door can not close all the way. 

Yep it's all about suds, when we first washed our clothes after getting them we suds locked the machines, just from all the leftover deteregent in jeans, towels, and especially blankets, it was disgusting to think we had all this stuff on our clothes. I had to rinse our sleeping bags 3 times after trying to wash them, they kept suds locking on me and that was after them being washed at the laundry mat in their old front loaders. Americans believe that suds clean. Vicki


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## Anita Martin (Dec 26, 2007)

I'm doing a citric acid and white vinegar clean rinse on my machine today!


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## MF-Alpines (Mar 29, 2010)

Anita, it really sounds like maybe you got a bad machine.


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## racyford (Sep 10, 2008)

Vicki McGaugh Tx Nubians said:


> Yep it's all about suds, when we first washed our clothes after getting them we suds locked the machines, just from all the leftover deteregent in jeans, towels, and especially blankets, it was disgusting to think we had all this stuff on our clothes. I had to rinse our sleeping bags 3 times after trying to wash them, they kept suds locking on me and that was after them being washed at the laundry mat in their old front loaders. Americans believe that suds clean. Vicki


Ummm...yuck! That thought makes me want to go re-rinse my clothes! That makes me want to start making my homemade laundry soap again!


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