Another Q about homemade laundry soap!

[farmerlor]

My thoughts on the homemade soup "greeness" issue.
So I'm using my old Tide box to mix my soap in-eight kids, I make HUGE batches at a time. Now I figure I'm using less of this product and of course it's cheaper and lasts longer....lasts longer, that might be the key. See, I used to go through a box of Tide in about three weeks-the BIG box of Tide. It takes me two months to through three quarters of Tide box full of homemade soap. So each load of laundry is putting less impact into the Earth as well as costing me less....I don't know, lost my train of thought

 

[Dace]

My thoughts on the homemade soup "greeness" issue.
So I'm using my old Tide box to mix my soap in-eight kids, I make HUGE batches at a time. Now I figure I'm using less of this product and of course it's cheaper and lasts longer....lasts longer, that might be the key. See, I used to go through a box of Tide in about three weeks-the BIG box of Tide. It takes me two months to through three quarters of Tide box full of homemade soap. So each load of laundry is putting less impact into the Earth as well as costing me less....I don't know, lost my train of thought

I think you are on the right track!

 

[Dace]

Thanks for the recipe FC!

I am not sure where the vinegar would go in my new dishwasher...have to figure that one out.

The rambling is fun....gives us all food for thought

 

[lorihadams]

someone told me to put some lemon juice in the dishwasher too, in addition to the detergent, and it would help with the spots.

 

[prairiegirl]

The rambling is fun....gives us all food for thought

Way more than my mind can handle today!LOL

One of the reasons I make my own is that we really do notice a difference with our skin. Less irritation and itchiness. I haven't found the same with store purchased even baby detergent, which didn't do a great job on really dirty clothes.

Dace, you asked about the liquid. I use liquid because long ago a soil scientist doing a soil test for a new septic system told me that using a liquid laundry soap would benefit the septic. He said that powders don't always dissolve in the washer. He asked me if I used liquid softener and at the time we lived in town and I did. He asked if it ever gunked up. Yes it did. He explained that wasn't good for the septic either. Made sense to us. Following these tips, we've not had septic problems. And if you've ever experienced septic problems, you know to avoid them at all costs. I talk from experience on this.

Ok, I've rambled on. I'm sure someone else will have some helpful ideas on the subject.

 

[FarmerChick]

yea that is a good point about using less product in the end, therefore not buying more of the other. less usage means less production etc.

so that would be a good factor in this footprint stuff...LOL

it is truly confusing to me.

YOU KNOW....alot of products that have that green label on them....they aren't so green. It is now "in" to be green....and it is used as an advertising catch now. There are lawsuits and stuff being issued about "what is green" and how you can promote certain stuff as green etc. etc.

 

[freemotion]

hey dace
honestly I thought about going green to the level of "all the way"

I can't do it.

Cause even if we skip Tide and do it ourselves, the only difference is we are using less chemicals in the products. Because Tide is manufactured.....as one product, at one factory. We are using 3 products basically to make our soap. So 3 manufacturing products to make our product. So 3 locations operating to give us our product? wash soda, borax and our soap like Fels we add.

So in a way we are using more resources and packaging to make our product BUT we are actually using less chemicals back to the earth. Our product is less nasty in a way and we save money.

So if we are using 3 products to make 1 that we can buy like Tide, are we doing well......yes, cause Tide has other additives that are produced and we choose not to use those therefore saving more on the manufacturing trail.


Anytime we "buy" a product to do what we need to.....then we are contributing to the footprint of it all.

hmm...I thought about this as you can see.

So I put it to this-----what I do to make it greener for the environment is a plus. As much as I can. What I do to make it more SS for me, like if Tide factory shut down I know I can make laundry detergent.....but if my wash soda, borax and Fels were not available, how would I wash my clothes? I don't know...I haven't researched back far enough to see if it was just PLAIN OLD water and a good scrub ya know........

Just a couple thoughts....although it takes three products, it lasts so much longer (as a couple other stated, too) that the impact and petroleum needed to create the three products is much less. If a batch of homemade takes only a twelth of a box of soda, times 64 loads.....how many loads from a box of Tide? Yikes. Give us all a huge pat on the back....we are doing GREAT things! So glad I joined this group of wackos! (said with admiration... )

Here is my latest thought: when I went to the butcher to get some fat to make lard, he said to come back in the fall, during processing season, and he can give me all the beef and pork fat I want....for FREE!!! People bring in their animals for processing and don't want everything, and they end up tossing it in the trash! My first thought was, I don't need 60 lbs of lard....now I am regretting not having that to play with soap-making. I've made soap in the past, using tallow that I rendered from suet and olive oil I purchased, but why not try straight tallow or even lard recipes? And if the fat is free, why not experiment with making my own lye with ashes from the wood stove?

My poor dh. Now I will be saving and storing ashes until next winter!!!!

BTW, if you haven't made soap yet, if you can measure and stir, you can make soap. The big challenge is finding the lye, which used to be in the grocery store in the drain cleaner section. Any ideas, besides ordering online?

 

[melgsix]

I usually find the washing soda at the hometown grocery stores.

As someone mentioned, I believe that Borax is a mined product. I'll have to check on that.

I have been using Ivory, Borax and washing soda for laundry for a few years. We all have very sensitive skin and have noticed less itch using it. We also used only goat milk soaps for our bodies and that has helped with skin issues, too.

Something else to share.......we are very careful with our septic system. We've never used powdered detergents and liquid fabric softeners when washing clothes. I use the liquid recipe and this laundry mixture hasn't caused any problems.

Do you find there is a difference between the liquid recipe and the dry? I really do not want the hassle of the liquid....do you think it makes a difference?

I have found no difference, but we are on city sewer. I use two bars of grated soap, one 4# box of borax, and one 4# box of baking soda. i lawer it in a large plastic canister, close the lid, and shake like crazy. I use 2/3 cup for a very full load of laundry and it works just as well as the comercial detergents we have used.