Farmfresh
City Biddy
FC In these hard times it is a GREAT problem to have! 
Homemade Laundry Soap FLOP?!
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FarmerChick
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I hear you!
I have been doing this close to 15 years...getting tired but can't stop cause I need income LOL--yea, like we all do!
I have been doing this close to 15 years...getting tired but can't stop cause I need income LOL--yea, like we all do!
If you are using soap instead of detergent for your laundry, you need to add vinegar to the rinse to take the soap out of the laundry or it will get dingy. Soap does a good job of binding with dirt, but it doesn't readily rinse out of clothes on its own. It needs an acid rinse to remove it. Detergent is formulated to bind with dirt and rinse out thoroughly.
Agitation is the other key to using soap instead of modern detergents. Modern washers are made to work with modern detergents.
When I lived with my Grandmother, she was still using her '40s model wringer-washer. Laundry took all day. She sorted and soaked clothes in big tubs-Grandpa's overalls got one tub and his shirts another. Soaking water often had bleach in it. Clothes went into the washer and agitated for a long time, maybe an hour or more per tub. Then they went through the mangle and soaked in clean water, with bluing for whites. Then another soak in clean water, than through the mangle a couple of times, then onto the clothes line. I can't remember what kind of detergent she used. Grandma told me the way to get whites very white and clean smelling was to spread them out on the lawn. The chlorophyll from the grass bleached the fabric and gave it a good smell. She said that is how women cleaned their menstrual cloths before there were disposable pads.
When I lived in Mexico, nobody had washing machines at home--people used cement troughs with a drain at one end. The troughs were texturized with little bumps at the bottom. The person doing the washing sprinkled a little detergent on each piece of clothing and rubbed it vigorously over the bumps. Tough stains were brushed with a stiff brush. Then came rinse water from a hose, then wringing or pressing to get the water out, and line drying. The clothes were very, very clean when finish, also somewhat abraded. The woman I lived with had nothing but contempt for the poor quality of my clothing! I had holes rubbed in many of my outfits.
Lots of elbow grease or mechanical agitation was involved with old time clothes washing. Soaking and using chemicals of various kinds--bleach and bluing--was crucial to the process. Clean, good-smelling laundry was achieved but it took a lot of effort!
Agitation is the other key to using soap instead of modern detergents. Modern washers are made to work with modern detergents.
When I lived with my Grandmother, she was still using her '40s model wringer-washer. Laundry took all day. She sorted and soaked clothes in big tubs-Grandpa's overalls got one tub and his shirts another. Soaking water often had bleach in it. Clothes went into the washer and agitated for a long time, maybe an hour or more per tub. Then they went through the mangle and soaked in clean water, with bluing for whites. Then another soak in clean water, than through the mangle a couple of times, then onto the clothes line. I can't remember what kind of detergent she used. Grandma told me the way to get whites very white and clean smelling was to spread them out on the lawn. The chlorophyll from the grass bleached the fabric and gave it a good smell. She said that is how women cleaned their menstrual cloths before there were disposable pads.
When I lived in Mexico, nobody had washing machines at home--people used cement troughs with a drain at one end. The troughs were texturized with little bumps at the bottom. The person doing the washing sprinkled a little detergent on each piece of clothing and rubbed it vigorously over the bumps. Tough stains were brushed with a stiff brush. Then came rinse water from a hose, then wringing or pressing to get the water out, and line drying. The clothes were very, very clean when finish, also somewhat abraded. The woman I lived with had nothing but contempt for the poor quality of my clothing! I had holes rubbed in many of my outfits.
Lots of elbow grease or mechanical agitation was involved with old time clothes washing. Soaking and using chemicals of various kinds--bleach and bluing--was crucial to the process. Clean, good-smelling laundry was achieved but it took a lot of effort!
LittleRoosterCroft
Power Conserver
I appreciate all these posts! I am about to make laundry soap this weekend. There are 3 reasons I am going to make my own and stop buying the commercial brands:
1. the commercial brands (except for a few high priced brands) are bad for the environment.
2. I am trying to save money and stop being so reliant on the big box stores
3. I started having major skin issues last winter and would like to head that off now before the dry skin season gets here!
Thank you all for recipes and commentary on how things work and what things to try! My adventure starts this weekend!
1. the commercial brands (except for a few high priced brands) are bad for the environment.
2. I am trying to save money and stop being so reliant on the big box stores
3. I started having major skin issues last winter and would like to head that off now before the dry skin season gets here!
Thank you all for recipes and commentary on how things work and what things to try! My adventure starts this weekend!
LittleRoosterCroft
Power Conserver
FarmerChick - I make and sell soap too...but not nearly on the scale you seem to. I admire the fact that you can make and sell as much as you seem to...it is a time intensive (and space intensive) process!FarmerChick said:I hear you!
I have been doing this close to 15 years...getting tired but can't stop cause I need income LOL--yea, like we all do!
People love the handmade soap though and I haven't bought soap in years. I feel lucky that I found a local source for goat's milk until I slow down with school and can have my own goatie! I love goaties...but the milking added to my normal chores in the morning before work would just kill me!
And some nights I don't get home until 11:00 from school.What kind of soaps do you make? I make primarily goat's milk/olive oil with a bit of palm and coconut oils. (people seem to like it and it is better for sensitive skin). I make the glycerin because people like the colors and scents...so they are more fun ones! I just started making a soap for the kitchen (coffee bean), one for hunting and one for fishing.
AnnaRaven
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Seriously? That's all there is to it? Wow. Time to make me some oxyclean!Farmfresh said:I like to keep some Oxyclean on hand for those times when my laundry is especially stinky or stained. I usually buy mine cause it last me a LONG time.
You can even make it yourself and keep it in a spray bottle by the washer.
HOMEMADE OXYCLEAN
* 1 cup hot water
* 1/2 cup baking soda
* 1/2 cup hydrogen peroxide
Mix ingredients. To use on clothes, spray the stain or soak the clothing in it for 20
minutes to overnight; then wash as usual.
snapshot
Farmwife
Is there a way to make the dry powder type oxyclean? Can't be just baking soda. What else would be in it?
Marianne
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Peroxide is the other ingredient. I don't know where you could get dry/granulated/powdered hydrogen peroxide or if you could get it anywhere. 
I just dump 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup peroxide into the washer if I need the extra boost.
I just dump 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup peroxide into the washer if I need the extra boost.
snapshot
Farmwife
Better wait til I am in our house. They might frown about all the extra stuff going in at the laundrey mat!
