Saturday, June 11, 2011

Laundry detergent

Alright. So first an update on the cinnamon rolls, even though I know that was 2 weeks ago. I just keep forgetting to log in, because I read blogs but I don't do much of it myself. ;)

The cinnamon rolls turned out pretty yummy. Except I'm not sure what I did wrong [really, it was a simple recipe]... maybe I just made them too small? But when I put them in the oven for 20 min @ 400, they burned. So the next sheet of rolls I put in the oven were at 325 for 10-12 minutes and they were a little crunchy on the outside but otherwise yummy.

So... Now I've got a new adventure. I belong to an "au naturale" group on Facebook. Recently I've started cloth diapering hoping to a) save money, b) save the planet. [At least help to!] Plus, the cloth diapers we have these days are CUTE. So much cuter than disposables, I don't care how hard Huggies [how do you do the trademark thing?] or Pampers try. Anyway. Along with cloth diapering I've also decided to start [tomorrow] hand-washing the diapers and covers, and some of my son's clothes if I can. I also must have some hard water because a) stains don't come out of his prefolds, b) the smell sticks sometimes. Yesterday I asked the group I belong to where I can get the items needed for homemade laundry detergent, especially since the stuff they use gets stains/smells out... I bought the ingredients, and tonight I made my first batch. It has to sit for 24 hours before it's ready for use. I'm not sure if that's entirely true, but that's what the directions said. I found the recipe here. Although, unless you're me, apparently this recipe is no secret because I'm finding it everywhere!

You will need these three items:

[at least 1 bar] Fels-Naptha because that's what everyone suggested to me [and what the recipe calls for] and because it's got such a good rep.
1/2 C Borax
1/2 C Washing soda - I don't know what brands it comes in but I bought Arm & Hammer!
And of course you need water. Make that 4, and don't forget your utensils [sauce pan, bucket, measuring cup, large cooking spoon]

For this particular recipe, you'll need to grate 1/3 of the bar of Fels-Naptha into a sauce pan, and add 6 cups of water. Heat it on your stove until the soap has melted. Add the Borax and washing soda, and stir until it has dissolved. Remove it from heat. Pour 4 cups hot water into a bucket [I would be safe and go with a 5-gal bucket] and then pour the soap mixture over that. Add 1 gallon + 6 cups [14 cups] water. Let it rest for 24 hours, and use 1/2 C for each load of laundry.

I was also advised [per the site I got it from] that it's not a really sudsy soap, so don't fret if you don't see a lot of bubbles. There's also more info on the site about the chemicals used, and they are all naturally-derived.

Now, I'm sharing this recipe which I haven't yet tried. I've heard good things about it, but I start using it in a couple of days when I have more laundry to do. Wish me luck. :D

1 comment:

  1. similar to the recipe we use. I love the Naptha soap the way it smells. :)

    ReplyDelete