Fire Without Matches!

Homemade Dishwasher Soap

http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com

Whenever I wonder if it is worth it to make my own laundry soap, I just recalculate what it costs and I remind myself how much money I'm saving. It's nearly 50% less than what I was currently using. So when it came time to buy more dishwasher soap, I decided to try making my own as well.

I predict that some of you are already rushing to comment that this has not worked for you. In all my reading on the web, there are a lot of dissatisfied dishwasher owners. Even with the commercial soap. (You'll want to read my article on Keeping Your Dishwasher Clean to get my thoughts on scum that builds up inside these automated washers. A lot of people are making big mistakes, such as using a rinse aid when they may not really need one.) The issue isn't just the soap, but it's the water that goes through the appliance.

I'm going to give you the recipe I use, keeping in mind that I have a water softener. I'm finding that it works for me pretty well, but I had to try a couple of different recipes before I got one that worked just right. This isn't a "one-size-fits-all" kind of a thing. I suggest that you make a small batch of the recipe that follows, adjusting the ingredients as needed until you come up with the right formula for your water situation. 

The Ingredients 

Washing Soda:

Sodium carbonate can be used as a pH regulator to maintain stable alkaline conditions and to neutralize the acidic effects of chlorine and raise the pH level. Without using washing soda, additional detergent is needed to soak up the magnesium and calcium ions. It effectively cuts oil or grease on dishes and is used as a descaling agent in boilers such as found in coffee pots or espresso machines, which leads me to think it would do the same in a hot dishwasher.

Baking Soda:

Sodium bicarbonate can be added as a simple solution for raising the pH balance of water (increasing total alkalinity) where high levels of chlorine (2-5 ppm) are present. A paste from baking soda can be very effective when used in cleaning and scrubbing. For cleaning aluminium objects, the use of sodium bicarbonate is discouraged as it attacks the thin unreactive protective oxide layer of this otherwise very reactive metal.

*Note that this is very similar to washing soda and many recipes interchange this ingredient. If one doesn't work well for you, try the other. I found the washing soda worked best for me.

Borax:

Sodium borate is used to help cut grease, reduce spots and film by conditioning the water, and removing hard water minerals. It also works as a disinfectant. This is the one item that  I would caution you to keep out of reach of little ones. It is mined from the ground and is a natural mineral, but not safe for ingestion. I took a tour of the 20 Mule Team plant in Boron, California, and was amazed at all the uses this product has in our everyday lives (and we aren't even aware of it)!

Citric Acid:

Citric acid's ability to chelate metals makes it useful in soaps and detergents by allowing these cleaners to produce foam and work better without the need for water softening. It also will remove hard water stains from glass without scrubbing. In addition, it works as a natural antimicrobial agent. I recommend purchasing Frontier Naturals one pound bag of Citric Acid from either Amazon, Frontier Naturals, or a food co-op. It will run you about $7-9, but should last a while. I wanted to get started right away, so I purchased some Fruit Fresh, which has some citric acid in it (or you could buy cheap lemonade packets), but it cost me more and I don't recommend this unless you're in a bind. However, it seems to be working well. I'll be ordering bulk citric acid from the co-op in the future!

Salt:

A lot of recipes for homemade dishwasher soap include salt, but I'm not sure that it's really a necessary ingredient. While it is often thought to reduce the effects of hard water, I've read elsewhere that adding salt along with the detergent does not soften the water much, but the water will gain some additional ability to dissolve hard water ions. How much is the question. Keep in mind that as water drops remaining on the dishware evaporate, deposits of the salt will likely remain. To combat this, the use of a rinsing agent such as vinegar will help eliminate the spotting. *If you should choose to use salt, do not use regular table salt, but rather course Kosher salt. Read more here.

Homemade Dishwasher Soap 

{soft water recipe}   

1/2 cup borax ($.18)

1/2 cup washing soda ($.33)

1/4 cup food grade citric acid ($.66)

* for hard water, try increasing the amount of borax or add 1/4 cup course kosher salt, not regular salt! Read more here and scroll to middle of the page where it says "Dishwasher Salt".

Combine ingredients and use sparingly. I use only about 1 to 1 1/2 tsp. per load. (For hard water, you may need more.) Keep in a handy container near your appliance.

Total cost: $1.17 per batch (mine was actually closer to $2.01 because I used the expensive citric acid). 

Total # Loads: 81 per batch (@ 1 1/2 tsp. per load)

Total Cost Per Load: $ 0.014 - Nice!

Rinse Aid: Add white vinegar to the appropriate dispenser. Refill as needed. (I do this even for my soft water).

Homemade Laundry Soap

http://homesteadrevival.blogspot.com

Today's post is a reprint from my old blog. (Some of you may recognize it! I made some slight edits.) I'm pleased to say that we are still making all our own laundry soap and it has worked fabulous! This recipe is for a dry soap mix because it works more efficiently with soft water and our HE washer. Let me know if any of you use it and how you like it!

In order to try and reduce some of my grocery costs, I'm giving this homemade laundry detergent recipe a try. Today, my seven year old helped me make a batch in about 15 minutes. 

The recipe I used was as follows:

1 1/2 cup Borax

1 1/2 cup Washing Soda

1 bar Zote Laundry Soap, grated

Zote is a very mild product and contains fragrance which may or may not appeal to everyone. For a stronger soap, try Fels Naptha, however, if you wish to use Fels Naptha Laundry Soap, you will need to adjust the recipe to: 

1/2 cup Borax

1/2 cup Washing Soda

1 cup Fels Naptha Laundry Soap, grated


Update (5/22/10): The Fels Naptha was much harder to grate and the dust from it kept getting into my lungs. Since it grated into a fine powder, it didn't need processing in my VitaMix. However, after a couple of weeks, it is still getting into my lungs each time I use it. Also, it is much stronger and only a very small amount is needed. I can't tell yet if it is dulling the whites as some have reported, but at least it seems to clean okay.

The recipe makes a powdered laundry detergent, which I prefer (See Tip Nut for more recipes including liquid versions). Since we have a Kenmore water softener, I stay away from liquid detergents that can cause soap and grease build up in my washer and dishwasher. Also, with a water softener, I use a LOT less detergent. I just pick up a bag of salt pellets at Costco or Home Depot and pour them in when we are running low.

Back to the recipe...  

Grate the soap using a hand grater or if you have a food processor, you can just grate this up in a second... 

Add your Borax and Washing Soda (try not to breathe in too much of the powdery stuff!)...

Mix it up (this is fun, especially since it is pink!)...

At this point, I wanted the soap to mix in better and to have a finer powder. I used my Vita-Mix, adding small batches to chop it up even better. The Vita-Mix cleaned up in a breeze...

The end results... A half gallon mason jar of detergent. We immediately gave it a try and the results are... well, the same as the store bought stuff. It works! Just not as many suds. But as difficult as it is for our brains to grasp, suds don't do the cleaning. I should tell you that I also have a front load HE washer. So apparently you can use this in any washer. 

Now for the cost breakdown. I purchased all three (Borax, Washing Soda, Laundry Soap) for $9.13. While I used all the Zote bar, I have plenty of the other two items left to make more detergent. I measured it all out and calculated that the batch in the jar cost me just $3.04 to make and if I use the little scoop you see in front, I can get 115 loads from this one jar. That's $.03 per load! Even if I double that for a really dirty load of laundry, it still is only six cents per load.  Compare that to Biokleen, a great environmentally safe detergent which sells for $6.99 for a 5 pound box that will clean about 50 loads (that is cheap for this product - it usually costs closer to $9.50). Let's just say for argument's sake that it will do 100 loads in my front load washer with a water softener. That would be about $.06 a load; nearly double the price. 

You may think that it isn't that much of a savings, but if you have a large family with plenty of laundry and you are looking to cut corners, this just may be one of several things you can do to start cutting back. I'm going to give a whirl for a while and see how it pans out. It certainly seems promising.

Update: Works great! I've been using this for almost a year now and only needed to make about 6 batches total!