Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent

• Oils & Vinegars

  • 1 Essential oil

• Liquids

  • 1 Water

• Other

  • 1 cup Of arm & hammer super washing soda (not baking soda!
  • 1 cup Of borax
  • 5 gal Lon bucket with a lid
  • 5.5oz Fels Naptha soap (you can also use Zote or castile soap - about the same amount, you don't have to be exactly precise

Found on mrshappyhomemaker.com

Ingredients

• 1 cup of Borax
• 1 cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (NOT baking soda!)
• 5.5oz Fels Naptha soap (you can also use Zote or castile soap - about the same amount, you dont have to be exactly precise)
• water
• 5 gallon bucket with a lid
• essential oil for scent (optional)

Directions

• Grate the Fels-Naptha soap. Add the soap shreds to a pot with 4 cups of hot water. Put the heat on medium-high, & stir until completely melted - about 10 minutes.
• Fill up a 5 gallon bucket halfway with hot water (I like to use the shower for this, its easier in my opinion). Pour in the melted soap mixture & give it a quick stir. Stir in the borax & washing soda. If youre using essential oil, now is the time to add it. You add in ½oz to 1oz, depending on how scented you want it. Although, I never really measure it anymore - I just shake in enough drops to where I feel satisfied. Stir the contents again.
• Fill up the bucket with warm water, all the way to the top - and stir again. If you dont have a utensil long enough to reach the bottom, just put on a pair of rubber dish gloves beforehand.
• Snap on the lid, & let it sit for 24 hours to gel up. It will have the consistency of egg noodle soup - watery with glops of gel.... This is what it should look like! If you would like a smoother consistency like the store-bought brands, you can use an immersion blender at this point to smooth it out. I dont bother with this step though personally - the glops dissolve just fine in the wash - and having a smoother consistency has no effect on the cleaning power or finished product.
• At this point, you can divide it up between different containers like empty laundry detergent containers, cleaned out milk jugs, etc. I prefer to use 1-2 empty containers, and leave the rest in the bucket to save on space - refilling my containers as necessary.