How to make laundry soap

Bring costs and waste down: Buy ingredients for this recipe in bulk! (Credit: Lindsay Coulter)

I've been making laundry soap for a decade. It's cheaper than store-bought eco-friendly options and works just as well. I make this recipe once a month:

Liquid laundry soap recipe

Preparation time: 10 minutes or less

Yield: seven litres

Shelf life: six months

Ingredients:

7 L (28 cups) hot water

250 ml (1 cup) baking soda

250 ml (1 cup) liquid castile soap

80 ml (1/3 cup) salt

Instructions:

Add dry ingredients to hot water (I reuse a pail). Stir to dissolve. Add liquid castile soap last. (Choose unscented. Or try those scented with essential oils.) Stir. Add 125 to 250 ml (½ to 1 cup) per load.

Bring costs and waste down: Buy ingredients in bulk!

Does this recipe work in HE machines?

Yes, so I've heard. (I don't have an HE machine myself...yet.) This recipe's mostly water with a low-sudsing soap. You can also try my other laundry soap recipes, one liquid and one dry.

Does this recipe work, even on stains?

Yes. But its effectiveness will vary due to:

Water hardness
How soiled your laundry is
Your machine

I use a stain stick for tough stains. Find eco-friendly ones at organic grocers and health food stores. (I'm working on my own recipe. It's a mashup of green cleaning know how and cold-process soap making skills!) Or, try these DIY stain solutions.

What's the difference between soap and detergent?

Soaps are water-soluble fatty acids salts treated with a strong alkali, lye.

Detergents contain one or more surfactants. They're less finicky to water hardness than soap and often don't form a film. Most are petrochemicals (made from petroleum) and/or oleochemicals (from fats and oils).

What's water hardness?

It's mineral salts in your water: calcium, magnesium and sometimes iron and manganese. They react with soap to form film or scum.

If you have hard water (view map), add more soap. Some of the soap or detergent binds with the minerals. Instead of cleaning your clothes, it gets washed down the drain.

What about static cling?

Add 125 ml (1/2 cup) white vinegar to the rinse cycle. (Note: I'm not sure how this works in hard water. Comment on this blog to let me know!) Avoid scented dryer sheets. Try wool dryer balls.

What's the most effective "green" laundry tip you've tried?

I'll compile your tips and post them in a future blog. And I'll mail you a sheet of stickers to label your homemade products!

Sincerely,

Lindsay Coulter, a fellow Queen of Green

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