Making Liquid Laundry Detergent

I have been making homemade powdered laundry soap for a couple of months now.  My bucket was getting a little low, so I emptied the rest into a smaller container.  I decided to try making the homemade liquid laundry soap.  I needed my big bucket to put it in.

First, you need a large bucket to fit the soap in.  I have a nice five gallon bucket with a lid I got from a local dollar store for around $6.   Your bucket will need to be at least that size and have a lid.

I melted one bar of soap (I used Ivory) in four cups of hot water.  The directions said to get the water very hot without letting come to an actual boil.  I grated in the soap while the water was heating, and then stirred for awhile until all the soap flakes had melted.

I then got my bucket and poured into it three gallons (around 11 liters) of hot tap water.  I used an old milk jug to measure my water. I then poured in my hot, soapy water I had melted on the stove.  I mixed this together.  I then added 1 cup of washing soda.  I mixed some more.  Lastly, I added 1 cup of Borax.  The recipe said I could use one half cup, but I used the same amount I've been using to make the powdered detergent.  Mixing it all together only takes a couple minutes.

  Last, I put my bucket full of the watery, liquid detergent aside for the night.  Overnight the mixture kind of gels and gets a little slimy.  That's what it is supposed to do. 

I used it this morning to a load of clothes.  It works the same as the powdered.  The clothes are clean and fresh, especially with vinegar used for fabric softener.  All of the ingredients together may have cost me about $8.  However, I have at least five more loads I can make.  One batch should easily give me at least 48 loads.  Six batches would give me 288 loads.  This averages out to around three cents per load.  That is a huge savings from the cost of store-bought detergents.  Even the generic detergents tend to run between 7 and 10 cents per load, and they don't work half as well as the homemade stuff.