Pins 77 & 78 Homemade Fabric Softener and Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent without grating soap

Fingers crossed that this time my oldest Son is actually truly over being sick.  We spent the last week shuttling between Dr's, ER, and the pharmacy.  It never feels good when the Dr's guess at what your child has.  When any of my kids get sick I use cleaning to relieve my stress.  Everything was getting washed.  I washed so many clothes, blankets, etc. that I ran out of detergent and softener, but couldn't really run out and get more.  If I went out it, it meant my son had to.  I had tried homemade "powder" detergent and homemade fabric softener before, but wasn't impressed.  It was time to try again, but this time I knew I wanted to try a liquid detergent and wanted to see if I could find a fabric softener recipe that didn't call for hair conditioner.  Pinterest to the rescue!

 Pin 77 Homemade Fabric Softener

 

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Nicole on Pinterest

I have found pretty much anything posted by on the One Good Thing by Jillee blog is worth trying.  If you have never stopped by her blog it is worth a visit, but be prepared to be glued to your computer because it is full of fantastic information. 

I gathered everything I needed for all my projects for the day.  I was making Detergent, Bleach, and Softener. 


*ignore the bar of soap in the picture, that is for another laundry detergant recipe


Ingredients:

6 C Distilled White Vinegar
1 C Baking Soda
1/2C  Downy Unstoppables or Purex Crystals


My First step was to separate what I needed for the Fabric Softener, which was Distilled White Vinegar, Baking Soda, Downy Unstoppables and a bottle to hold everything (an extra large Coffemate container was perfect!)



Take 1/2 C of Downy Unstoppables and add it to 1 C of hot water.   My tap water was not hot enough to melt them, so I had to microwave mine a bit.   Next time I will just boil some water in my kettle and use that. 



In a separate big bowl you are going to mix your 1 Cup baking Soda and 6 Cups Vinegar.  Make sure when you add your vinegar you do so one cup at a time, and pour it in slowly.  If you do too much at one time you will have a big fizzy mess on your hands.



Once you have all your vinegar mixed into your baking soda stir in your melted Downy Unstoppables.



Stir it all together, then pour it into your container of choice.



This mixture will settle a bit, so make sure you choose a container that will allow you to give a few good shakes before use.  I can't say I really measure how much I use. I just fill my dispenser.  So far so good.  My clothes smell and feel great.   It's not really a step towards being more natural since I'm sure there is nothing natural about the Downy Unstoppables.  I already had them on hand and it was worth a shot.   While this "recipe" is not more natural it is more economical, plus it is simple and doesn't require much time at all. 

Pin 78  Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent that doesn't require grating soap

Source: onegoodthingbyjillee.com via Nicole on Pinterest

Once again another great pin from One Good Thing by Jillee.   The thing I liked most about this recipe is that it doesn't take long to mix together,  no sitting and waiting on things to cool, separate and remix like some recipes.   And no GRATING!!!!   Not that grating a bar of soap is hard, but it is boring and at times can be slightly time consuming.  I have heard though if you microwave your soap for a little bit you can then just smash it into a million pieces but have never tried it.  If you have I'd love to hear exactly how you did it!

Ingredients

3Tablespoons Borax
3Tablespoons Washing Soda
2Tablespoons Dawn or other liquid Dishwashing Detergent
4 Cups Boiling Water
1 Gallon Container



First I put water in my kettle to boil.  While I was waiting on it to boil I put my Borax and Washing Soda into my container.



Pour 4 cups of boiling water directly into the container.  Shake the container a little bit to mix up all the borax and washing soda.   Let it cool some, and then add enough water to fill up your gallon.  You will want to leave just a bit of space, because now you'll add your 2T of dish soap.   I used Mrs. Meyers in Lavender Scent.   I like to add mine at the end because then you don't have the sudsing when you fill your container with water.  Just give it a few good shakes and your are good to go.

This will make a runny detergent, it will not be thick like store bought detergent.  This does not mean it doesn't work.  It has worked just fine for me.   I double my cleaning ingredients,  to make a higher concentration.   Once again I do not measure how much I use I just eyeball it as I add it to my dispenser.  I would guesstimate I use about a 1/4C to 1/2C, definitely not more than that.  I have an HE front loader and this is a low suds product and hasn't given me any issues.  However, everybody has different washers, so just pay attention to the amount of suds your washer is producing and judge for yourself. 



I am happy with my detergent and softener, though I do think my packaging needs a little work!

I shared the recipe for Homemade Bleach back in Pin 19 (click here for post).