Laundry Soap: Rewashed (And a Review)

I finally used up my first batch of homemade liquid laundry soap! I was fairly pleased with how it cleaned the towels (kitchen and bath) but it never seemed to get clothes all the way clean. Maybe we're just dirtier folks than most, but that recipe just didn't cut it. The clothes *looked* clean, but deep down in the fibers it still kept a slightly unwashed, stale sort of smell. I like my clothes to at least to smell neutral, and preferably to "smell clean." I found it strange, though, that the towels seemed to always "smell clean" while using the homemade soap when I've had the worst time keeping them that way when using commercial detergent. As a determined homemaker, I'd like to make a soap that I feel works best, so I found two more recipes to try - a powdered laundry detergent for hot loads and a new liquid soap for cooler loads (i.e. my clothes.)

I found some basic recipes, and tweaked them to my liking based on the viability of the first:

Powdered Laundry Soap
1/2 bar Fels Naptha laundry soap
1 1/8 cup Borax
1 1/8 cup Washing Soda

Grate soap bar, then blend in a food processor until finely ground. Mix soap, Borax, and washing soda together and place in lidded container (I used a recycled plastic coffee canister.)

Use 1-2 Tbls. per load (hot water load)

[I'm running a load of towels at this moment, so we'll see how it does.]

Liquid Laundry Soap
1 bar Fels Naptha laundry soap
1 1/8 cup Borax
1 1/8 cup Washing Soda
20 drops of essential oil (optional - I used 5 each of Bergamot, Sweet Orange, Lavender, and Tea Tree)

Grate soap bar, then blend in a food processor until finely ground. Place in a stockpot (at least 8qt) with 1 gallon of hot water. Heat and stir until all the soap particles are melted (it will be bubbly.) I was watching the Monkey, so it wasn't constant stirring. ;) Add the Borax and washing soda and stir until mixed. It'll coagulate rather quickly and look like a pot full of the stuff I clean out of Monkey's nose, but stir it up! Add 1 more gallon of cool water and keep stirring. (I used a large potato masher to "whisk" it and mix it thoroughly - otherwise it's extra stringy and nasty looking.) Add the essential oil and mix some more. Pour into two gallon-sized jugs.

1/2 - 3/4 cup per load.

Now to see how well they work!