There's two methods of homemade laundry soap: powder and liquid. Since I had always bought liquid detergent, that is how I make my soap--wet! I've used it in both top load and front load machines, at home and in laundromats across the country and it works well in any machine.
(Sidebar: how many people, when they got on a trip of more than 5 days, plan a 'laundry day' into their vacation? I've washed clothes in laundromats in Montana, Wyoming, Florida, the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. . . With four kids the logistics of packing 5-14 days worth of clothes per person meant no room in the vehicle or camper for people, so we limited it to 4 days worth of clothes per person, with a laundry day--3 to 4 hours--every 4 days.)
Without further ado, this is how I make laundry soap.
Ingredients:
1/3 bar of fels naptha soap, grated
1/2 cup washing soda (this is NOT baking soda, get the right kind, look in the laundry aisle of the store)
1/2 cup borax
water, lots of water!
I use an old cheese grater to grate the soap with. Whatever grater you use, you will probably want to keep it just for soap making after this. Check thrift stores (aka Goodwill, Salvation Army, St. Vincent, etc), garage sales, relatives forgotten kitchen utensils, etc before going out and buying a brand new one for making soap.
Put the grated soap into a 2 quart saucepan, and add water until the pan is about 3/4 full. As with the grater, you will want to designate a pan specifically for soap making. Look for a used one of those, too. Unless you have an old ugly one you've been wanting to buy a replacement for. Then by all means, make the old ugly one your soap pan and get your dream pan as a replacement for cooking food in!
Put the pan with the grated soap and water on the stove over medium-low heat, and stir occasionally until all the soap is dissolved.
Pour the soap solution into a 2 gallon container. Mine is a plastic bin with a hinged lid that was sold as 'great for storing pet food'. I think it's even better for storing soap! Add hot tap water, while stirring in 1/2 cup washing soda, then the 1/2 cup borax. Make sure you stir them in in that order. Top off with more water until your 2 gallon container is full.
The soap will thicken up somewhat as it cools to room temperature. Sometimes mine thickens enough to be called a gel, and I have to 'chop' it a bit with the scoop, or squish it between my fingers as I add it to the washing machine. Works the same, though.
Some people add a few drops of their favorite essential oil to the soap as they are making it for fragrance. Since one of the reasons I started making soap in the first place was because several members of my family are sensitive to perfumes and fragrances, I don't do that. Getting your mind wrapped around clean clothes that don't smell floral or fruity takes some doing, but clean means washed, not smelling like the perfume counter in the stores at the mall.
For washing a normal to large load of clothes (I think in my house 'normal' is what most people consider 'large'--about 1 full large-sized rectangular laundry basket), use 1/2 cup of soap. For smaller loads, use slightly less. I'm guessing 1/3 cup?
If you're wondering if the cost savings is worth the time and effort to make your own soap, here's how mine breaks down according to my local grocery store:
1/3 bar of fels naptha at $1.39 a bar = $0.46
1/2 cup washing soda at $2.79 per 55 oz. box (approx. 11 batches of soap per box) = $0.25
1/2 cup borax at $3.12 per 76 oz. box (approx. 15 batches of soap per box) = $0.21
water = pretty much free from our well (no water bill, just enough electricity to run the pump)
6% sales tax on soap, washing soda and borax = $0.06
Total cost of 2 gallons of laundry soap: $0.98
Now, 2 gallons of soap = 32 loads of laundry at 1/2 cup of soap per load. So, about 3 cents per load.
Go make some soap!!
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