Thursday, May 3, 2012

Do It Yourself Detergents & Cleaners

Here's a couple of good ways to save yourself a lot of money and keep your home green.

All-Purpose Cleaner
1 bucket warm water
1/2 cup washing soda
 Wash surface, wearing gloves; then rinse.

For really tough jobs, make a thick washing soda paste by mixing it with water, and then spread the paste on the soot. Keep the paste damp by spraying every hour or so with a spray bottle. Leave the paste on overnight, and then rinse. Make certain to only use this formula on inert surfaces such as glass and stone, as this amount of washing soda can peel off paint, wax, etc.

Liquid Laundry Detergent
1 quart water (boiling)
2 cups bar soap (grated)
2 cups borax
2 cups washing soda
Add finely grated bar soap to the boiling water and stir until soap is melted. You can keep on low heat until soap is melted. Pour the soap water into a large, clean pail and add the borax and washing soda. Stir well until all is dissolved. Add 2 gallons of water, stir until well mixed.
Cover pail and use 1/4 cup for each load of laundry. Once it's cool, add 5 - 7 drops of your favorite essential oil per gallon. Stir the soap each time you use it (it will gel).

Powdered Laundry Detergent
2 cups finely grated soap
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax
Mix well and store in an airtight plastic container.
Use 2 tablespoons per full load.
  • For the bar soaps required in the recipes, you could try Fels-Naptha, Ivory soap, Sunlight bar soap, Kirk’s Hardwater Castile, and Zote. Don’t use heavily perfumed soaps. 
  • Washing Soda and Borax can normally be found in the laundry and cleaning aisles. 
  • Some people with really hard water or well water may have to adjust the ingredients if the clothes look dingy. 

Dishwasher Detergent
1 cup Washing soda
1 cup Borax
½ cup Kosher salt
½ cup citric acid 
Mix together and store tightly covered in a Mason Jar. Use one tablespoon per load. Add vinegar to the rinse dispenser for the best results.



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