This makes roughly a 5 gallon bucket so if you want less just cut the recipe how you need!
How To Make It
Ingredients:
- 12 lbs Borax
- 12 lbs Washing Soda
- 6 lbs Baking Soda
- 6 lbs Epsom Salt
- 6 Bars Fels Naptha -optional (not completely natural)
Directions:
- Combine all of the ingredients into a clean 5 gallon bucket – mix as you go to make your life easier! You’ll have to grate the bars of Fels Naptha, if you are adding them.
- Shake really well! I just put the lid on the bucket and rolled it around on the floor in all different directions, you can also mix as your pour so it gets more of the clumps out, if you had any.
Borax
What does it do?
Softens water, assists in stain removal, great at deodorizing, & reduces build up residue-brightens.
What is it made of?
Boron, Sodium, Oxygen
Washing Soda
What does it do?
Degreaser, dirt, grime, & stain removal, enhances washing power, & helps soften water.
What is it made of?
Sodium Carbonate (soda ash)
Baking Soda
What does it do?
Stain Remover, deodorizer, & fabric and water softener.
What is it made of?
Sodium Bicarbonate
Epsom Salt
What does it do?
Breaks down residue, fabric softener, & deodorizes.
What is it made of?
Magnesium, Sulfur, Oxygen
Fels Naptha Soap
What does it do?
Stain remover & enhances washing power.
What is it made of?
Sodium Tallowate (salt from animal fat), Sodium Cocoate (salt from coconut oil), Water, Fragrances, Coconut Acid (fatty acids from coconut oil), Palm Acid (fatty acid from palm oil), Palm Kernel Acid (fatty acid from palm kernel oil), Tallow Acid (fatty acid from tallow), Sodium Chloride (table salt), Glycerin, Colorants (acid orange & acid yellow), & Sodium Hydroxide (lye).
This is obviously not natural but is a more natural way of adding a lot of stain removing power if you have that issue in your household. I decided to add this into mine this time because I need a little extra boost for stain removal and I figured it was ok with there only being 4 bars grated and dispersed throughout a whole 5 gallon bucket so it wasn’t an overload of chemicals.
This is completely optional, and the detergent still works great without it!
You can also leave it out but keep a bar on hand in case you need to rub it on a piece of clothing that needs some extra stain removal help!
This is a powdered laundry detergent so you’ll want to store it in an airtight container inside- out of humidity. I keep it all in the 5 gallon bucket in a closet and then have a smaller glass container with a lid to keep next to my washer!
I keep a metal scoop in the glass container and use roughly 1/8 cup per load. You can use more or less, depending on the amount of laundry in your washer and how much soiled clothing you have (i.e. if you have a husband who can’t stay out of the garage or barn, or if you have toddlers, or if you use cloth diapers!)
You can pour in right on top of the clothing in the drum or you can pour it into the soap dispensing tray, just make sure to remove the liquid portion of the tray if your washer has that feature.
You can use essential oils if you prefer to have your laundry scented. I would recommend adding the essential oils to your smaller container and adding 30-60 drops and stirring really well!
I personally decided not to use essential oils because the freshness smell of the Fels Naptha Soap was good enough for me!
But every once in a while I will add a couple drops of different essential oils to each load, just drop them on top of the small pile of powder in your soap dispensing tray.
