How to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent – DIY for pennies a load Part III – Results

 

See How to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent – DIY for pennies a load Part I for the recipe and How to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent – DIY for pennies a load Part II for instructions.

I made the laundry soap mix, and having let the mixture set overnight to ‘gel’,  I found it had turned a nice custard-like consistency.

Now mixing it with the water in the instructions made total sense, you must mix it in a jug 50% soap mixture with 50% water.

 

 

This part was fun!  I took my son’s shirt and I went to my back yard and rubbed in my dirt, then I came in to my kitchen opened a packet of ketchup and spread it about, and finally I took some of the green smoothie we ate for breakfast and smeared it on as well.  I then let it sit and even put it in the microwave for a a few seconds to cook the stains.  Looked pretty dirty, thankfully my son doesn’t normally come home with anything close to this but we do have dirt and the occasional milk or condiment stains.  He is a boy after all.

 

I started my washer on a normal load, added 5 oz of my soap mixture, the test tshirt, one of my hoodies with more deodorant smeared in the arm pit area, and some regular clothes to make a full load and ran the cycle.   When it was done it came out smelling neutral/unscented, I didn’t scent with essential oil as the instrcuctions say you can, because with the Zote bar I didn’t want it to become anything overwhelming.  I might add lavender essential oil for my next load just to test it out.  I also did not add my regular fabric softener because I wanted to feel the clothes and smell them without anything interfering.

 

I was pleasantly surprised with the results!!!

 

My son’s tshirt all stains gone!!  (that is a wet spot cause I was impatient so I yanked it out of the dryer too soon, lol)

The load came out clean, the stains gone, I did a sniff test on my hoodie and didn’t smell any deodorant.  My clothes did not feel rough or coarse and no smells.  Am I sold?  Yes.  What will I do differently?  I will use my go-to softener because I do like a subtle smell.  I have also read that if you live an a hard water area you might want to double up on the borax.  Some ladies add OxyClean, what would I do?  If its my husbands work clothes or a set in stain I’d use what I normally do which is spray and wash on the stain.  This isn’t anything new I normally do that even when I use store bought detergent.  When I want a booster, I buy 1 2 3 powder (that is like OxyClean) at the 99 cent store. 

This homemade detergent isn’t something to replace the detergent and the boosters and the stain sprays, this is a detergent and like any detergent it will sometimes need a helping hand that at least is what my expectations are for this homemade detergent.

All in all this is totally worth the 1 hour I spent grating and mixing it.  I have a nice supply of detergent in my garage and enough to make more when I run out.  Will I buy detergent again?  I don’t know but I really hope not because I want to spend money on more important stuff like my cruise fund ☺

What will I try next?  I’m contemplating homemade fabric softener…not sure yet.

Until next time, Princess T ☺

  

See How to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent – DIY for pennies a load Part I and How to make Homemade Liquid Laundry Detergent – DIY for pennies a load Part II

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