Welcome & laundry soap

[Guest guest]

> Date: Mon, 12 Mar 2001 10:31:00 +0200

> From: Pat Brown <patb@...>

> Hi Janet

> I am a new member to this list and am very interested in making soap at

> home. I live in South Africa so still need to find suppliers for the

> ingredients I will need. To date I have been printing out the mail items

I

> think will be of use to me.

>

> I would be very interested in receiving your laundry soap recipe.

>

> Ta

>

> Pat

Just wanted to say welcome Pat, I've been saving items too from the lists I

subscribe to and not printing them (too many) but saving them to file....one

day I might actually get around to organizing them (sigh...do we ever have

enough time?). Great way to learn though! I don't have any info on

suppliers for soapmaking stuff in SA, but know that there are SA soapers

around on the various soapmaking lists. If you want some links to look for

soapmaking ideas email me privately and I'll send them to ya.

anyway....here are some laundry soap recipes for you. Got on various lists

and browsing online, sorry I can't credit the original owners. :-(((

Homemade Laundry soap

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----

I have used a recipe I found on a tightwad board about a year ago to make my

own laundry detergent. The recipe costs about a dollar to make 2 gallons of

soap, or about 50 to 60 washerloads. I am pleased with the cleaning results,

but unsure if this " gel " product is affected when it seperates. The recipe

is as follows: Shave 1/3 of a bar of Fels Naptha soap into six cups of water

and heat till soap melts, add 1/2 cup borax (20 Mule Team) and 1/2 cup Super

Washing Soda (not baking soda). Mix with 1 quart hot water in a 2 gallon

comtainer, and when dissolved, fill to two gallon mark with cold water. Let

sit 24 hours for product to gel after mixing well. If you are familiar with

this product, I'd love to hear from you.

This one came from the toiletries list

Blowin' in the wind laundry soap

224 gr sodium hydroxide

19 oz distilled water (minus 3/4 cup to be used as described in special

instructions)

4 tbsp borax

1/2 tbsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp ammonia (optional)

16 oz coconut oil

21 oz vegetable shortening

14 oz palm oil

3/4 tbsp baking soda sifted through fine mesh strainer.

Special instructions:

Immediately after thoroughly dissolving the sodium hydroxide in the water,

dissolve the borax into the lye solution, stirring until well incorporated.

Bring the 3/4 cup reserved water nearly to a boil, and then add the salt and

sugar; when both have dissolved, add the ammonia and blend well. When the

fats and oils and the lye solution read 100 degrees F, warm the

salt/sugar/ammonia solution to 100 degrees F. Add the lye solution to the

fats and oils, stirring briskly and continuously. Immediately add the

salt/sugar/ammonia solution and continue a brisk, regular stir. As the soap

mixture approaches the trace, add the baking soda and blend well. (Adding

the baking soda at the trace does not allow enough stirring time for a more

complete incorporation of the baking soda.)

making laundry gel

As soon as possible after the laundry soap's eighteen-hour insulation

period, cut it into large bars, without worrying about form. Within the

next few hours--before they become to hard--shred the bars using a hand-held

cheese shredder. (I used my KitchenAid). This is easy when the bars are

fresh and firm but not yet rock hard. Place the soap shreds into a large

stockpot and cover with 8 cups of clean water. (I used distilled water).

Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat to medium-low, and let the mixture

simmer for ten minutes. Pour it into a heat-proof container and allow it

to cool to room temperature before covering tightly. Within a day or so,

the soap mixture will solidify into a gel that melts perfectly into a load

of laundry--even in cold water. (Watch the boiling soap carefully, mine

almost boiled over even on low).

making liquid laundry soap

Follow the above intructions for laundry gel, but add 2 cups vinegar (white)

to the 8 cups water in the stockpot. This formula creates a rich, white

liquid with the softening properties of vinegar. If a slight separation

occurs over time, stir the mixture before each use.This sounds interesting,

and why I want to try doing this soap myself!

I put 1/2 cup of white vinegar in my fabric softener dispenser with each

load that I do. My clothes smell so clean and are so soft, I just can't

believe it! The best part, the itchies are totally gone!!!!!!!!

Hope you all like the recipe. Cavitch is brilliant in my book!

Actually I haven't bought one bad book on soapmaking yet!! I love these

people

Deb L

http://www.tlcsoaps.com/laundryfresh.htm

TLC Fresh Laundry Soap

6 oz. Coconut

6 oz. Palm Kernel

48 oz. Lard

8.65 oz. Lye

20 oz. water

1/4 cup Borax

1/4 cup Baking Soda

Make soap as usual and add the Borax and Baking Soda at a light trace. Will

usually accelerate trace, but since it is laundry soap I don't worry bout

that. If you like you could add a bit more of the powder to the mixture to

make it a dryer consistence. Just delete what you use from the process

below.

After it has insulated well, then shred the soap up and allow it to dry

completely. This helps it to powder better and it will not clog up the food

processor. Put them threads of soap in a large container and tows them a

few times a day. Might take a week or more to dry according to the

humidity. Then process as below.

4 cups of dried soap threads

1 1/4 cups each of Borax, Baking Soda

1 1/2 cups Washing Soda

1 1/2 Tbsp. Sweet Orange Essential Oil

1 Tbsp. Lavender Essential Oil

1/2 Tbsp. Ylang Ylang or Rose Geranium Essential Oil

Mix the Essential Oils together to have them ready to put in the soap. Mix

the powders together to be added to the soap threads as you blend them

together in a food processor. This helps the soap melt much faster when it

is powdered as much as possible. Take about 1 cup of the soap threads, a

little more of the powders, add some of the Essential oils and blend till

it is powdered. The soap will not become a real powder and will be like

little pellets and that is fine. Blend all of it together, placing it in a

bowl after each blending. Stir it together and use as you would any other

powder detergent. I use a full scoop of the laundry scoops that come with

the detergents in the store. I think that is about 3/4 cup or so. The

Essential Oils will add a nice aroma to the cloths and the Sweet Orange

oils helps with cleaning the fabrics. Add a splash of White Vinegar to the

wash during the wash cycle. Or you can add it to one of the Downy Balls and

let it do its thang later in the cycle. The White Vinegar helps cut any

oils out of the cloths and also helps to soften the fabric.

Created By Rita Scheu

TLC Soaps & Sundries

>

>

>