I will say it, I was skeptical at first, because I love Tide, I want my laundry to have a lovely, clean smell. But, this homemade detergent definitely delivers the quality of a store brand. It is so easy and so inexpensive, so please try it! You need only three ingredients and water. Although there are slight differences in some homemade detergent recipes, below is the recipe I followed: You will need:
a 5 gallon bucket with a lid
a vegetable peeler
Ingredients: 1 bar of Fels-Naptha ( in many recipes people often replace this with a bar of soap of their choice)
1/2 cup of Borax
1 cup Arm and Hammer Washing Soda
4 cups hot tap water
Ok, so once you have your ingredients you begin by shaving the bar of soap into the bucket. Then you add in the 4 cups of hot water. Then, using your hands squeeze and stir until the soap is dissolved. (note: some may prefer to do these first steps in a pan to help the soap dissolve quicker) After the soap shavings have dissolved add in the borax and the washing soda. Stir well. Next fill the remainder of the bucket up with water and keep stirring. There will be lots of suds and that is ok just get as much water in there as you can fit. Then cover your bucket and let it sit overnight.
The next day, open the bucket and stir really well. The detergent will be slimy, but it has a very clean scent. Because this is a concentrated formula, I take old detergent containers and fill them 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up with the homemade detergent then, just like the ones you buy in the store, I add water to fill the container the rest of the way up. Shake well. I usually re shake before use too.
This detergent is perfect for high efficiency (HE) machines as well, because it is low suds. So add a cup of this detergent to your next load of laundry and get ready to be impressed!
