Homemade laundry soap makes stains, HELP!

jennypants

I am about to go back to good old "All" if I can't get this homemade laundry soap to work. How do you all do it?! What am I doing wrong.

I tried a couple dry recipes with Borax,Washing soda, Oxyclean or Baking Soda and Fels Naptha. They cleaned well but the soap didn't dissolve. So I had to mix it with boiling water and shake before adding it to the washer; PITA. So, I decided to try the same thing but to add liquid soap instead of the Fels Naptha.

 My first attempt I used "Dawn" dishsoap. My some dark clothes came out with dark, grease-stain looking spots and my navy scrubs also had a faded, white-hazy look to them. I immediately quit using that.

 I tried one more time with the same powders (1 cup B, 1 cup W.S, 1/2 cup Oxy clean) and Baby Dr. Bronners liquid. Still got the greasy spots and haze on my scrubs. I have rewashed them twice with "All" and "Spray 'n' Wash" and they are starting to look better; but they are faded looking and I just bought them! I can't afford to use this stuff if I am going to have to buy new scrubs every week. What am I doing wrong???

doglove

I'm not sure what's going on with the greasy stains. Especially from Dr. B's liquid soap - I use that in combination with baking soda, washing soda, borax and dove soap grated up.

When you grate your soap - make sure to use the finest holes on a cheese grater. You can then leave the freshly grated soap out for a few days to dry it out. Then you can crush it some more so it becomes more of a powder rather than as soap curls.

CDMay2006

My answer of the day is vinegar... try adding it to the wash (as you would liquid fabric softener).  It could help, and it won't hurt.  I don't about the problem, though.  I've had that, but i think it's from the dryer, as in our case it isn't tied to the type of detergent or treatment of the laundry.

jennypants

To responders:

I have hard water and I generally use cold water, especially in the case of darks.

When I tried the bar soap I actually put it through the food processor. So, it was super fine.

I haven't tried vinegar, but I think it's definitely in the washing process, not the drying.

 Also, the symptoms appeared when I just threw plain washing soda and baking soda in yesterday with ALL. So maybe the washing soda is not working in cold water? I read somewhere online about others having the greasy spots with Dr. B's though. I just don't know what to do. It's expensive to experiment!

cheeks4409

i've tried a few different recipes and none have worked well at all, my clothes were coming out of the wash still dirty i've given up on making my own at this point.

doglove

You add vinegar to the washing process in a downball. You can also add it in when you add in your laundry detergent as it won't hurt anything.

jennypants

@ cb4409

 

It's nice to hear someone else admit that this stuff doesn't work for them.

snowinlv

I made my own for a while but noticed our whites looking dingy. Our cloth diapers retained some stink, too. I tried Charlies for a while but the diapers were still stinky. I now use country save on everything and am very pleased. As much as I wanted to make my own, I just wasn't pleased with the results.

OnPaisleyLane.com

I've been making my own for 18 mos now and have never had a problem, and our clothes come out clean.

I mix: 1 C Borax, 1 C Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda, 2 Bars Ivory soap grated, then I mix/break it all down with a pastry cutter.

I have a front load machine.  I put about 2 Tbs in the laundry soap compartment, then fill the rest of the way with water.  I wash most cycles with cold, and everything is fine.

Best wishes

adhdfashion

I use Dr B's, washing soda, and borax. Gets everything super clean and fresh smelling. I have a top loading washer, I let it fill up at least half way with water, before I put in clothing. I also make sure the soap and powder are all mixed in the water well.