Since finding out Emma has eczema and really sensitive skin, her doctor told us to use a detergent like Dreft. Um, no thank-you.
I’ve decided to go back to making our own laundry detergent. It’s all natural and free of dyes and perfumes. Perfect.
It’s really quite easy! Want the recipe? (I know you do, Mom!)
Ingredients:
:: 1 cup washing soda. NOT baking soda. There is a difference. I’ve had good luck finding washing soda at Publix in the cleaning supplies isle.
:: 1 cup borax. Borax can easily be found in the laundry section at Wal-Mart or most other grocery stores.
:: 1 bar of castile soap. I usually get Kirks (again, Publix), but there are plenty other brands of castile soap out there. I’ve heard a lot of good things about Dr. Bronners, too.
Grate the bar of castile soap. A grater is helpful, but I don’t have one so I just use a big knife and cut it into tiny pieces.
Combine grated soap, borax, and washing soda. I use my food processor for this. If you don’t have one it should still work fine, just make sure that you grated your soap really fine with an actual grater.
2 tablespoons for small loads, 3-4 for larger.
You will find that when using homemade detergent you will not see suds is your wash. It does not need to sud in order to clean. Also, you will use much less than you would with regular detergent. In fact, I’ve found that you do not need to use nearly as much detergent as the label tells you to, even when using store-bought detergent.
Here’s the recipe we use for cloth diapers:
:: 1 cup borax
:: 1 cup washing soda
:: 1 cup oxyclean free (we actually use the cheaper brand called Sun Oxygen cleaner found at Wal-Mart, well, because I’m cheap!)
Again, a food processor is handy. If not, just mix real well!
2 tablespoons for small load, 4 for large load.
And there you have it. Laundry detergent. Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?
Gonna pass this on to my sister!
Any idea how this compares to Rockin Green? We had problems with that one, but I’m not overly happy with Tide.
Shanna, I haven’t used Rockin Green. I have used Crunchy Clean in the past and I would say that minus the scent (that you could add if you wanted with essential oils), it is pretty comparable. I will be honest, with using the pocket diapers and the microfiber inserts I still get the stinkies here and there. I could help prevent it by doing laundry more often and smaller loads, but for now I like to do diaper laundry every third day. Whenever I get the stinkies I usually just wash the diapers like I regularly do, then I do another wash with just a squirt of dawn and some vinegar in the rinse cycle.
Thanks Valerie! I may just try it.