Heaven on Earth

Heaven on Earth

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Home Made Laundry Soap

I like Pinterest.  Mostly I Pin things that look interesting to me.  I've been wanting to try a home made laundry soap for awhile; so today I opened up a pin and gave the recipe a try.
I found most of the ingredients at my local super market but I could not find Zote laundry bar soap.  One blogger said that she bought hers at K Mart, so I checked all the Kmart's close by (and some not so close).  Nope...  couldn't find it.  I googled Zote and found out that it was made in Mexico.  Aha....a Latin market or maybe the local Walmart (they have a large selection or Latin products)? 

Woohoo..... lots of Zote in White and Pink colors at Walmart and it was cheap.

After reading many, many comments I decided to take the advice of others and purchased Oxi-Clean to add to the original recipe as recommended.  A few commenters said that they needed Oxi-clean to get the clothes white.  As I was mixing, I read the labels on the products and found that Oxi-Clean was very, very similar to Super Washing Soda.   I only added half the amount of Oxi-Clean.
And here it is.  It made a ton.  I hope it works as I won't be using it up any time in the remotely near future.  It filled a large 2-lb. tin that came filled with Garret Popcorn.  I put some soap in a small jar to take to the Stone House.  It sure is pretty and economical too.
I'll let you know how it works.

Homemade Laundry Soap

1-4 lb. 12 oz box of Borax
1- 4 lb. box of Arm & Hammer Baking Soda
1 box Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 55 oz.
2 pink Zote bars, grated
1 small container of OxiClean or ½ of a 4-lb. box
1 bottle of Downy Unstoppables

Mix all in the food processor.  Store in an airtight container.

2 Tablespoons per load usually does the job.


*Update:  I love this soap.  It smells wonderful (the Downy Untstoppables are responsible as well as the Zote).  The Zote is clean smelling, unlike Fels-Naptha.
The Zote seems to clean the whites well, and the baking soda helps with the hard water.  This is a winner at our house.

13 comments:

  1. I too just mixed up a batch, about a month ago with the same ingredients, except where you used the Zote bar I used a Fels-Naptha soap bar. So far I have been happy with the results and I love the smell!! I plan on filling an empty oxi-clean canister, with the soap mix, for sharing with our son at college!

    *Of special note* the little scoop in the oxi-clean was the perfect size (2T.)for adding the correct amount to a wash load!! Double Score!!!

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  2. Hi Lynette, Thanks for the tip about the scoop in the oxi-clean box. That's handy. The Zote is interchangable with the Fels-Naptha. Some bloggers said that the Fels-Naptha turned their clothes a bit yellow. Did you find that?

    Penny, It is supposed to work fine in HE machines. I have one and I'll let you know how it goes. So far, I love this soap.

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  3. Hi Bonnie..
    Isn't it fun to find things on Pinterest to make, or bake, or craft? I love it.

    I made the home-made laundry soap a few years back. I think the water in this county is so full of minerals... I just didn't have good luck with it.
    Maybe we should get a water softener...hmmm..

    Hope you are enjoying this week.

    p.s. Oh, that Jenny Oaks Baker is such a cutie!!
    I love her easy going nature...and her "Mom moments"... giving her kids chocolate drinks for breakfast, a.k.a Kirkland weight loss shakes.
    She makes me laugh :)

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  4. Bonnie,
    I've been making a laundry soap very similar to this recipe except I don't add the Oxiclean nor the Downy. I really don't like the smell of Fels Naptha (fussy nose of mine) so I grated up 3 bars of Ivory Soap. I do like the idea of pink flecks in the laundry soap though so I may have to take a sniff of the Zote and see if I like it. I think the laundry soap works great and I just add in a little Oxyclean or bleach to the machine if I need to really whiten my whites. I hope you give us a laundry report as you use it.

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  5. I love making laundry soap. I have moved to liquid soap now....I like it better, but it takes more effort to make. I have made my laundry soap for several years now. Drying outside in the sun is also the best whitener I know and at the perfect price.
    Have to ask though where did you get that Cub's container w/ Wrigley Field on it. I love it and being a Chicagoan, well you know it may become a must have ;)

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  6. Interesting! What does it smell like?

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  7. What a great idea. I am assuming that one of the reasons to make homemade soap is the cost factor. How much does it cost in comparison with the outrageous prices of commercial soap?

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  8. Thanks for sharing the laundry soap recipe! I can't wait to try it...and I was wondering if one could use this in their HE machines. Good to know.

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  9. That looks like so much fun Bonnie! Like Pom Pom, I'm wondering what it smells like?

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  10. It seems that many people are making their own laundry detergent. It sounds like a good idea but I have to use unscented soups and that limits the possibilities.

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  11. Thank you Bonnie for expressing your concern in ref to hurricane Sandy. Yes we hope for the best and think of one another.

    Christy

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  12. Just bought Zote for my daughter to take to college for washables since going to coin launder is too expensive on a college budget..lol. When she brought it home, she had not used it, so I tried it on some stains. It has a nice Citronella oil smell, made from coconut and veg/animal oil I think. It leaves clothes soft, smelling nice and is easy on the hands. I like the color: bright pink. It even whitens without bleach: another +.
    Safe for baby clothes and you can use it for bait to catch catfish!
    It says it is safe to take camping: washes clothes, people and dishes! Easy to pack! {long shelf life}
    I bought mine at Walgreen Pharmacy about a year ago.

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