First of all, let me give credit to the page where I found this recipe that is definitely a keeper: the page is called The-Not-so-Modern Housewife and its owner is formerly from Ohio and now lives in Florida. She says her water is different from others'. Does she mean it's soft or hard? She also uses this detergent as a stain remover around the house and says it works well. However, she suggests trying it on a small area on carpets or other materials that might run. I agree with her when she says she likes the fact that there is no soap in the detergent. Hope you like the recipe. Remember if you don't have access to washing soda, you can make it by baking baking soda about an hour at 160ยบ C.
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups baking soda
1 1/2 cups washing soda
1/2 cup Epsom salt
2 tablespoons salt
A few drops of essential oil for fragrance (I used one called Sweet Rain and it made the detergent smell like some of the commercial ones) - use only a few drops though
Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Store in an airtight container. Use 1 tablespoon per large load of laundry.
I really should have written down when I made this batch. I only know that I made it before Christmas and still have plenty left. I gave enough for about 5 loads to a friend and she said her clothes came out clean. One of the things she washed was some serviettes with food stains on them. The other night I got a few drops of hot chocolate on my tablecloth (not the one in the photo), so I'll try a bit of the detergent on it to see if the stains come out.
I've finally given in to temptation and on Thursday I paid a visit to Dealz -Deal$ in the US and part of the poundland family - so most of you will know the shop I mean. I took only about 15 euros, because I didn't want to spend too much, and I didn't go downstairs where all the stuff I'd have been tempted to buy can be found. I got chocolates for some special people (and for me) and two rolls of foil. I'm happy with little things like kitchen foil, because the kind that is sold in Spain, although it's very good quality, isn't wide enough. I always have to use several sheets when covering a large dish or cake. I'll let you know how I like it once I've tried it. I'll also try to stay away from Dealz, and when I do go ask myself if I need what I see. My friend Chris is addicted to going there. At least everything is one price: 1.50 euros.
Our February has been mostly cold and wintry, but today we are having a pleasant mild day for a change. It rained last night. It must have rained quite a bit, because when I got up this morning (not early) the streets were wet and the sun was out.
I trust everyone has had a good weekend. Here it's carnival time. The kids had Friday off, and I know some of you in the US have off tomorrow for a different reason. Hope the new week is a good one for you whatever you get up to.
thank you for sharing the recipe-very different than I what I make now-I wonder what the epsom salts does?
ReplyDeleteyou have a good week too
I think it helps the water penetrate better in the fibers to clean better. If you make it, let me know if it works as well for you, Kathy. My washer also has a longer wash cycle than the ones I've used in the US.
ReplyDeleteWe have Deal$ here in Lakeland and I love shopping there! Things are priced at different levels, though. They have a wide variety of merchandise at ours, and the kitchen-ware is especially good. Thanks for sharing the detergent recipe. I'm sure I won't be ambitious enough to make it, when buying a big tub of Sam's Club's brand is so inexpensive and does a great job. I'm SO lazy, Brenda. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteAs long as I can find the ingredients for this particular detergent, I'll continue making it. It isn't harmful for the environment and I think it's fantastic that just a tablespoon does a whole load.
ReplyDeleteI used to make my own laundry powder and lots of other cleaning products but for a while now I've just been using regular shop bought stuff. I think when borax was taken off the shelf for 'health and saftey'?? I sort of gave up. Also I always shop at the discount stores, Lidle, Home Bargains, Pound Shop etc, more so now that I've retired and my income is so low. The cleaning products bought in these places are so cheap I doubt I could make it for less. However...... Like I said, I used to make lots of stuff, maybe now is a good time to start doing so again, thanks for the tips :-)
ReplyDeleteI still say unless I have to, I won't go back to buying commercial laundry detergents. Besides, I only use about 1 tablespoon of my homemade detergent per load. Dealz, as you might guess, is part of the Poundland family.
ReplyDelete