DIY Laundry Detergent Experiment

Do you guys remember this post? DIY Household Cleaners. Here I shared a few of my DIY cleaners including laundry detergent. I have read several times in forums and blogs (I need to start writing down where I read these things!) that you can substitute the Fels Naptha that many homemade laundry detergents use with any bar of soap. I've been waiting patiently to use up my last 5 gallon batch of detergent so that I could test this theory.

Let's recap. Here's my original detergent recipe:

ingredients:
1 Fels-Naptha Bar
1 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1 sauce pan of water
A 5 gallon bucket with a lid

Preperation:

• Grate the bar of Fels-Naptha and add it to a sauce pan of water (I use about 4 cups of water). 
• Bring it to a boil and stir consistently until it is completely dissolved. It will be the consistency of a medium-light syrup. 
• Fill the bucket about half way with hot tap water, add the Fels-Naptha syrup, Borax, and washing soda to the bucket of water. 
• Stir until the powders are completely dissolved. 
• Fill the bucket to the top with more hot tap water, stir, cover, and let it sit over night. It will turn into a gel.

{See the post DIY Household Cleaners for more tips and instructions on how to make laundry detergent}

I've been making my laundry detergent for 27 months and I just whipped up my third batch. Batch #1 was met with a big complaint from Joe, "This stuff doesn't smell good like Gain does". I countered with arguments like the new baby will need a scent free detergent, this recipe will only cost $4 a year, and {my favorite} you smell bad either way :). {I love you!! Just kidding!!}. Batch #2 was created with added essential oils, which did make it smell great. I used Tea Tree, Lemon, and Xlang xlang (Tee Tree and Lemon help with disinfecting!). However, pure essential oils can be pricey and using enough to scent 5 gallons of detergent reduced the cost effectiveness of the DIY method, which is my whole reason for doing it to begin with. 

Reading about the possibility of using any bar soap for my detergent gave me hope! My detergent would smell great for Joe and still be cheap as dirt. Whoa! Mind blown. Still, concerns lingered. Fels Naptha is made for laundry and is used as a stain remover, Zest is made for skin care. Would my clothes be as clean? What the colors fade faster? Would it even turn out to be detergent?

To ease my concerns I examined the ingredients list and they are so similar. One of the pros to the DIY method is fewer chemicals than store bought detergents. The thought had crossed my mind that Zest would be riddled with additives and Fels Naptha would be more natural.Yeah, not so much. In fact both products seem to contain plenty of unpronounceable ingredients. The ingredients are listed below with everything that the two products have in common in red. There are more in common ingredients than not, and I was surprised to see that Fels Naptha has more ingredients than Zest. {Not that being 'natural' or 'organic' is a deal maker for me. My #1 priority here is savings}

Detergent using Fels Naptha

Fels Naptha Ingredients:
Sodium tallowate*, sodium cocoate* (or) sodium palmate kernelate*, and sodium palmate*, water, talc, cocnut acid*, palm acid*, tallow acid*, PEG-6 methyl ether, glycerin, sorbitol, sodium chloride, pentasodium pentetate and/or tetrasodium etidronate, titatium dioxide, fragrance, Acid Orange (CI 20170), Acid yellow 73 (ci43350)

Detergent using Zest Ocean Breeze

Zest Ocean Breeze Ingredients:
Sodium Tallowate and/or Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoate and/or Sodium Palm Kernelate, Water, Glycerin, Coconut Acid, Palm Acid, Palm Kernel Acid, Tallow Acid, Fragrance, Sodium Chloride, Titanium Dioxide, Pentasodium Pentetate, Tetrasodium Etidronate, Red 33, Green 3

On January 12th I took the dive and made a 5 gallon batch of detergent using Zest instead of Fels Naptha. Zest was slightly more challenging to grate- make sure your hands are completely dry at all times {slippery!} and the color of the detergent is blue, not surprising since the bar of Zest was also blue. After two weeks of use this gets two thumbs up from all members of the family! Joe is happy with his Ocean Breeze scented t-shirts, I'm satisfied with our savings, and Logan's skin is none the wiser!

Now here's a challenge for you! Leave a comment with a question about making laundry detergent. Did you have any thoughts or concerns that my posts didn't address?

Thanks for reading!