- By not dissolving the dry ingredients in water, you simplify the recipe. Just assemble the ingredients, mix them together and store the dry detergent in a container. It requires less storage space because you don’t have to find room for a large tub of liquid detergent. You also use less detergent per load, as the dry version is more concentrated. Yet, the dry recipe may not always dissolve sufficiently when you wash in cold water.
- The basic ingredients of homemade laundry detergent include soap, borax and washing soda. Look for the ingredients in the detergent section of the grocery store. Washing soda looks similar to baking soda, yet it is a different product and, unlike baking soda, not edible. Some recipes call for baking soda to improve the smell of the laundry.
- Depending on the laundry detergent recipe, use bar bath soap, castile bar soap, laundry bar soap or castile soap flakes. When using bar soap, grate the soap before adding to the recipe using a cheese grater. To simplify the task, grate the soap using a food processor. Be careful not to burn up the appliance’s motor. Grating a bar of soap stresses the appliance more than grating up a pound of cheese. For dry detergent, castile soap flakes tend to dissolve easier than grated bar soap, when added to the wash water.
- One dry detergent recipe recommends combining 1 cup castile soap flakes, 1/2 cup borax and 1/2 cup washing soda. If necessary, adjust the recipe to suit the hardness of your water. For hard water, combine 1 cup castile soap flakes, 1 cup borax and 1 cup washing soda. For soft water, combine 1 cup castile soap flakes, 1/2 cup borax and 1/4 cup washing soda. Mix the dry ingredients and store in a glass jar. Use 1 to 2 tablespoons per wash load. Some recipes for dry laundry detergent call for grated bar soap rather than soap flakes.
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