More Cleaning Recipes March 11, 2010

Did you know it’s way, Way, WAY cheaper to make your own cleaners?  I’m sure you’ve heard it all before, but it seriously is!  Not only is it WAY cheaper, but it cuts a LOT of chemicals out of your life.  Do you need chemicals to obtain clean?  NO!  Seriously, NO!  There I’ll say it one more time for emphasis:  NO!

Here are my homemade cleaners.  It’s super-duper nice that they are basically made from all the same ingredients.  And most are so easy even my kids can mix them up when needed.  Here is my disclaimer:  There are not MY recipes.  I’ve researched all over the internet to find ones that I liked using.  With that said, if I have the site I got them from, it’s listed, but if it’s not, it’s so far gone I can’t remember.  Also, with my trial and errors and notes, any original recipe may have been altered.  But these are the concoctions that I currently use!

• A great Dishwasher powder soap recipe im currently using is
  4 cups washing soda
  4 cups borax
  1 cup sea salt
   mix well and store in a 6 cup air tight container use approx 2 tablespoons with each load.  The salt acts as a scrubbing agent.
  ALWAYS use vinegar in your rinse aid
  

Scouring Powder

1 cup baking soda

1 cup borax

1 cup salt

Blend and store in container.
Use like you would Comet.

Multi Purpose Cleaner 

1/4 cup baking soda

3/4 cup household ammonia

1/2 cup white vinegar

1gallon (16 cups) warm water

Mix all ingredients and store. 

Pour into spray bottle when needed.

Here is my next test:  To make my own liquid dish soap.  I’ve been researching different methods so I’ll list them here, try them out and then let you know what I come up with.  As for the Castile Soap, I was able to find some at Safeway (Dr. Bonners 18-in-1, in the health food section) that was already scented.  I’ve heard this works just fine, just be sure to omit the essential oils since they are already added.  It came in Mint and Lavender.

Recipe #1: Liquid Castile Soap

This method is by far the easiest because the base is pre-made within the castile soap.

1. Grab some liquid castile soap from your local health food store. Castile soap refers to any soap that is made entirely from vegetable oil.

2. Mix 2 cups of castile soap with 1/2 cup of warm water in a recycled dish soap squeeze bottle.

3. For scented dish soap, add a few drops of essential oils.

4. Shake well before using

Pasted from <http://www.diylife.com/2009/08/03/how-to-make-your-own-dish-soap/> 

Here is another one:

Recipe #2: Soap Flakes

Buy soap flakes where you usually purchase laundry detergent.

1. Combine 2 cups of soap flakes with one gallon of warm water.

2. Place the mixture in a large, non-reactive pan and warm over medium heat until the soap is completely dissolved.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of glycerin and remove from heat.

4. After letting the soap cool, add a 1/2 cup of lemon juice or 1/2 cup of white vinegar. Either of these 2 ingredients will help the soap to fight grease.

5. For a scented soap, add a few drops of essential oils. Mix well.

Pasted from <http://www.diylife.com/2009/08/03/how-to-make-your-own-dish-soap/> 

By Popular Demand – Laundry Soap! February 27, 2010

I borrowed the original recipe from the Duggar’s site and altered it a bit for my liking:

Homemade Liquid Laundry Soap- Front or top load machine- best value

4  Cups hot tap water

1  Fels-Naptha soap bar

2  Cup Washing Soda

1 Cup Borax

- Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a 5 gallon bucket half full of hot tap water. Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved. Fill bucket to top with more hot water. Stir, cover and let sit overnight to thicken.

-Stir and fill a used, clean, laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and then fill rest of way with water. Shake before each use. (will gel)

-Optional: You can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled. Ideas: lavender, rosemary, tea tree oil.  I like it just the way it is, so I don’t add essential oil.

-Yield: Liquid soap recipe makes 10 gallons.

-Top Load Machine- 5/8 Cup per load (Approx. 180 loads)  

-Front Load Machines- ¼ Cup per load (Approx. 640 loads)

Optional, don’t dilute and use just half.  But I dilute

I use the Bounce Bar in my dryer and I just LOVE how my clothes come out!  If you need some pre-treating or stain removed (Or like me, pee-pee bed clean-up) soak the load in the washer with a little Washing Soda.  That’s Washing Soda, not Baking Soda!  BIG difference and you get it in the laundry aisle.  I got all of these ingredients at Fred Meyers.  The Fels-Naptha bar was about $1.50, the Washing Soda about $3 and the Borax about $4 (it’s cheaper at Walmart) but you don’t use all of the washing soda and borax, so I try to adjust that into the final price.

Now, I keep what we aren’t using in the original 5 gallon bucket and just refill our little detergent bottle as needed (or rather, Jason does for me!)  And I’m pretty sure I’m not using the full 5/8 cup, since I just use the top cap that came with my ultra detergent of yester-year.  We do about 10 loads a week and it’s lasted me 6 months.  And please, please keep in mind my husband works for the garbage company and does recycling, so his clothes are SMELLY when he comes home and they come out NOT smelly from the wash!