Homemade Laundry Detergent - easy and Borax free

The other day, I had to clean the shower. Ew. Well, it's not really that bad, it's just a lot of soap scum - which, oddly enough, I've found that those Magic Eraser things are just the thing to do the job (not even bleach would get the soap scum up). I use the generic ones from Fred Meyer, and they work wonders, though the texture on the bottom of the shower does eat up the sponge-thing. Good thing they're cheap!

After washing the shower, it was time for laundry, because dirty towels and things, and while I was in the bathroom already, may as well pull them out for a wash.
And it was finally time to make up more laundry detergent. I just managed to have enough for that load of towels, but that was the end of it.

Oh yes, I make laundry detergent.
And I have for almost four years.
And it's wonderful.

While I've not done the math to know that it's cheaper, I'm fairly certain it is - over time, anyway. As with making any homemade anything, there is a start up cost, and you just kind of have to eat that and wait for the savings to come.

I first wanted to make my own laundry detergent because, well, I don't remember why (four years can do that!), but I had looked it up and found a ton of recipes...that used Borax.
I was not a fan of Borax.
At the time, I was working retail and part of the store that I stocked was the household cleaning supplies. And we stocked Borax. And every time I had to put it on the shelf, I'd get some on my hands (because cardboard boxes holding powder will do that, no matter what), and it was just awful. The texture is horrible (I've a thing about texture).
I did some looking-up, as you do, and apparently Borax can be used to kill not only fleas, but also cockroaches. And you've probably heard the jokes about cockroaches, about how they can live forever (just like Twinkies) - it was in Wall-E, even! That, along with the texture thing, was enough to put me off from wanting to use it.
I'm sure it works fine, and more recipes than not use it, but I didn't want it in my house.

So, I managed to find a recipe that didn't use Borax, and was fairly simple, and didn't involve needing gallon containers or anything ridiculous like that - most of the recipes I had found were requiring you to mix up gallons of liquid at a time, or grate whole bars of soap stuff, or just ridiculous things like that.
The site I found the recipe I use on is still live and well, and I am grateful to them for posting it, because it's been magic for me.

For the exact measurements, please visit the original poster's blog, as it is their creation and I don't want to steal that away from them - plus, they have more information and explanation about it, as well as more reasoning to not use Borax, and how they feel about using it for cloth diapers.
But to make it, you will need:
* Castile Soap (I use the Dr Bronner's stuff - the almond smells delicious!)
* Baking Soda
* Washing Soda
* Salt

That's it. Well, you'll need a container to mix the dry goods in, and a teaspoon measuring cup or something, to actually use to put the stuff in the laundry. But that's it!
For my laundry, I use 2 teaspoons of each mixture, instead of what the instructions say, simply out of laziness, but I don't think the small difference in measurement actually makes a difference.

I am not a chemist or a scientist or anything like that. I do not know how these things come together to give me clean clothes.
What I can tell you is that my socks come out of the dryer and they smell like new socks again. Shirts smell like shirts. Pants smell like pants. Nothing smells ick or gross or like it hadn't been washed.
We don't really have a lot of stains to deal with, so I can't say how well it works for that, but it gets clothes clean, and that's all I was after. And when I do have something to wash that has a pet stain on it, it comes out of the dryer just fine.
I did, however, find this post that has some sciencey bits about detergents, and while I don't know where this recipe fits into the mix, it works for me, and I'm alright with that.

I'm on my second box of washing soda and I believe that my next castile soap purchase (which will have to be very soon!) will be my 5th bottle. I'm not 100% sure, but I know it's no more than that. I do feel that this is cheaper than regular detergent, though buying castile soap can be a bit of a shock - on sale it's still 11$ a bottle! But, considering Tide is 12$ or so, and lasts not nearly as long, I'm quite confident!

Do you make laundry detergent? What recipe do you use?

~ Havok

P.S. I would link you to Amazon for the castile soap, but I cannot reasonably do that - because, oh man, that stuff is expensive there! 17$ is way more than I have ever paid for it, and I do buy the 32 oz bottles. I've never paid more than 13$ for the stuff. In Fred Meyer, it's sold in the organic/extra healthy section, and I'm guessing it may be similarly located in other Kroger stores.

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